Water - Pure and Innocent

I did not see Deepa Mehta's earlier work in the form of Earth and Fire, so I did not know what to expect from this movie. Though I had a understnding of basic story line thanks to propagandist in India and then it's fame to oscar. Though I can not relate the trilogy, if there are any relation at all, but it did not stop me from appreciating a work of fine art.

Water is a story about pre-independance Indian culture. The time was heavily dominated by traditional hindus and their thousand year old customs which may and should not fit in modern society . This tradtionalism had it's share of evils and one of the victims were widows of the society. Deepa has picked specially those widwos who lost their husband in a very early age. This way Deepa has touched, very breifly, the second evil of the then society and that is child marriage. Though I should not deviate from the real theme which is traumatic conditions of the widows.

The story was told with a center charachter named Chuhiya, a 6 year old widow, who lost her husband before knowing or realizing that she was married. Her parents send her to a widow "ashram" where many other widows, from very young to very old, leaves to spend their rest of the life. It is prohibited for them to enjoy life but to treat their life as burden on their own and for the society. What should have been her playing days and making new freinds of her age, Chuhiya meets her companions in the ashram. She meets Kalyani who is the fairest of all and has been give some privilages (like she can keep the long hairs) - but all for wrong reasons. She witnesses the attempt of Narayan, A Gandhi follower, to rescue Kalyani from the misery of a old and traditional society - only to meet a bitter end. She observes the brave attempt of Shakuntala to help Kalyani in escaping the hell. Finally she escapes her fate thanks to Shakuntala and Narayan.

Water, as the metaphore suggests, is pure and innocent. It does not have a will of it's own for most of the part, it just flows along the lines drawn by a traditional society. It requires a force if it has to change it's course.

Some of the scenes in this movies are particularly very touching. One such scene which touched me is when the old widow eats a luddu brought by Chuhiya. The expression and emptiness in her eyes can not be described. She remembers the last time when she had it - unfortunately her wedding time. After that it has become a age old desire to have it one more time., which can not be fullfilled because she was prohibited being a widow. It was a last wish standing between life and escape from this dreadful life. It was one last wish which was worth, if she gets is afterall, to go through all the pains. And once she has it, she has everything in her life and she escapes. It was a "moksha".

Seema Biswas again remineds us she is one of the most under utiliazed, exceptional talent in India. She could have been goddess in Hollywood. She acts naturally. She does not need to speak to convey her emotions. She is brilliant. Lisa Ray looked beautiful. She is not a great actor but she was succeful in portraing a victim of the society. John Abraham is good - he knows his strong bit and does it strongly. One actor I would like mention here is Manorama. The old, small time, evil chachi has been incarnated as madhumati bai. She is brilliant and I hope to see her in more movies.


All in all it's trimuph. We should be ashamed for making such a big fuss on this movie.

Star - 4 out of 5
Recommendation - A must watch. Watch to realise how we made a fool of ourselves by letting Canada taking the credit for such a fine movie.

Nishabd - Love Knows No Limits

If you are confused with the definition of love then, probably, you should not waste your time in Nishabd - Ram Gopal Verma's new product from the factory. This movie is meant for people who know there can never be a definition for love - simply because it's a feeling which only a heart can perceive. It does not obey any logic and it should not limit in social boundaries.

As it is already well publicized, it is a love story between a 65 year old family man and a 18 year old raving young lady. The story starts when Ritu along with Jiah - her good friend - comes home to spend the holidays. Ritu' father Vijay has a tea estate and he is living a happy a peaceful life with wife. The story takes a turn and Jiah and Vijay ends up attracted to each other.

In my opinion - once Ramu got this idea and seriously thought to give it a shape he had two major problems A) How to develop the romance part between such a odd couple (especially in Indian sense) and B) Once the romance happens then how to build the real story. I will give Ramu 10 out of 10 for both the points. Since plot is already known and well publicized on TV, I can safely reveal some of the finer points.

The build up of this idiosyncratic romance is handled in a excellent manner. It is a challenge to develop the characters before showing that they can romance. I think the challenge lied to typecast the character in such a way that they should look different (yes, you need "different" people for this romance) but not abnormal. Ramu had done this beautifully. You get the sense that this guy and the gal are different from the normal people but never gives a impression of insanity or abnormality. First part of movie was devoted to erect this relationship. It covers all the phases of the romance. They talk to each other a lot, they enjoy the companionship of each other and also they fight like any other couples.

Second half basically deals with post-romance situation. It deals very briefly with the situation of Ritu and Vijay's wife. It shows the trauma of situation for the family of Vijay. But it never deviates from the Situation of Vijay and Jiah, because after all it is their story. More conventional view would be to show how Vijay's family is affected by this relation. However, otherwise, It is rightfully portrait as how the relation between Jiah and Vijay changed because of Vijay's family. Ramu was also successful in bringing the story to an end. Bollowood has a history of getting it tough to end a story. But this time Ramu pressed the button at a perfect time.

Movie also has it's share of some loose ends, especially in first half, mainly in terms of screen play (could have been tighter) and background music (could have been milder and used with more method). It also drags at times in first half and you may look at your watch couple of times. However, second half strikes and make it up for the first half. So don't get exasperated and watch the complete movie.

Jiah has done very well for her first movie. Though I am sure Ramu has a genius of getting best out of his actors. Revathi again reminds us why she is one of the best female actors in the country. Emotions comes naturally to her. But, this movie belongs to Amitabh Bachchan. He has molded into his character (and this is happening after a long long time). He never gives a impression of Amitabh Bachchan but you will always find Vijay on the screen. After watching the movie, I completely agree with Ramu that without Mr AB, this movie was not possible. All in all, this is a very good movie which is different from conventional bollywood movies.It is a bold attempt and needs to be appreciated.

Star : 3.5 out of 5
Recommendation : Watch it for love. If you don't understand it, just watch it for Amitabh Bachchan.