'Masaan': An emotionally engaging tale

July 24, 2015

Troy Ribeiro, Jul 24: Film: "Masaan"; Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Richa Chadda, Vicky Kaushal, Shweta Tripathi, Saurabh Chadhary, Vineet Kumar, Pankaj Tripathi, Nikhil Sahni, Bhagwan Tiwari; Director: Neeraj Ghaywan; Rating: ***1/2

masaan10An Indo-French co-production, "Masaan" is a poignant tale of two young couples, whose lives are intertwined by fate, set against the backdrop of a crematorium on the ghats of the river Ganges in Benares.

Educated and fairly independent, Devi Pathak -- although living in a small town -- is unconventional, experimental and unapologetic about her life. While the unexpected death of her lover Piyush has her internalizing her traumatic loss, she simultaneously balances to maintain truce with her father Vidyadhar Pathak (Sanjay Mishra), a former Sanskrit teacher, now selling knick-knacks on the bank of the Ganges. She is in disagreement with her father who is forced to shell out a hefty bribe to the police inspector in order to keep her "shame" under wraps.

On the other hand, Deepak's tale is a tragic romance of a promising engineering student born into the family of corpse-burners. He falls in love with an upper-caste girl, Shalu Gupta, who is willing to elope if her family opposes their alliance.

For a maiden venture, Ghaywan's "Masaan", is a sensitively handled, honest film with some intrepid truths about small towns in India, giving you an insight into the mind of the internet-savvy youth. These are adroitly woven into the narrative.

Varun Grover's layered script, with a seemingly complex screenplay, oscillates between romance and melodrama. The screenplay unlocks simply, through the realistic lives of the characters, bringing to the fore, societal taboos like morality, sexual exploration and romance in a caste-driven society.

Every character is intricately well-etched and the actors leave an indelible mark with their powerful but natural performances.

Vicky Kaushal as Deepak, with his boy-next-door looks, is impressive. A bundle of talent, he slips into his character with unquestionable ease and sincerity. He steals your heart with his coy demeanour when he woos his lady love. You empathise with his pain and frustrations. The scene where he breaks down before his friends after losing Shalu is heart-wrenching. He is aptly supported in a realistic performance by Shweta Tripathi as Shalu, a collegian, who falls in love with his simplicity. On screen, they make an endearing pair.

Richa Chadda with a stoically glum and a stubborn demeanour as Devi, borders on being a rebel without a cause. A misfit in her surroundings, she tells her father, "jitni chhoti jagah, utni chhoti soch". While she portrays Devi with conviction, the streak of independence in her character is not entirely substantial.

Sanjay Mishra as Vidyadhar Pathak, the small town Sanskrit teacher and father who is burdened with societal pressures, renders a realistic and brilliant performance.

Plagued by the thought of the ignominy he will bring to his family, Saurabh Chadhary as Piyush, in a small but significant role, is convincing.

Bhagwan Tiwari as the corrupt police inspector, Pankaj Tripathi as Sathyaji -- Devi's besotted colleague, and Nikhil Sahni as Jhonta -- the earnest little boy who works for Vidhyadhar, make their presence felt.

While the story and performances are intense, what breaks the monotony and provides relief, is the humour that is strewn occasionally in the form of taut one-liners and old film songs. The earthy background score along with the soulful songs by the indie band Indian Ocean is soothing and meditative. It encapsulates the flavour of the place and meshes well into the narration.

Cinematographer Avinash Arun Dhaware's camera work is fascinating. He brilliantly captures Benares in all its elements. The atmospheric lighting at the crematorium adds to the eerie and aesthetic value of the scenes.

Overall, "Masaan" keeps you riveted emotionally and haunts you long after you leave the theatre.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 6,2020

Jul 6: Tony Award-nominated actor Nick Cordero, who specialized in playing tough guys on Broadway in such shows as Waitress, A Bronx Tale and Bullets Over Broadway, has died in Los Angeles after suffering severe medical complications after contracting the coronavirus. He was 41.

Cordero died Sunday at Cedars-Sinai hospital after more than 90 days in the hospital, according to his wife Amanda Kloots. “God has another angel in heaven now,” she posted on Instagram. “Nick was such a bright light. He was everyone’s friend, loved to listen, help and especially talk. He was an incredible actor and musician. He loved his family and loved being a father and husband.”

Nick Cordero entered the emergency room on March 30 and had a succession of health setbacks, including mini-strokes, blood clots, septis infections, a tracheostomy and a temporary pacemaker implanted. He had been on a ventilator and unconscious and had his right leg amputated. A double lung transplant was being explored.

