Star Cast: Arjun Mathur, Sugandha Garg, Mohan Kapoor
Director: Manu Warrier
Would you go back into the past to heal your fractured present? In Coffee Bloom, we see a young man showing up at a coffee plantation at the very moment the owner of the estate is looking out for an expert. Is it a sign? The two come together for their own reasons, but are they committed to the same thing?
The Coorg countryside is quite lovely, and the coffee plants surrounding the homestead give off a thick leafiness. But the characters never quite look as if they belong. Devanand Kariappa (Mathur) has his reasons for turning up at the estate of the much-devoted-to-each-other-husband-and-wife (Kapoor and Garg). The connection goes back to Kariappa’s happy early years, which turned into curdled adulthood.
There’s also history between Kariappa and the estate owner’s young and pretty wife, and as that thread unravels we understand some of the character’s troubles. There are a few scenes when things seem to come together only to scatter again.
Kariappa’s journey, from awkward renunciation of the world, to making peace with his present, doesn’t really bloom: the actors are hard at work but not to much purpose. Coffee Bloom becomes one of those films whose premise is interesting, but which is let down by the execution.
