A rainy afternoon in Calcutta……
I was curious to see a Rituparno Ghosh movie after hearing and reading about the critically acclaimed Choker Bali. I was pretty much bored to death, and in spite of hearing that Raincoat was painfully slow paced and empty, I decided to go ahead and watch it. Well, Ghosh paints a poignant picture of selfless sacrificing lovers, infused with subtleties and symbolisms on a gloomy, wet monsoon canvas. Did that make sense? I thought that’s how a quasi art quasi commercial movie review usually is….. Okay let me cut the crap and get to what I really wanted to write about….
Raincoat (inspired by O.Henry’s ‘Gift of the Magi’) is a movie that is nice in parts and dull and lifeless in most. The storyline is pretty simple, Ajay Devgan and Aishwarya Rai play estranged lovers who meet after a long time. Though mired in problems of their own, they lie to each other about how they couldn’t be doing better in their lives. This act meanders on and finally culminates in them making selfless sacrifices to ensure each other’s happiness.
Ajay Devgan’s characterization is very realistic- foolishly in love, the kind who makes you bang your head in frustration when he wants to give away all he has for his love, when all he has is nothing. It is Aishwarya Rai who comes across as a little cold and artificial. In an effort to portray woman as being more practical in dealing with unfulfilled love affairs and having the ability to move on in life, Ghosh makes Aishwarya appear cranky and indifferent- as though she really doesn’t care much about not marrying Ajay Devgan.
There are some aspects which stand out in the movie- soulful and stirring Hindustani classical music with special credit due to Shubha Mudgal(What a voice!!); The rain which becomes such an integral character in the scenes, so much so that it seems to pervade the atmosphere around the viewer too; the short but beautiful conversations between Ajay Devgan and his friend’s wife; And the subtle but unexpected twist in the climax.
On the whole, Raincoat was like a firecracker with a really long fuse- Initially, the anticipation keeps you interested in the burning fuse, but as it goes on and on, you feel frustrated and the sputter in the end makes you wonder if it was really worth the long wait…
Raincoat (inspired by O.Henry’s ‘Gift of the Magi’) is a movie that is nice in parts and dull and lifeless in most. The storyline is pretty simple, Ajay Devgan and Aishwarya Rai play estranged lovers who meet after a long time. Though mired in problems of their own, they lie to each other about how they couldn’t be doing better in their lives. This act meanders on and finally culminates in them making selfless sacrifices to ensure each other’s happiness.
Ajay Devgan’s characterization is very realistic- foolishly in love, the kind who makes you bang your head in frustration when he wants to give away all he has for his love, when all he has is nothing. It is Aishwarya Rai who comes across as a little cold and artificial. In an effort to portray woman as being more practical in dealing with unfulfilled love affairs and having the ability to move on in life, Ghosh makes Aishwarya appear cranky and indifferent- as though she really doesn’t care much about not marrying Ajay Devgan.
There are some aspects which stand out in the movie- soulful and stirring Hindustani classical music with special credit due to Shubha Mudgal(What a voice!!); The rain which becomes such an integral character in the scenes, so much so that it seems to pervade the atmosphere around the viewer too; the short but beautiful conversations between Ajay Devgan and his friend’s wife; And the subtle but unexpected twist in the climax.
On the whole, Raincoat was like a firecracker with a really long fuse- Initially, the anticipation keeps you interested in the burning fuse, but as it goes on and on, you feel frustrated and the sputter in the end makes you wonder if it was really worth the long wait…
posted by Dreamer at 9:09 AM
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