Death is a great leveller. That’s not the message of Karwaan. Death is the string on which this two-hour movie hangs.

Irrfan Khan’s quirky Shaukat carries the Akarsh Khurana-directed film on his comic shoulders and gives viewers the reason to stay put in their seats for two hours. And that, like most Indian bumpy roads, is also the biggest drawback of this road film. More of that later because we haven’t spoken about the film’s second best thing — Dulquer Salmaan, the 32-year-old star from the Malayalam film industry. 

DQ, the son of actor-producer Mammootty, makes his Bolly debut as Avinash, the character who may as well be the man sitting in the next cubicle in your office. He is the tough guy, shy guy, sexy guy; the dependable, level-headed guy whom any woman would love to have in her life. But like the Avinash in your office, he is not appreciated by the boss and evenings only bring out his loneliness. That’s where the story begins: A lonely man is hit by the news of his dad dying after the bus he was travelling in meets with an accident. One man’s road trip ends and another’s journey begins. 

Avinash and his dad never saw eye to eye because the “stubborn” old man wanted his chain-smoker of a son to see reason and work in the IT industry instead of “wasting” time taking photographs. The first images that flash before the young man’s eyes on receiving the news is how his dad made his career careen down the hill. All he could think of is how soon he could receive the body and get over with the last rites. 

What should have taken him a couple of hours turns into a road trip because the remains he is handed over are that of a woman who was also on the bus. His dad lies packed in a box in Kochi in the house of a woman whose daughter Tanya (Mithila Palkar) is up to all kinds of mischief at her college in Ooty. To solve the switcheroo, the good-hearted Avinash has to travel from Bangalore to Kochi via Ooty — through beautifully-shot picturesque locations — with Tanya, and Shaukat, a van driver. 

Shaukat has a zillion jokes to crack while driving his van around southern India, even as stops keep getting added to the journey. His humour is also a way to run away from his dark childhood and a few loan sharks his drunken dad had befriended years ago. That’s perhaps the connecting factor between Avinash and Shaukat — daddy wasn’t there to help them. Completely in contrast is Tanya’s family comprising a loving mother and a free-spirited grandma, now lying in the “box”. 

The contrast may appear simple but the characters are complex, requiring acting chops, and that’s where this road film hits a roadblock. As Shaukat’s quirks are a foil to Avinash’s restrained outlook, the combo of Irrfan-Dulquer comes across as fresh, unlike Mithila, who, however cute, doesn’t take her performance beyond the YouTube series that made her popular — Girl in the City. She just looks surprised being shown on a bigger canvas. 

Of course, the actors can be as good as the script, which has some flab in the hands of Bejoy Nambiar. The entire scene involving Shaukat disapprovingly eyeing a few swimwear-sporting women is unnecessary and so not 2018. The script also loses its vibe — much like the samey-samey soundtrack — each time Irrfan out of the picture, which happens on and off after the interval. And there’s a lot more to Gen Now than wearing headphones and gifting headphones (like Tanya is made to do).

Yet, credit must be given to Nambiar for not trying to make a love story out of Karwaan. Like a good road film, Avinash ties up the loose ends in his life, especially the one with his former flame (Kriti Kharbanda’s Rumana). And no, Tanya doesn’t fall for the shy guy, sexy guy, the guy with a memorable timbre and a phone ringtone people in theatres would identify with... the Xiaomi ringtone!

It’s a film that leaves one with the feeling Avinash realises about his relationship with his dad: “Not so bad.” 

Who’s the scene-stealer in Karwaan — Irrfan or Dulquer? Tell t2@abp.in