MANJUNATH: Stories with such strong relevance need to be made…and watched more often! [3/5]

In one of the cinema-friendly sequences where the corrupt oil-mafia Golu Goel [Played by convincing Yashpal Sharma] starts seeing and questioning his victim Manjunath’s inner conscience about why wouldn’t he compromised with the on-going corrupted till neck system and if he really believes that his death could bring any iota of the change he has foreseen for country’s future, Manjunath’s blank and worried face brings many questions on the table. For that matter and many more, Sandeep A. Varma’s MANJUNATH is socially very very relevant and an honest effort to underline a 27-year old whistleblower’s sacrifice on the line of duty.

Based on the real life incident of Marketing Manager at Indian Oil Corporation Manjunath’s cold-blooded murder by local oil-mafia, MANJUNATH successfully attempts the documentation of what happened when, why and how. The scattered narrative that goes back and forth to create the enigma that could meet its decided climax with all the pieces of the puzzle put together is very interesting and engaging. Though the film moves at a snail’s pace and seems a bit too stretched at time, it is the raw and real nature of the film that doesn’t bring it down. Film is extensively shot on the real locations in eastern Uttar Pradesh where the actual events happened.  

It is also one of those rare dramas where the protagonist is never a typical hero material but a common looking man who can be too nervous, anxious and restless against the powerful and corrupts to be any possible ground for the rise of a successful confrontation. So, when at first you see Manjunath in his panicky state of mind in shock of what might happen to him, you would never believe your guts that this man could ever stand strong against people of such criminal stature.

MANJUNATH’s biggest strength is the casting of the lead. With his geeky common looks and shaky mannerism, the first-timer Sasho Satiiysh Sarathy takes his own time to make a strong connect with the viewers but once you get comfortable with him, he cuts himself loose with quite a relatable performance. Seema Biswas and Kishore Kadam playing his parents deliver a complete knockout show, especially Seema Biswas. Her chemistry with her son Manjunath in the film has a sheer share of warmth and affection one could expect from any mother-son bonding.

Music score by Indian rock band Parikrama has an experimental touch but sadly doesn’t leave any identifiable mark. Camerawork by Prakash Kutty is excellently atmospheric and earthy. Film if falters on any ground, it is the dead pace in the first half and the too stretched second half in showing the after-effects of Manjunath’s murders including the crowd-funding at IIM by his batch mates to smoothen the fight for justice. A tighter and crispier version at edit table would have been a lot better for the film as whole.

At the end, it is a film that demands one time watch because of its social relevance and a real heroic tale we don’t see, hear or read much nowadays. Corruption has degraded our values in real life to much extent; hopefully this film doesn’t get affected much with cinematic corruption and stays true to its intention, execution and effect at most. A good watch! [3/5]      

THE PAST [Le Passé]: An intricate emotional thriller that stays in your heart [4/5]

Nothing can be as layered as human relationships. And our attitude towards people around us or the approach towards the very life we are in is solely responsible for making it either an enjoyable exercise to explore many a phenomenal stratums underneath or even more complicated to ruin the fascination. To move on, is a must to learn but even returning to the past can have a prolific side-effect to make things brighter on the other side.

The man behind A SEPARATION – 2011’s Oscar winner in Best Foreign Film category, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi is back with THE PAST [Le Passé]- an intricate emotional thriller [I am still looking for an apt genre-segmentation to place it justly] that not only skins off an assortment of emotional acquaintances between every possible relationship under a roof but also evokes required empathy for every person and his/her ability to tackle it in his/her own way.

After 4 years, Ahmad [played by Ali Mosaffa] is in town to meet his 3-times married ex-wife Marie [Bérénice Bejo of ‘THE ARTIST’ ] & to co-operate with her in settling down the divorce process between them, a must for her before marrying a new boyfriend. Ahmad lands up in her house for a short term stay where he re-makes heartrending connection with her daughters and her boyfriend’s son from past marriage. Soon, he starts smelling the combustible emptiness within the walls and before he could really do something about this, the outburst happens to form a big emotional turmoil for everyone in the house.

The beauty lies in the simplistically naïve plot that never looks made-up or adulterated to create drama. Characters take their journey through plausible events and a well-conceived screenplay that justifies every single move taken by them. The emotions are not rare but as raw as anyone would articulate in such situations. Twists in the tale unravel in such flow that neither makes you overtly shaken nor leaves you unreceptive. You don’t really become ‘awestruck’ by the revelations but will sure make a connection here with the events and its grounds.

Performances are convincingly believable and well-defined. For once, your will never find a negative character but the situations that bring out some ‘not so favorable to all’ choice of acts. In fact, every character has its own charm to allure your constant attention. Though you might get little apprehensive about the pace of the film and would probably feel exhausted by a little too much twists in a stretch to reach a feasible end but the top-class cinematography and the slice-of-life look and feel of the film never loses its grip on you.

Experience Ahmad’s soul-stirring relationship with the daughters. Feel the helplessness of a single mother trying to deal with her teenage daughter’s disapproval of her moving on with life. Sense the daughter’s guilt of creating mayhem in her mother’s life. And a kid who’s going through an emotional crisis no one tries to understand. There is so much about life & relationships in Asghar Farhadi’s THE PAST. How much can you learn or unlearn, find out yourself! It is here to stay…in your hearts! [4/5]