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I saw a movie called "Mr and Mrs Iyer" in Star movies channel yesterday. It had got National Award for Aparna Sen(Best Director) and her daughter Konkana Sen(Best Actress). I loved the movie and believe me its been a sometime since I saw something in this genre in indian movies. A nice and refreshing storyline, direction, picturisation and acting makes a good difference The story is about Meenakshi Iyer(Konkana Sen) who is returning from her parents place in the hills back to her Husbands place in Calcutta. She has a small child and her father is very anxious to find someone to help her in the Bus she is taking to some city where she will board a train to calcutta. Raja(Rahul Bose) becomes that someone. By profession, he is a wildlife photographer and he is going back to calcutta too in the same bus/train. The director shows sheer brilliance in presenting the people travelling in the bus. The old muslim couple, the merrymaking college students, the sikh brothers, and the people cheqing pan, playing cards, newlywed couple always under sheets brings you back memories of numerous such bus journeys anyone of us have had in this great country of ours. Goutham Ghosh's illuminating lens captures the beauty of the scenery in a very natural manner in the bus The story and the bus continues its journey and the twist comes. There is a road block and the bus goes into a detour into the jungle. Comes to a local town and there seems to be a curfew imposed there due to violence between muslim and hindu extremists over the killing of some hindu. So the bus has to halt there till curfew is lifted and road is cleared That night, some hindu extremists come into the bus and asks each and every man if he is a muslim. One person points at the old couple.(Believe me, this could happen in India). The extremists take away the couple and nothing is heard further of them. However when they come to Rahul bose, Konkana Sen who knows he is a muslim by then, tells them that he is her husband Mr Subramaniam Iyer. Everyone believes them and they are eventually lead to being together in a forest bungalow by a local police officer until violence reduces in that town However, the sequences following the bus ambush need to be tightened. Everyone seems to have survived the trauma of the previous night and are back to the daily grind. This is perhaps the point that the director wishes to make about our insensitivity to communal violence. Meenakshi's two-tiered awakening as a social animal and a woman experiencing strange stirrings in her conservative heart is achieved with noiseless finality. Her coming of age is shared by us. When in the savagery of Hindu fundamentalists barging into the bus to claim Muslim victims, she quickly introduces her Muslim companion as Mr Iyer, we know it is a turning point for Meenakshi's relationship with her immediate companion and society at large. In the bungalow at night, Rahul and Konkana share some nice things like Herd of Deers coming to drink water or the dew-drops making nice sounds etc. A moment later we are thrown into reality when they see a person being murdered by muslim extremists as a revenge against hindus. Konkana is at her best when she renders" Ohh its so easy to kill a man" and loses her self control. Another occasion is when her mind fluctuates a bit and she earnestly thinks about joining him when he goes to Wynad forest to take pictires and live in a treehouse. Then she comes back to real life and thinks about her child and husband. Konkana Sen with her dead-on Tamilian accent and beha hits you with her unspoilt charm. Rahul Bose's subtle expressions make us wonder constantly whether we are missing something. Bose plays with compassion and sensitivity. His comfort level with the child is perceptible. The climax where finally they meet Meenakshis husband and their parting sequence gives a perfect ending to whole thing the and keeps us self-introspecting. It is definitely a social movie, truly showing the indian emotions and attitudes in a good manner If I am allowed a pick for Indian movie @ Oscars, this is the one. And I strongly recommend it to you Post a comment in response: |
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