Director: Ananth Narayan Mahadevan
I am writing this as a film aficionado, a
lover of quality films. I haven’t written many film reviews, but am attempting
this to bring here the experience of watching the movie, which, to my mind, was
a significant experience. In my earlier days, I used to be a lover of good
films and have seen the best film-makers from Fellini, Kurosawa, Ray, Irving
Stone, Majid Majidi to Indian film-makers like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan,
Mrinal sen, Muzzafar Ali, and such like. As a person with literary aspirations
these films and the subjects on which they were made triggered in me a hunger
to know more about people, their lives. I used to go in search of good films
when they were playing in the city. In those days there was the AIR auditorium
which used to exhibit the best films culled from around the world and I used to
be a constant presence in their shows.
But over the years I have become
disillusioned by Hindi cinema and have stayed away completely from it. It’s
loud, it’s badly sound engineered, the lighting is too harsh, the plots are
hackneyed and the script lacks ingenuity. Even films that are hailed as art
films haven’t risen above dramatic influences and never have scaled the rungs
of cinematic medium.
Disclosure: Ananth Narayan Mahadeven and I
have worked in the same organisation, but we have never met. Later, I met him
online and we became virtual friends on Facebook. At that time I was recruited as
his replacement in a publishing organisation and, sadly, I turned out to be a
poor replacement. My boss would praise him too much, proving his talents in from
those formative years.
So I am all excited as I sit in the hall
waiting for the ads to finish and the film to begin. This is the first film of
Mahadevan that I am watching I don’t know if he, the director, would live up to
my expectations. It has a dark foreboding opening. The sub titles in English were
an advantage in that I could understand the film better. What followed, I
confess, wasn’t disappointment but one of my truly good cinematic experiences,
excelling in all aspects of film making like acting, sound, music, lighting, et
al.
It is to Mahadevan’s credit that he has put
together such a talented team and inspired them to perform. Sometimes directors
can be control freaks who would psyche even good actors to give their worst
performances. Mahadevan’s control over the narrative was apparent from the
opening shot. Slumdog Millionaire won Oscars but was a hotch potch of a film.
This one is many times better in that it deals with an epoch and in a way that
is both sensitive and nostalgic. Towards the end, I was moved to tears. I don’t
know if this is because I am sentimental these days or because what I saw in
the movie moved me to tears.
The film deals with Das in his entirety, his
fight for recognition as a freedom fighter, his approaching Alzheimer, his
disappointments dragging him into a secluded chasm of his mind. The very act of
visiting several government offices with their petty politics can be nerve
wracking to any ordinary citizen. Perhaps, this according to detractors of the
director could be the film’s flaw, but in dealing with the whole personality of
Gour Hari this is integral to the plot. Gour Hari emerges as a hero. He even
clings to his post as secretary of the housing society – despite criticism - to
prove a point. To make a film on a living person’s life and not to fall prey to
clichés is a wonderful achievement. Credit should also go to novelist and poet CP
Surendran’s scripting skills, realistic portrayal of characters, which makes a
big difference to the authenticity of the film.
It’s a mark of Indian society that we do
not allow talented people to rise above petty feuding. That’s why even a Night
Shyamalan would have remained a maker of corporate films and ad films in our
society. So the bad press the film has received from some quarters is demeaning
and is a shame on us. Elsewhere Mahadevan would have been praised and given his
due among the greats of cinema. I am going as far as to suggest that it be sent
to the Oscars.
Vinay Phatak shines as Gour Hari. He gives
that extra feeling to the character with some under-stated acting. It’s obvious
that he is giving the role everything and his talent holds a candle to and
exceeds that of many other character actors in Hindi films. Matching his
elegance is Ranvir Shorey as the newspaper journalist who champions his cause.
Ranvir, hair carelessly tousled, lives the part of a journalist. I don’t know
the dusky girl who plays his side-kick but she also does a commendable job.
Sen’s role is deglamourised but she
compensates with talent and involvement. She doesn’t use make-up and it’s
towards the end when she lets it fly at the housing society members that the
full power of her acting unleashes and the shakti in her as a woman is palpable.
She is a remarkable presence throughout the film, acting vulnerable and strong
as the situation demands.
Resul Pookutty displays his excellent
skills as sound designer. The film is a sound and music aficionado’s delight,
even each guitar chord can be delineated from the sound track. When Gour Hari’s
son strums his long-neglected guitar, the string breaks, and the sound
reverberates in the silent movie theatre. I have had some experience in this
aspect. One night a string on my guitar broke and I was aroused in shock from
deep sleep by the echoing sound, a loud twang in the night’s silence. Just the
act of thinking about a guitar and building it into the plot is an act of
genius, according to me.
The film has its light moments, too, in the
form of the official (Satish Kaushik) asking if Orissa is in Bengal. When Gour
Hari goes to meet the MLA the security man played by Bharat Dhabolkar asks his
name and he says he is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Dabolkar’s character may not
even know who Gandhi is, so with a dead pan expression on his face he announces
Gour Hari as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
I have heard it said in interviews with
great icons of cinema that it is important to see that a “set should not look
lit.” Hindi films just ignore this aspect of lighting sets. For them the set
must dazzle with a hundred blazing lights with the result that the characters’
expressions are lost. In outdoor scenes there are a hundred reflectors and the
eyes hurt to look at the screen. It’s a wonderful example of Mahadevan’s talent
that he hasn’t resorted to over-lighting like other Hindi directors. I think
other directors should learn from him.
All said and done, a finely crafted film, a
beautifully construed and written film, a film that should go into the annals
of Indian film making as another milestone. If I was a juror I would nominate
it to go to the Oscars and would wish Vinay Phatak, or, Konkona Sen to win the
award for best actor and Mahadevan for best director in the foreign films
category.
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