What is a film all about? Rituporno Ghosh's 2010 film Abohoman starts off with this line. Is a film about representing the facts as it were, or is it a filmmaker's own opinion about the facts and the characters that are part of his film. Or is a film about capturing moments and arranging them together to weave a meaningful story, a story that sounds believable, a story which the viewer can identify himself/herself with. Maybe it is all of the above, but a film can never come close to capturing all the complexities of a person's life, especially the complexities of human relations.
Abohoman, means Eternal; something that has been there for ages. The film is about the life of a renowned Bengali film director and his relationship with his son, his wife and an actress with whom he supposedly had a love affair. The film shows three different timelines (chain of events) simultaneously -
Abohoman, means Eternal; something that has been there for ages. The film is about the life of a renowned Bengali film director and his relationship with his son, his wife and an actress with whom he supposedly had a love affair. The film shows three different timelines (chain of events) simultaneously -
- The Present - Renowned bengali director Aniket (played by Dipankar De) has recently passed away. People have gathered at his house to pay their respects. At the house are present - Aniket's wife Dipti (played by Mamata Shankar), their son Apratim (played by Jishu Sengupta) , his wife played by Riya Sen and a lot of other guests. Also present is Srimati Sarkar (played by Ananya Chatterjee) a renowned actress who was given her first big break in the movies by Aniket as Binodini, and with whom he was rumored to have a love affair.
- The movie Amar Katha - Interspersed throughout the movie are scenes from the movie Amar Katha which was about Nati Binodini who was a renowned theatre actress of Bengal in early 1900s. The movie was directed by Aniket and starred Srimati Sarkar or Shikha, her original name.
- The past - This timeline tells the story of Shikha's purported affair with Aniket, during the making of the film Amar Katha, and the effect this scandal has on his family and his son's life.
Binodini was Aniket's dream project and he once wanted his wife Dipti to play that role but that did not happen. But when he decides to take up the project once again he selects Shikha (Shrimati Sarkar), on Dipti's insistence, for the role. Aniket's first impression of Shikha was that of an unsophisticated girl but Dipti felt she had the chutzpah that Binodini's character required. Dipti prepares her for the role, gives her the name Srimati (another name for Radha) and also helps her learn to deal with a difficult director like Aniket. Eventually Aniket starts to grow a liking for Shikha, her coquetry, her uninhibited spontaneity. Aniket starts staying back at Shikha's place after shooting as the news of the scandal quickly spreads through the film circles and reaches Dipti and her son's ears. Apratim (Aniket's son) then a young man tries to console his mother in this time of difficulty. The affair is never openly discussed in the family, Aniket never admits that he is in love with Shikha, at best he was infatuated by her, but Dipti was convinced of their affair maybe because she thought that she lacked the youthful charm that Shikha possessed and was jealous of her. She resents Aniket for this and her resentment influences Apratim's feelings for his father. He writes an article in a popular magazine about his father's affair criticizing him severely; interestingly it was Dipti who had sent him to the magazine's editor to write something in the magazine and embellish his bengali writing skills. Years later, after Aniket's death Apratim tells his mother that he wants to make a film on his father's personal life. When Dipti opposes this idea saying it would be scandalous, Apratim then attributes the article he wrote about his father to his mother's desire to avenge herself through him. Aniket himself was never disappointed or hurt with his son's article, although the editor of the magazine had called him up to inform him about it before the article went to print. Aniket had asked the publisher to print the article saying -"A son has written what he thinks of his father. why should we censor it". Aniket was aware what his son thought of him, but he never tried to explain himself to him, maybe because he was a complicated person, maybe because he was ashamed of himself or maybe because he didn't know what to tell him, but nevertheless he always wanted his son to scale greater heights than him and he thought the article was the beginning of a bright career. Caught up in all this was the outsider, Shikha, much like her on screen character Binodini (who was a prostitute but later became a theatre sensation mentored by Girish Ghosh), she felt lonely and a victim of unrequited love. Although she loved Aniket, he never quite returned the same affection towards her. Years later while talking to Apratim, she admits that Dipti (Aniket's wife) probably cared more for her than Aniket himself.
Rituporno Ghosh masterfully deals with the delicate nuances of human relations, without passing any judgement. The film contains some of the best dialogues I have ever heard and the director juggles with the three timelines quite skillfully. The torment in Shikha's personal life is juxtaposed beautifully with the problems in Binodini's life through scenes from the film. Binodini's relationship with her mentor Girish Ghosh in a way reflected her relationship with Aniket. The complex relationship of Apratim with his father is depicted superbly by Rituporno Ghosh. There is a scene where Apratim while caring for his father during his last days, tells him about the movie he wants to make on his life. Apratim says that he is afraid that the film could become too personal, he wonders if anyone would be able to identify with the film. Aniket replies by saying - "Do you think you are the only son who feels he has been betrayed by his father?". Aniket then asks him - "Can I make this movie with you?". Apratim replies - "Then mom should also be a part of it.". At that Aniket says - "yes why not, your mom should also be part of it, so should be Shikha, We all will make the movie together, bit by bit." That in essence is the theme of the movie. A person's life is shaped by so many characters that he meets through out his journey of life, but it's impossible for a film to embrace all the aspects, all the complexities of a person's life.
All the 4 lead characters have delivered stellar performances. I was quite moved by Mamata Shankar's performance of a strong willed woman who takes care of her family despite all her mental trauma.I was disappointed that she did not receive a National Award. Ananya Chatterjee did receive a national Award for Best supporting actress, and so did Rituporno Ghosh for best director.
Abohoman is one of the best bengali movies I have seen, although I haven't seen many but I have seen most of Satyajit Ray's work. I don't think any other director of the present era could have dealt with such a delicate subject so skilfully than Rituporno Ghosh. The movie's biggest asset was it's powerful script, the writer made sure that he didn't go overboard with emotions as is the case more often with Indian cinema. The dialogues were cleverly written - so that the words that were not spoken were as important as those that were.
It's a must watch for lovers of Cinema, bengalis and non-bengalis alike.
Abohoman is one of the best bengali movies I have seen, although I haven't seen many but I have seen most of Satyajit Ray's work. I don't think any other director of the present era could have dealt with such a delicate subject so skilfully than Rituporno Ghosh. The movie's biggest asset was it's powerful script, the writer made sure that he didn't go overboard with emotions as is the case more often with Indian cinema. The dialogues were cleverly written - so that the words that were not spoken were as important as those that were.
It's a must watch for lovers of Cinema, bengalis and non-bengalis alike.