Kloots, sent him daily videos of her and their 1-year-old son Elvis, so he could see them if he woke up, and urged friends and fans to join a daily sing-a-long. A GoFundMe page to pay for medical expenses has raised over $600,000.

“I tell him, I say, ‘You’re gonna walk out of this hospital, honey. I believe it. I know you can,’” she told “CBS This Morning” over the summer. ”‘We’re gonna dance again. You’re gonna hold your son again.’ My line is, ‘Don’t get lost. Get focused.’”

The lanky Cordero originated the menacing role of husband Earl opposite his estranged wife, played by Jessie Mueller, in Waitress as well as the role of Sonny in Chazz Palminteri’s A Bronx Tale. It was at Bullets Over Broadway where Cordero met his wife. The two married in 2017.

Cast members from “Waitress” — Jessie Mueller, Keala Settle, Kimik Glenn and songwriter Sara Bareilles — helped raise money for Cordero by covering his song “Live Your Life.” Sylvester Stallone sent a video with best wishes.

Kloots had said that it was difficult to tell whether Cordero understood what happened to him, but said he could respond to commands by looking up and down when he was alert.

Her husband played a mob soldier with a flare for the dramatic in Broadway’s Woody Allen 1994 film adaptation of Bullets Over Broadway, for which he received a Tony nomination for best-featured actor in a musical. He moved to Los Angeles to star in Rock of Ages.

On the small screen, Nick Cordero appeared in several episodes of Blue Bloods and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and he had a role in the film Going in Style.

Actor and guitarist for Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Van Zandt offered Cordero his first TV acting gig in the final episode of Lilyhammer. After he was hospitalized, Van Zandt teamed up with Constantine Maroulis and Vincent Pastore to make a video performing “Live Your Life.”

Cordero was last onstage in a Kennedy Center presentation of Littler Shop of Horrors. His off-Broadway credits include The Toxic Avenger and Brooklynite.

The coronavirus has sickened other Broadway veterans, including the actors Danny Burstein, Tony Shalhoub, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Gavin Creel, Aaron Tveit and Laura Bell Bundy as well as composer David Bryan. It has also claimed the life of Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 3,2020

Mumbai, Jun 3: Investigators will subject the cloth allegedly used by actor Sushant Singh Rajput to hang himself to "tensile strength" analysis to determine whether it can bear the weight similar to that of the filmstar, as part of probe into his death, an official said on Friday.

Rajput (34) was found hanging at his suburban Bandra residence on June 14.

According to the investigators, the actor ended his life by hanging himself from the ceiling using a green coloured night gown made of cotton.

No suicide note was found from the spot, the police had said then.

Besides viscera from the actors body, the police also sent the gown for chemical and forensic analysis at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in suburban Kalina, he said.

It will take at least three more days to get final forensic report, the official said.

To ascertain the exact cause of death, forensic experts will check pattern of ligature marks around the actors neck and also determine the strength of the gown with the help of "tensile strength" analysis, he said.

The tensile strength test will technically establish whether the cloth can bear around 80kg, the weight of the actor, he said.

The test will help determine if there was any foul play, the official said.

Tensile strength is maximum load that a material can support without fracture when being stretched.

Viscera analysis will help in checking whether there were any traces of chemical, poisonous or narcotics substance in his body, the official said.

"Usually, it takes eight to ten working days to get s report from the FSL in regular cases. But since this case is sensitive, experts are taking more precautions to avoid any kind of error in their analysis," the official said.

The forensic report of the actors mobile phone is also awaited, he said.

Recently, the police received the final post-mortem report of the actor from Cooper Hospital, which mentioned the cause of the death as asphyxia due to hanging"

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Almost two months after the demise of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, actor Preity Zinta on Tuesday watched his last film 'Dil Bechara' for the second time and said it was an 'emotional roller coaster'.

The 'Kal Ho Na Ho' actor shared a picture of one of the scenes from the film on Instagram and thanked film director Mukesh Chhabra for doing justice to the 'Kai Po Che!' actor's last film.

"Saw #Dilbechara again Thank you @castingchhabra for doing full justice to Sushant's last movie," she wrote in the caption.
"It was surreal, a tearjerker and an emotional roller coaster all the way," she added.

She also praised Sushant's co-actor Sanjana Sanghi for doing a "fab job" in the film which happens to be her debut flick.

"@sanjanasanghi96 U and the rest of the cast did a fab job. Congratulations to all of you. #Bittersweet #MissU," the 45-year-old actor further wrote.

Produced by Fox Star Studios, 'Dil Bechara' has been adapted from the famous John Green novel 'The Fault In Our Stars.'

Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai's Bandra residence on June 14.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.