'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.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Mumbai, May 17: TV actor Manmeet Grewal, who worked on shows like "Aadat Se Majboor" and "Kuldeepak", committed suicide after struggling with dwindling finances amid lockdown, family friend-producer Manjit Singh Rajput said.

Grewal, who was originally from Punjab, hanged himself on Friday night at his Kharghar residence here where he lived with his wife. He was 32.

Rajput, who had known Grewal for nearly seven years, said the actor was facing "financial crisis" and wasn't able to earn due to the lockdown. 

"He was going through a major financial issue and he was also in depression. The added pressure of not being able to repay loans amid this (no work phase) got to him. His wife is completely shocked and devastated," Rajput told PTI.

The producer said last rites of the actor were performed on Saturday. 

Grewal was working on projects like a webseries and some commercials, which were put on hold due to the nationwide lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Mumbai, Jan 4: After the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur constituted a panel to decide whether legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poem 'Hum Dekhenge' is offensive to Hindu sentiments, filmmaker Shoojit Sircar had a cryptic take on the burning controversy.

"Best time for the rich & small businesses to make money as most of the population are engaged with a revolutionary poet named Faiz," Sircar said in a tweet.

The poem, penned down by the iconic poet in 1979, came into limelight again recently during the protests against CAA and NRC in IIT Kanpur.

Earlier on Thursday, senior lyricist Javed Akhtar rejected the claims about the poem being 'anti-Hindu'.

IIT Kanpur on Thursday had set up a committee to look into the issue.

The move came after a complaint that the students who took out a peaceful march in the campus on December 17 against the Citizenship Amendment Act and in solidarity with Jamia Millia Islamia students, sung it as a mark of protest, which hurt the sentiments of other communities.

The CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians who faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and came to India on or before December 31, 2014.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 16: Barbara Broccoli, who has since long been the producer of the James Bond franchise, recently clarified in an interview that the 007 character won't be played by a woman in the forthcoming rendition.

Broccoli, accompanied by her half brother and fellow producer Michael G. Wilson, told Variety: "He can be of any color, but he is male."

She went on to say: "I believe we should be creating new characters for women -- strong female characters. I'm not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that."

According to Fox News, the current Bond hero, Daniel Craig, announced last November that he would cease to play the legendary character once he is done with the upcoming 'No Time To Die' movie that is scheduled for release in coming April.

Commenting on Daniel parting ways with the franchise, Broccoli said: "I'm in total denial. I've accepted what Daniel has said, but I'm still in denial. It's too traumatic for me."

Fox News reported last July that the British Actress Lashana Lynch could possibly star in the 2020 Bond flick, but such speculations were dispelled once the trailer for the movie was brought out last December.

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