THR India's 25 in 25: 'Udaan' is the Scream of a Generation Yearning to Break Free

Two half-siblings — a teenager and a child — hand in hand, share a laugh as they step out of the suffocating cage that is their father's home. They walk, with their dreams of a new life unfolding, and it's a walk to remember in filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane's tour de force directorial debut, Udaan.

A powerful exploration of rebellion and coming of age, the film became the guttural scream of a generation yearning to break free. Following the life of a teen who discovers he has a half-brother only when he is forced to live with his abusive, toxic father after being expelled from a boarding school, Udaan is a masterclass in writing, staging and performances, with a terrific Rajat Barmecha in his screen debut and the solid Ronit Roy as the oppressive father.

A still from 'Udaan'

The film revolutionised Indian cinema's coming-of-age genre by turning the lens on the patriarch, daring to show their irredeemable nature (and the father also beng slapped by their teenage son).

Shot immersively by cinematographer Mahendra J Shetty and set to a memorable soundtrack by Amit Trivedi, Udaan laid the groundwork for a new wave of Indian storytelling across films and streaming, tackling toxic masculinity, oppression, and the pursuit of dreams. Through the story of a teenager rebelling, it birthed, among many other things, the Angry Young Boy. Udaan hit like an arrow, transforming private family conflicts into a tense, raw watch on the big screen. It was a sprint of rage, but also a quiet walk towards freedom.

A still from 'Udaan'

Vikramaditya Motwane on Making Udaan

"Udaan is a film that wears its heart on its sleeve," Motwane says about the movie that has become a defining experience for a generation. "It's my most emotional film, without being melodramatic," he continues. "it speaks to a lot of people of a certain age very, very, very deeply. It spoke to me at that point in time extremely deeply as well. When people tell me the film gave them strength, it is a huge deal for me."

Written by Motwane and Anurag Kashyap, the film thrives on its powerful ensemble, including Barmecha, Roy, Aayan Borodia, Ram Kapoor and Manjot Singh.

The euphoric final sprint of Barmecha breaking free from his toxic father’s shackles remains an indelible image, complemented by Trivedi's masterful soundtrack and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Kashyap. "If I ever need catharsis, I play “Aazaadiyan” – it's not just music, it's a multitude of feelings," Motwane says.

Vikramaditya Motwane on the sets of 'Udaan'

The essence of Udaan can be traced back to Motwane's formative experiences. He drew inspiration from the 1959 French classic, The 400 Blows, and later, while assisting director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Devdas, he witnessed Ken Loach's poignant Sweet Sixteen at Cannes when the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer featured in Out of Competition section at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. "I was blown away by Sweet Sixteen. I'd been nurturing the idea of a coming-of-age film about a kid and his family, starting with the visual of someone running. It evolved into a melting pot of moments from life, literature, and films."

Eight years later, Motwane returned to Cannes with Udaan, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival to a standing ovation – a surreal moment for the debutant helmer.

BTS from 'Udaan'

Motwane penned Udaan while staying with his mother, following a disciplined routine: morning yoga, followed by writing on his sister's hand-me-down laptop. The two-week writing process was punctuated by a technical ritual – saving the script to a floppy disk daily. But on the final day, disaster struck: the computer crashed just after saving the draft.

“It happened just immediately after I saved it on a floppy disk. So, I had the draft, but I didn't have the computer anymore!” says Motwane. “It was one of those cinematic moments; you can't write this shit! The floppy disk literally saved the script.”