Such people meet only once in our lives, and we are happy if we notice them. They are truly blessed by God. After the film "The Fate of a Soldier", this is the second film in which I see "Nan Patekhar" in the title role, and even in such a strong one. In general, I had this film on the filmography of Jackie Shroff, and yesterday I finally got to it on the list. Jackie also has a chic role here, he seems to be a villain, and at the same time an unhappy man with a broken fate. And I didn’t know how to treat him the whole movie, it was pitiful, or I wanted to strangle him. But, Nana of course the main character, I roared the floor of the film.
Having experienced a nervous breakdown in childhood after the death of his parents, Anirudh (Nana Patekar) spends the next 25 years in a psychiatric clinic. Now the doctor believes that Anirudh is completely healthy and ready to return home to the family of relatives who paid for his treatment all this time. Anirudh has a unique artistic talent of a portrait painter, and the drawings of new people he meets are much higher than the portrait similarity, he captures the very essence of the character, sees them not with his eyes, but with his heart. Entering the “normal” world brings him a chance acquaintance with the eccentric content of an elderly politician, Sunita (Manish Koiral), whose deliberate audacity and arrogance is not able to hide from Anirudha her spiritual suffering. It seems that Anirudh is the only one who looks through the seemingly comfortable and rich existence of the Sunnis and knows that deep down she is sad and lonely. They develop a special bond of friendship and love, despite completely different personal qualities and backgrounds. Of course, the manisha looks stunning here, but I was annoyed by the fact that she did not let a cigarette out of her mouth. I've never seen a woman who smokes so much in an Indian movie and loves to touch a bottle. A little worrisome from this, but otherwise the impression of the film is strong.
At the same time Anirudh also makes friends with Ranjan (Jackie Shroff), passionately in love with Sunita. Ranjan is a kind but selfish person who can’t even think of failure in any aspect of his life. In addition, behind all these plot twists and turns, Anirudh does not notice at all that he himself became the subject of interest for Dipti, the daughter of his benefactor. How will Ranjan perceive the fact that Sunita is much more located to Anirudha? Will the Sunita find her suffering happiness? And most importantly, can he survive in a “normal” world?
“I have spent twenty-five years to cure him, and you have destroyed the work of my life in a few months, you have ruined it” – the words of the doctor sound a sentence to the relatives of Anirudha.
Nana Patekar is a brilliant actor, it is unconditional, and this role only confirms his status. He looks amazing as a blissful, although someone might disagree with me. But, the director Parto Ghosh has always made films with special overtones, with a message to the viewer, in order to reach their hearts.
Not without music videos, of course. I especially liked the clip and the song showing the development of friendship between Anirudh and Ranjan. How they remember their childhood, and as children themselves run around the field, rejoicing at the sun, riding horses, etc. Very beautiful song and clip. In my opinion, the presence of songs and dances does not make the film commercial, although they are certainly put in the hope of attracting more attention to the film. Although I thought that the songs and dances would not fit into such a serious film... well, they all fit in there and the music is very good and the shooting is beautiful.
And in general, for me, non-commercial cinema is an unconventional movie, i.e. not suitable for three traditional versions - masala, a comedy with elements of masala and an action movie with elements of masala. And any film that doesn’t fit into these three popular Indian viewers’ favorites already claims more than commercial success. This is one of those movies for me. And the other little thing, as far as I've noticed, is that there's no song or dance at all in just one category of film in India -- arthouse. And here, like a claim to art - criticism of social reality is not an end in itself.
This is a shrill, intelligent and thoughtful film about a man completely devoid of all the negative qualities that exist in human society, he just left the hospital, spending 25 years of his life there, but is widely loved and respected by normal people because of his simplicity, intelligence, positivity and love for humanity. The film tells about his experience with people, how he talks to them, how he gives them seemingly childish, but such right advice, and how he witnesses their personal problems.
The whole film is full of unforgettable scenes and moments. This is a film with a message, and every viewer is free to interpret it as he wants. It is a pity that the Russian audience, he is almost unknown and therefore underestimated. And I have to admit that is a classic example of artistic perfection.
10 out of 10