The sensationalist approach director Ram Gopal Verma has been taking recently brings me much dismay. The movie Nishabd (meaning: speechless) did, as its name suggests, leave me speechless but in no good sense of the word. I was numbed by the disconnected plot and incomplete portrayal of each character. I will not divulge details of the plot which are available on other websites as well as Wikipedia.
What I know about the characters: A misbehaved and rude 19 year old Jia with flimsy shorts making up most of her wardrobe. A pseudo-intellectual sixty-four year old Vijay going through a slightly overdue mid-life crisis, obviously unappreciated and easily flattered. And yes, of course, the matronly wife who seems like a good mother, a diginified character who has been married to Mr.64 for 27 years. Would one predict love story? Nah! But Ramu does it....why? So that we all are watching struck, our jaws to the floor, the men drooling, the women clucking their disapproval, the teenage girls aping the female protagonist. But is it good cinema? Nah!
Why would anybody take the Lolita concept and try to portray it as a love story. Lolita portrays the tragic consequences of an old man's obsession with a much younger girl and the sad downfall of innocence. If indeed Mr.Verma was going for the Lolita image he has not only failed miserably but insulted a classic.
Character development and background for the main individuals in the plot were seriously lacking leaving the audience not wanting to empathize or identify with any one of them. I do sincerely hope that India's current delusional youth, hell-bent on aping the West (which is deranged as it is) does not pick up on the "Take Light" tag line that is repeated by Jiah Khan to the point of provoking extreme annoyance and chagrin. "A star has been born" was the comment about Jiah Khan, on one of the reviews for this movie. I wonder how they knew....the camera was on her legs most of the time.
Mr.Amitabh Bachchan seems misplaced, uncomfortable and there are points during the plot where you just want to go "Aww, just let him be the dad she wants him to be and he so is!!" His body language and expressions are those of a father. For his sake and my own, I would have liked the story much better if the female protagonist were to be the young and confused seductress who misdirects her affinity for a father figure only to be treated by him as a child or a protege. If the story would have culminated into a more realistic depiction where the older man by virtue of his maturity would have guided the young woman's unconscious need for a missing father figure in the right direction one could've identified with both characters: a misguided and cocky youth and the nurturing essence of a father. But that wouldn't have allowed Ram Gopal Verma to exercise his trademark provocative sensationalism that I refered to at the very start of this review. He doesn't seem to realize that drawing attention is not difficult, keeping the viewer hooked is where the true challenge lies.
My biggest disappointment was Revathy's character (the wife). How shallow of Mr.Verma to project such a promising female character in a one-dimensional light. As a woman I find it upsetting to see an actor such as Revathy being cast in a role that illustrates the "poor, matronly wife" stereotype.
Worth mentioning here, are two previous contemporary efforts to showcase a similar concept that were a lot more effective sans the disturbing sleaziness of Nishabd: Sur and Jogger's Park. Those who belong to my generation might not recognize the movie that first introduced me to a relationship between a younger woman and an older man. This movie was Seema (1955, starring Nutan and Balraj Sahani). It developed the characters and their personalities so beautifully over the course of the movie that the culmination of that relationship was not only a welcome transition but an anticipated one.
I wish Nishabd would've brought me to 'speechless' and left me there...but it went a step further and added a bitter taste to my movie palate.
5 comments:
This is Ibrahim. I saw your post in movie review community..
you are finding fault with the theme of the film? you should understand it is such an important subject that someone should come forward to discuss it. in indian context only someone of Amitabh stature can move forward with it. in that sense amitabh has again did justice to his uncomparable stardom.
what makes you believe that a man at 60 would never fall in love with someone at 18.you wanted amitabh to advice ziah as a father? it would have been ridiculous. many have already did that. amitabh and varma are not needed for that age old sentiment.
some truths may come hard on us. but accepting those are the only way to move forward...
Hi Ibrahim,
Firstly, I apreciate your taking the time to leave me a comment. I am very open to conflicting views and hence posted your comment almost as soon as I received it. You have made two very excellent points; it is very likely for a 60 year old man to fall in love with an 18 year old. I too believe that age is not a barrier for love. Secondly, I agree that truth is not dictated by popularity of opinion and it takes great courage for a filmmaker to deviate from what is socially acceptable.
