The Last Lear

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The Last Lear

Satyajit Ray once commented that the problem with directing Amitabh Bachchan is that most directors get carried away. Did the award-winning and globally renowned director Rituparno Ghosh got carried away while directing The Last Lear?

CJ: Amit R Agarwal

Sat, Dec 01, 2007 18:26:56 IST

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5125
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5

Rate:

4.18 / 17 votes

BLACK, 2005; probably the first so called art-house film in Hindi cinema featuring a mainstream cast that raked in moolah at the box-office.

The film prompted many art-house filmmakers to try and have their share of pie in the burgeoning Bollywood business; but none quite matched up to Bhansali (including Bhansali himself, Saawariya).

Does Rituparno succeed with The Last Lear?

Where have I been? Where am I? Fair daylight? I am mightily abused. I should e’en die with pity, to see another thus. I know not what to say. – KingLear

Contrary to popular belief, The Last Lear has no resemblance to King Lear in terms of plot or characters except for the fact that the lead protagonist Harish Sharma (or Harry as he prefers to be called as) has this burning desire to enact Shakespeare’s King Lear.

The film unfolds through the memoirs of many in the cast, but principally through Gautam’s (Jishu Sengupta), who also opens the film on one Diwali night – the Festival of Lights.

His bhaiya’s, Siddarth’s (Arjun Rampal) film, The Mask is premiering, but it is evidently clear that there are problems galore.

Right from the scene that introduces film’s heroine; Shabnam (Preity Zinta), having to bear with the untrusting eyes and accusations of her husband, Rajiv.

She wants to see Harish Mishra (Amitabh Bachchan), an aging actor rather too late to make his movie debut.

Once at Harish’s place, she meets Vandana (Shefali Shetty), seething with anger over what the film unit did to her companion (and not husband) and Ivy (Divya Dutta), a nurse.

Initially the three women are not at ease with each other, but gradually they establish a repertoire that also helps the film unfold through the yellow-chrome memoirs.

If the story sounds a bit confusing, it is because, the director wanted it to be so, may be. The narrative also might confuse the regular cine-audience as it tosses from past to present to past and back to present.

The film starts slow and then picks up as the humor sets in and then again sets for a dramatic pace towards the climax.

The film is not the best work of Rituparno Ghosh and even Bachchan fans, might be disappointed as they might find less of Bachchan, when they had expected much more (blame it on gender centric title The Last Lear); in fact the first half an hour is dedicated to the three women, establishing their bond and creating a curiosity about this aging actor who has been wronged by the film-unit (particularly its director Siddharth).

The film has its moments though, performances (more of that later) and moments:

The complete shock of Harry when a young journo (obviously unaware of Shakespeare) confuses Oberon (fairy from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) for Oberoi and owing to constant reference to Robin thinks it to be straight out of Robinhood.

Reluctance of a starlet, Shabnam, to learn method acting.

The constant changing of the locations and the time.

All these moments are dealt very tellingly, in fact inferences are drawn straight out of life.

We have journos, ill prepared, doing the lead story.

We have such passionate (seemingly senile) actors who would kill for the sake of their craft.

We have actresses, who are acting, because of that wow face and fab frame.

We have girls being abused by their boyfriends or spouses (deftly delved into through the eyes of ‘haves’ Preity Zinta and ‘have nots’ Divya Dutta.

Technically the film is pretty simple, with simple frame compositions, yet beautifully captured through the lens of Abhik Mukhopadyay.

Technically the film might be simple and directorially it will receive mixed reviews, but the unanimous up for the film is its performances.

Preity Zinta enacts her part with her usual zing. Sheifali Shah is first rate and Divya Dutta as a nurse, who is not so happy with her abusive boyfriend, yet wants to stick to him, is a complete natural.

However, it is Arjun Rampal, who is a revelation, for the first time this hunk actually acts. Cast as a director who will go to any lengths to satiate his creativity (shades of OSO’s Mukesh Mehra), he is just perfect.

As for Amitabh Bachchan, he is simply first rate. Bachchan’s Shakespearian-fueled Harish is a storm of passion. In fact, you live his devotion to the stage and his devout passion for the Bard.

Allow yourself to get swept up in the power of Shakespearian recitation, and the quirks of an old, creative man. It is a pleasure to watch and listen to Bachchan declaiming lines from "Lear" and rendering advice and wisdom in his rich, stentorian voice, though it is not enough to sustain the film.

Rating: 5 on 10