Mode C is as much for Calvin as it is for Chaos, as much for Cool as it is for Cold, as much for Class as it is for Crass.

Mode C is a way of life, the Calvin way of life which I am so fascinated by as to keep trying to make it my own way of life. But what exactly is Calvin's way of life, you ask...and I say that there are no clear answers to this one.

I strongly believe, however, that almost all the seriously critical fundamental concepts of life, they are just the bogies under Calvin's bed that he is afraid of. Everyhting else...Miss Wormwood, Susie, Mom and Dad, and of course above all, Hobbes...aren't they all merely the means that he uses to attack these bogies?

It is nothing, therefore, but the perspective of each of these players on the stage of Calvin's dramatic life that helps him fight these bogies and move on in his own unique way...listening to all but doing only what finally makes sense to his own individuality. This is what comes closest, I guess, to the Calvin way of leading one's life...

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Motion, driven by emotions


It is but once in a while that a movie like Piku hits the screens and while there may be a lot of talk about the intended audience for Piku being already past its retirement age, the movie does take on the normal definition of a family movie and turns it around...completely.

The story, or its absence if you may so choose to call it, does not have much to offer but still makes you smilingly indulge in the whimsical ways in which Shoojit Sircar handles and portrays the relationship between Bhashkor Banerjee (played to a fault by Amitabh Bachchan) and his firebrand daughter Piku (Deepika Padukone in a career-defining role). Irrfan Khan's Rana Chaudhary adds to the story in a way that only he can. Rana's character is perfect foil to the intimacy in the father-daughter relationship, representing the audience and ensuring that they do not feel like the only outsiders to the family.

Amidst the existential drama that the family of two and their friends, colleagues and associates partake in, the omnipresent whim takes the father, daughter, loyal servant, and the outsider on a trip to Kolkata and down the memory lane. The journey is as much literal as it is metaphorical for all involved, the old man who realizes the meaning of life as against living, the young daughter who despite her fiery and outspoken nature, learns for the first time to come out of the shadows of her responsibilities. As the outsider falls in love with the titular character and yet holds his own logic and reason against the potential absurdness of family ties, he also undergoes a lesson in moderation and love.

From the old man exhibiting all traits of lovable senility comes the movie's theme of "motion se hi emotion". Obsessed with the movement of his bowels and convinced of being perennially sick, Amitabh's Bhashkor is as cute as he is irritating and annoying. Many in the audience would relate to having experienced some part or the other of Bhashkor in their lives, whether in the form of dealing with the old age and associated idiosyncrasies of their parents or with their own self in case of the senior generation who made that switch to appreciating life from just living it.

Piku's story is as much that of the modern, liberated woman as that of the generation caught between freedom of thought and responsibilities in action. Deepika is brilliant in her depiction of the anger, frustration, and ultimate helplessness of a woman who knows her mind when it comes to everything and everyone else except her father and her responsibilities towards him. While she can decide to spend a night with her colleague and her friend in her house, she is devastated to wake up to her father having suffered a minor heart attack during the night.

Rana as the businessman trying to hold his own amidst a dysfunctional family of an ever taunting mother and a complaining sister, is an interesting character in his own right that makes its presence felt despite the story revolving around Bhashkor and Piku. As he decides to drive a difficult yet important client (who he secretly admires) in Piku all the way from Delhi to Kolkata, Irrfan manages an excellent portrayal of disbelief followed by resigned acceptance at a family that seems normal but is as dysfunctional as his own.

Apart from the three central characters who are all brought alive amazingly well,equally brilliant is the supporting cast. As audience, it is difficult to decide on a favorite out of them: the loyal and seemingly dumb but astute servant Budhan (Balendra Singh), the silent friend and comfort buddy Syed (Jisshu Sengupta), the loving uncle and suspicious aunt living in old-world Kolkata (Sajal Bhattacharya and Swaroopa Ghosh), and of course the infectiously exuberant maternal aunt (Moushumi Chatterjee) who keeps chiding her brother-in-law Bhashkor and his craziness.

Some fabulous dialogues (often in the form of repartee) by Juhi Chaturvedi add chutzpah to the proceedings and the accomplished actors that Amitabh, Irrfan, and even Deepika are, they leverage this to the hilt. Shoojit Sircar's influence is evident throughout the movie, not just in the sensitive portrayal of the delicate relationships in an otherwise fragmented society but also in the loving depiction of the cities of Delhi and Kolkata. He keeps it simple and recounts a story of people more than that of events in their lives.

So you know that Bhashkor needs to get his motion right or that Piku loves her glass of wine and music. You are aware that Rana likes Piku and while he longs to be in her company, neither of them believe in giving a formal shape to their relationship. What you don't know however, is what happens in their lives before and after the few days of their lives that you get to see and which is just fine for the movie is about people and their nuances, enough to fill the two hours of its running time and more.    

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