When we speak of Vishal Bharadwaj, most of us will remember the set of dark movies he has made, majorly based on books, the trilogy of Maqbool-Omkara-Haider based on Shakespearean plays being the highlight. But in between these, he has demonstrated his craft in telling simple stories in a wonderful way on-screen. The Blue Umbrella is one of such hidden gems! Based on Ruskin Bond’s story by the same name, this simple tale is about a girl who gets popular in her village when she gets a blue umbrella in a trade with a tourist. And how an envious restaurant owner becomes adamant to own that Umbrella and its subsequent popularity and tries all his means which eventually doesn’t go well with him. The movie has a simple message that Greed will lead to only destruction and one cannot forcibly take away the right of others. As simple as it sounds, the movie’s depth enhances exponentially by the acting of Pankaj Kapur as the restaurant owner. He gets into the character so well that as an audience you will at first hate him for the extent he goes in troubling the little girl while towards the end empathise with him for the fate he encounters owing to his greed. Vishal Bharadwaj shows his vast repertoire in handling such simple delicate story telling which is a total contrast to his major directorial ventures which have complex plots with multiple characters. Highly recommend this if you haven’t watched it!

Ruskin bond is awesome