Review of some of the Best Films from India, at the London Film Festival
Best films from India were screened at the London Film Festival that promotes world films, which may not be available for screening in the cinemas across the nation. The festival is an important venue for development and promotion of films from UK and abroad. Some of the films from India are reviewed below:
‘Frozen’: Shivajee Chandrabhushan/India: ‘Frozen’ is a story told from a young girl’s perspective.
Frozen is a film that makes the audience transfixed to their seat till closing credits disappear! It is the brilliance of the black and white landscape and the directorial restrain in bringing the conflict between individuals and society. Frozen tells the story of an aging father Karma, his teenaged daughter Lasya and her ‘little brother’ Chomo and the story is told through Lasya’s eyes. The action takes place in Ladakh, Indian side of Jammu-Kashmir border, 15000 feet above sea level in freezing conditions at 30 degree below. Lasya grows up watching her father making apricot jam and selling his product at the local market place. Unfortunately, he is unable to compete with others in the trade, as they use machines to make jam. Karma is in financial ruin, having to borrow from unscrupulous moneylenders. Their simple lives are shattered by the arrival of the army that protects the frontier and sets up a camp close to their house. Karma is asked to take his children and leave his ancestral home, which brings him close to a breaking point. Amidst all this, Lasya is blossoming into a very attractive woman and a local boy Romeo gets interested in her. Karma is oblivious to his daughter growing up, till one of the moneylenders tells him that he is willing to forget the money in exchange for her! The turmoil of the financial ruin, worrying about his daughter’s safety and having to move out of his safe haven play havoc on the aging Karma. Unexpected disaster sets in and Lasya runs away to escape from it all, only to be stopped by a barbed wire…
The title is quite apt for the film, as it reflects the terrain and the landscape. At the same time it reflects the slow pace and the almost frozen state of mind of its characters. Even the traditional festival of chimes and magic wheels appear frozen in time and stripped off their colour. It is not till the end that we understand that the little boy is not real. The images of black and white and the brilliant yellow-golden colour outside the barbed wire represent well the rawness and harshness of life, giving way to change and a better life. It is Shivajee Chandrabhusan’s debut film, which demonstrates how a simple story can be made into a powerful mesmerizing film. Cinematography by Shanker Raman is at its best and the ice-hockeyscene is perhaps the first in Indian cinema. Music by John P. Varkey from Kerala brings warmth to the frozen landscape. It’s also Danny Denzongpa’s 150th film and he has given his best performance. Gouri in her debut appearance has shown great acting ability and Angchuk as the little boy is a delight to watch. A must for all cinema lovers!
Mahek: K Kanade/India
The film tells the story of 12-yr old Mahek who spends most of her time daydreaming. In her dreams, she reaches the top at everything she wants to be, but in real life she is an under-achiever both at home and at school. She wants to be at the top but at the same time she also believes that she is incapable of achieving her goals, sort of an emotional lock! This leads to her dreaming of a ‘fairy god mother’ who helps her to analyze her strengths. She goes into depression and finally the director shows how she overcomes this. This film is a lesson to both parents and children and more so, a warning to parents to be more watchful of their children to avoid situations like this. Delightful performance by Shreya Sharma as Mahek and a must for all children and parents!
The Last Lear: Rituparno Ghosh/India
The Last Lear tells the story of an old Shakespearean stage actor coming out of retirement to act in ‘The Mask’, a film in another film. And it definitely is a ‘Bachan film’, as there is not a lot left once Amitab Bachan is taken out of the equation! Bachan shows his mastery in acting till the very end and his compelling presence make the audience glued to the chair! Only other actors doing justice to their characters are Vandana ( Shefali Shah) and Siddarth, ‘a look alike of John Abraham’ (Arjun Rampal). If there is any ‘chemistry’ in the film, it’s between Harish (Amitab) and Siddarth during their first meeting! Amitab gives acting lessons to Shabanam (Preity Zinta) and I thought it was quite apt!
The film starts well. It’s premiere night for ‘The Mask’ on Diwali day and Harish is absent as he is in a coma. Harish (Amitab), an old Shakespearean stage actor is forced to come out of retirement to act as a disfigured clown (a scar on his face!) by the young director, Siddarth. Vandana is Harish’s long term companion and Shabnam is his leading lady and its interesting to watch the conversation between the two women when Shabnam turns up at Harish’s house while he is in coma and unable to recognize either of them. Shefali gives a brilliant performance and it’s a shame that she was not the leading lady in the film; but her acting proved that she was! Except for quotes from Shakespeare and the mention of Harish being an old Shakespearean stage actor who loves Shakespearean plays, one doesn’t see much in the film to justify the title. Amitab Bachan is larger than life and magnificent with his long white hair and of course his captivating voice is amazing as always! Arjun Rampal and Shefali Shah show great promise. Amitab Bachan delighted the audience with his speech and a ‘face to face’ with the audience after the film. ‘An Amitab Bachan film’, for all the Bachan fans out there!
Four Women: Adoor Gopalakrishnan/India
Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s latest film Four Women, focus on four women in four different stories with no continuuity except for the theme. The film is based on four stories by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (easily recognizable name in India just like Shakespeare or Wordsworth in the western world) and it’s Adoor’s journey through the lives of four women with different standing in the society spanning two decades from 1940: the prostitute, the virgin, the housewife and the spinster.
The prostitute tells the story of a woman who changes her profession to live with a man who loves her and then ends up in jail. Their defiance in telling the judge that they are husband and wife was quite touching and Adoor clearly shows the atrocities of the legal system at the time or perhaps, even now.
The Virgin is about an aging father getting his daughter married to a man who is unsuitable, without even consulting her. The man has no interest in his bride and it’s almost comical to see his passion in life, food! He leaves his wife at her house and never returns. Then there is gossip in the village blaming the girl for the break up. She then decides that she has had enough and tells everyone defiantly that there never was a marriage and walks away!
The Housewife is about a woman who looses her babies within days of their birth and refuses advances of an old classmate who tells her that her husband is to blame for her predicament; moral values of the women are upheld here.
The spinster tells the story of a long suffering ********** woman, who gets left behind while her brother and both her younger sisters get married. Life becomes a real torture after the demise of her mother and she had to live with her sister, almost like a servant. Finally she decides to live on her own in her old house that was left to her when her mother died. The defiance in her voice was very clear when she told her sister that she does not wish to stay with anyone and would rather stay alone.
Adoor has raised moral and social issues in this ‘poetry in motion’ and succeeded in showing the power of women in the changing society. Though these stories take place more than 6o yrs ago the thematic conflict is still relevant, especially in small villages. Women are not willing to be subservient any more and they fight for what they believe in. All these women are caught up in their own battle of survival, ********** and passive in the beginning, but ultimately each one makes a choice, irrespective of the wishes of the society or rest of the family. A beautiful film that can change the attitude of people on various issues in our society: A must for all!