As a girl quietly in love, there is mischief in her graces, grace in her mischief. A blush paints her cheek, the joy of night resides in her tresses. Her voice has a rare resonance and her eloquent eyes the gentle glow of an early evening sunset. An emotion unbecoming of her lovely face is not an emotion worthy of nurturing. Director Pradip Sarkar realises there is no beauty in vanity, hence his girl is beautiful without being vain, she is fetching without being beguiling.
She is a fine actress, too, with none of the aura of a star - for a couple of hours her happiness is ours, her sorrow is ours too. She has that rare quality: she makes you smile with her happiness, makes you feel sad over her sorrow.
The future comes wrapped with many possibilities, and she will doubtless go on to be many things to many people. But here she plays a beloved - of two guys, one of whom, Saif, has lived so long with love he has almost forgotten about it, the other, Sanjay Dutt, who feels love has to live with the first sight. If the former is arrogant in his elegance, the other is withered in his lonesome state. He seeks no millions, only that precious something money cannot buy. Around them are some people rich outside, poor inside, others who know the difference between necessities and niceties.
Amid them all is Vidya's Lolita, a working girl whose fingers are meant for a synthesiser, her hands to be pampered with silks, lips to be teased with a petal or two. In the not too distant future, she will be courted by millions. She is worthy of all adoration.
Three cheers and a full-throated hurrah for Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Sarkar for spinning together an essay that is beautiful without being shallow, that is sparkling without being deficient in depth. The attention to detail here - as in the portrayal of character artistes, the attire of the cast, the ambience, the geometrician's accuracy in editing - is bewitching. And the music - including an adaptation of a song by Rabindranath Tagore - grows on you gradually enhancing the appeal of the film.
Now top that up with some fulfilling performances not just by the lead trio but also the likes of Dia Mirza, Raima Sen, and cameos by Rekha and Rita Ganguly, and you have a film that is worth a repeat visit.
This cinematic adaptation of an early 20th Century classic of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay is a classic in itself. Forget what Bimal Roy and five others might have done in earlier adaptations, revel in this moment now. Really, Pradip Sarkar, who recently gave us that memorable advertisement, "Pappu paas ho gaya!... .", has passed his test with flying colours.
MR. AND MRS. SMITH
(At Wave, Noida; and Delhi theatres)
WOW! This is a dream week for cinemagoers! As if the ample charms of "Parineeta" were not enough, here is a pair that is reported for even greater off-screen chemistry - Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The tabloids have had a free run talking of things they probably do not even know. Never mind. All the speculation has helped director Doug Liman's film.
It has generated so much hype about the lead pair - both are supposedly among the ten sexiest men and women in the world - that any delay in showing "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in this part of the world could have been construed as a conspiracy.
So finally, here comes the pair that lives up to all the bidding, all the hope. The chemistry works! And how! The two complement each other so well, one takes over where the other finishes, just like a relay race.
Small wonder the director decided his cast was enough to draw in the people, that any further attention to the script or the screenplay would only serve to dilute the fun.
The risk is well taken, and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" will all its brisk action, unhurried pace of marital interaction and sizzling martial art display is a delight. The humour is subtle, the plot focused, the editing crisp.
Result? A film that sails to safety riding on the charisma and chutzpah of the lead pair. As a husband and wife, now estranged, now reconciling, they are plausible.
They have their idiosyncrasies - he cannot put his towel on the hanger in the bath, she would always close the oven with her foot. On a good day, they fight over who would pass the salad at the centre of the table. On more professional ones, they take up arms! If as friends they are good, as foes they bring out the best in each other! Yes, unknown to each other, they are both hired assassins!
All is bearable until they find themselves on an assignment where they have to kill one person they see in a desert. Who is that person? No prizes for guessing that in what is essentially a two-character film! Enough to say that in life everything may not always have a happy ending but in movies, they usually do. After all, aren't movies supposed to be a refined form of escapism?
Go for this. This invitation of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" should not be turned down.
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