Rituparno Ghosh Tagged Articles at Cinematical
TIFF Review: The Last Lear
Filed under: Drama », Theatrical Reviews », Festival Reports », Toronto International Film Festival », Cinematical Indie »
Where have I been? Where am I? Fair daylight? I am mightily abused. I should e'en die with pity, to see another thus. I know not what to say. King Lear
It is Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights -- a day that celebrates good triumphing over evil. On this night, a film called The Mask is premiering, festival-be-damned. But it soon becomes clear that there is more behind this cinematic premiere than an ill-conceived schedule. Those involved are terse and on edge -- the film's star, Harish Mishra (Amitabh Bachchan), is notably absent, bedridden for unknown reasons. Shabnam (Preity Zinta), the film's co-star, is also absent, having fled the untrusting eyes and accusations of her husband to be at Harry's side. Director Siddarth (Arjun Rampal) refuses interviews, and rigidly, stoically stares off into space. Meanwhile, Vandana (Shefali Shetty), is boiling with anger that her companion, Harry, has been injured and tossed aside by those he gave everything for.
If it sounds a bit confusing, that's because it is. With The Last Lear (adapted from a play by Utpal Dutt), writer/director Rituparno Ghosh has crafted a slow-to-accelerate film that begins in confusion, but saves itself by weaving into an intriguing story about the dedication of passion, whether it be theatrical, cinematic, romantic, or personal. Present moments are mixed with yellow-toned memories as the director shows two sides of the story -- that of the women, Shabnam, Vandana, and a nurse named Ivy (Divya Dutta), as well as that of the men, as told through journalist Journo Gautam (Jishu Sengupta), who brought Harry and Siddarth together.
Monika's Final TIFF Dispatch: Langella, the Human Tissue and 'Weirdsville' Invades
Filed under: Festival Reports », Cinematical Indie »
Like any fun but exhausting activity, you're anxious for it to be over, but then you miss it when it is. In what seemed like a blink of the eye, TIFF 2007 has wrapped. Eastern Promises nabbed the People's Choice prize, and the wonderful My Winnipeg grabbed top Canadian honors. (Rejoice!) But there was still lots of fun, great films, and some fest craziness that came before the awards were handed out.My favorite story from TIFF came from a friend who had gone to see Starting Out in the Evening. She loved the film, and said that the end had made her teary-eyed. Impressed with Frank Langella's performance, she walked up to him as she was leaving the theater and told him so. "Are you crying?" he asked, and then wiped her tears away. That Frank is a slick, slick man.
On Wednesday, The Last Lear Q&A with Rituparno Ghosh was cut short when someone pulled the fire alarm. As is usually the case when the bell starts ringing, everyone ignored it and we continued the discussion. (How often do people actually pay attention to those things from the get-go?) Then, mid-sentence, Ghosh was cut short and we were told to exit the theater immediately, because it wasn't a drill as they initially assumed. Whoops. At least it didn't happen during the film. Pisay, on the other hand, had a few technical problems -- thankfully, it was a digital screening, so we didn't end up missing anything.
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Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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