An uncomplicated, unpretentious and sweetly sad film on caring for
parents, obsession with excretion, attachment for roots and above all on
a love of life that can see fulfillment and not incompleteness in
death. Everyone was great in terms of performances and Amitabh Bachchan
after quite a long time completely transformed himself for this role
which was fantastic to see. Gone were the baritone and the overwhelming
body language and the loudness this time emerged from within the
character and not his performance. His poker-faced silence with its
child-like vulnerability when rebuked by others, Irrfan or Deepika or
anyone else just goes to show his calibre and reach as an actor. With
his real life personality and screen memory as a larger-than life
persona, it's not easy to portray that kind of down-to-earth sloppiness
on screen but he did it effortlessly. He was irritating, adorable and
heartwarming. Irrfan and Deepika were excellent too, not overdoing
things at all. Deepika has come a long way as an actor and it's great to
see her growth. Everyone else from Maushumi to Jishu were true to their
parts. Yes, the end was predictable and formulaic but not overdone. In
fact the director was very careful about not making it melodramatic. The
film was visually soothing and Anupam Roy's music touched many
strings...
On the metaphorical valence of 'motion' etc, it's interesting that Maushumi at one point makes a joke that it's all about Amitabh's 'menopause'...He's a widower and at the fag end of his sexual life and hence an alternative obsession could have replaced the interest in the life of the body in a sexual sense...his 'medical' interest in the interior of the body in the conversation with Irrfan towards the end in Kolkata is revealing I think...the scatological obsession comes from his fixation with the inner life of the body...all the inner space we don't see as Beckett would've said. And this could also be connected with his outspokenness about his daughter's lack of virginity, 'sexual independence' n so on.
On a personal note, it was lovely to see Kolkata from here in Australia...hearing the old tunes and encountering the old haunts...the old haunts never fail to haunt ...the nostalgia element was full on from Tagore to Jibone ki Pabo na and from Ei poth jodi na to Pagla khabi kI.
On the metaphorical valence of 'motion' etc, it's interesting that Maushumi at one point makes a joke that it's all about Amitabh's 'menopause'...He's a widower and at the fag end of his sexual life and hence an alternative obsession could have replaced the interest in the life of the body in a sexual sense...his 'medical' interest in the interior of the body in the conversation with Irrfan towards the end in Kolkata is revealing I think...the scatological obsession comes from his fixation with the inner life of the body...all the inner space we don't see as Beckett would've said. And this could also be connected with his outspokenness about his daughter's lack of virginity, 'sexual independence' n so on.
On a personal note, it was lovely to see Kolkata from here in Australia...hearing the old tunes and encountering the old haunts...the old haunts never fail to haunt ...the nostalgia element was full on from Tagore to Jibone ki Pabo na and from Ei poth jodi na to Pagla khabi kI.
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