Friday, 21 September 2012

Chitrangada-Review


Looking at the promotional videos of the movie, Chitrangada - The Crowning Wish, one might get the feeling that it is a personal film. You might even say that the film takes us one step closer towards a progressive society which is still coming to terms with the concept of homosexuality. Or, you might also refer this movie to be educating about same sex relations rather than preaching about the same. Whatever your opinion might be, Chitrangada - The Crowning Wish will always remain a film that you cannot ignore in the context of modern Indian cinema.

Mixing legend with realism, Rituparno Ghosh throws a lot of questions towards us while answering a few while leaving the rest open to individual understanding. How difficult is it for parents to accept the fact that their son is gay? How difficult is it for a gay man to be told repeatedly that he needs to see a doctor to treat himself? And how traumatically shabby is it for a male couple to realize that they will never be allowed to adopt a baby even when they know that biologically they can never have a baby of their own?

While it's true that movie makers overseas have plainly worn out themselves dealing with same sex dilemma and complexities, Indian cinema is slowly but gradually coming to terms with this trend. This fact will surely make Chitrangada - The Crowning Wish a cause for rejoicing. However, by looking at the movie in its totality, there is still a lot more paths to be treaded before we can finally celebrate.

The film stands due to some very commanding performances. Jisshu Sengupta has delivered one of the finest performances of his life and he portrays the role of a junkie to perfection. Minimalism has always been a forte for Anjan Dutt, and he uses this skill to play the role of a counselor to perfection. His patience helps in recounting and reliving the emotional moments of the protagonist's life.

Anasuya and Dipankar bring to mind a sense of compassion that's applicable to the modern society when they portray the role of Rituparno's parents. Sanjay Nag was a good choice for the role of the photographer in the movie. Raima Sen and Aparajita Auddy, though brief in their presence, deliver according to how the role has been fleshed out for them.

Abhik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography ensures Chitrangada is a visual treat. Debajyoti Mishra's selection of songs including the background score is stimulating.

However, the film belongs to Rituparno. Rituparno comes up with an interesting performance putting to rest all speculations that he will portray the role of a gay protagonist well as he is aware of the psyche of a gay male. The quandary of wanting to change sex, the selflessness of being able to go undergo sex-change surgery just for the sake of love and then accept rejection only to be able to call out to the same person again - it would have been an uphill task for any actor to depict all these on screen.

The best scene in the movie is the poignant scene of a mother and son when the mother says: "I gave birth to this body, which is yours... I have a right to know, whatever goes on in this body. I have a right to know, if it is changing, transforming..."

We know that all of Rituparno’s mannerisms do not appeal to us. It would be more unappealing to those who are numb to the wants of homosexual desires or not matured enough to the idea of watching physical intimacy between two males on screen. For these, Chitrangada – The Crowing Wish will seem to be an excuse to take the help of myth and mould it with reality just to prove a point.

Interestingly, Chitrangada as a film that will help you evolve as a movie goer. The film goes beyond vague explorations of the predicament of which gender to use to address a man in the process of being a woman. It questions, as it were, the uselessness of looking for eternalness. This is a movie, which one must watch with an open mind and for Rituparno Ghosh.

Bhavesh Bhatia loves to watch movies and updates his blog regularly with review writing. He also updates his blog with other website content writing. So for any information on 100% original SEO content, get in touch with him.

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Via Bhavesh Bhatia’s blog

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