Now, coming to my rebuttal: I did not disagree with the theme of the film but the execution of the concept. If I were to disagree with the theme I wouldn't have mentioned three other contemporary as well as old attempts at showcasing this theme of love between generations (Sur, Joggers' Park and Seema). Also, if you read my review of the movie Eklavya you will know that Mr.Bachchan's recent acting exploits have my utmost respect. However I believe that one of the major flaws of the movie was character analysis. Often dismissed as a mere technicality this aspect of films is very crucial in determining whether every character has a believable persona to represent. Otherwise no matter how good the actor, he will never be able to adequately depict the character.
In the movie Nishabd, the director has portrayed Jiah as a young, disturbed and complicated girl and zoomed in on her raw sexuality. The character of Vijay,the 60 year old protagonist is inadequately explored and for some reason lust is almost entirely excluded from his general feelings towards Jiah which makes it very hard to relate to since it is only human to deal with physical as well as emotional inclinations simultaneously, isn't it? His 27 year old marriage and the wife are illustrated in a shallow one dimensional light. The end is abrupt and the audience is left high and dry without a full grasp on the filmmaker's vision (or lack thereof).
Several good movies have explored socially unacceptable themes and done so with remarkable delicacy. Mr.Varma's movie however fell short of thought-provocation and only addressed sense-provocation in Nishabd.
I always find it extremely gratifying to have a healthy discussion and debate. Hence I hope I was able to address your issues with my movie review and look forward to more of your insightful comments.
Now, my question to you is: would you define feelings of affinity or mutual appreciation developed between a 60 year old man and his daughter's friend within a short span of a week, as love? Would it have been equally acceptable if a 60 year old woman fell in love with her son's 18 year old friend who calls her 'Aunty' or would we feel some level of discomfort? I ponder over such philosophies and wonder if it is really love that is being explored or female sexuality that is being sold in the name of art and ill-defined intellect.
Hi this is Ibrahim again.No need to thank me because you are giving space for my views.
about your question... i don't believe in love portrayed in cinemas. actually there is no such emotion called love. the only valid emotion in this context is that we find some companions more comfortable.that companion may be of same gender or opposites. we like to live with them. this desire to be with someone can arise in just a weeks time. i mean, i have felt some people of my same gender very close to me in just a weeks time.and if such a person belongs to opposite gender we may wish to marry them.whether we propose and marry is different. but the desire can arise in a week.
even in this film they are not marrying.but their desire to live together is not absolutely foolish.
about the film.. i am also not all praise for the film. but i dont want this film to be derated to just an average skin flick or so...
thanks
Hahahaha !!!!
hey aditi, this debate is more fun that ur critique or the film.
To me the film was trash. For me a film is like a book, if it cant grip me in first 15 minutes, then I dont believe in wasting my time with the rest.
As far as topic or content, I dont think it was new to Indian cinema.
Im not a loveguru, but thankfully I do understand the different between an infatuation, attraction, crush and LOVE.
Also it is very important to understand "IN THIS CONTEXT" that we are talking about Love and not"friendship" .
Also one question that crossed by mind- is committment or desire to spend rest of the life together and marrying too different things??? so how does it make marrying a fooling version but living together a sane option????
Now said that, lemme stick my guns back on the film.
We have this habit of glorying anything that is not conventional bollywood and patronise the stars(actors), they said Jiah was next best thing... I am still wondering "to what". Amitabh is fine actor, no debate...but just because he is fine actor,lets not try to gulp everything he puts forth.
actually I can go on and on and on ...how this film bored me, but aditi has done a fine job and i dont wanna add my bricks to her TAJ
thankyou for your comments 'anonymous'. I do wish you would've left your name with the comments!
i usually criticize a movie more so on the execution than on the concept. one cannot disagree with the philosophy of a filmmaker but can evaluate the portrayal or depiction of that philosophy based on the technicalities that make a film/ story believable.
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