I had seen it in bits & pieces but yesterday finally saw it completely in a seating. The stories have an edge of restlessness. They tend to unsettle you. Nandita Das craving for a baby…a tale of so many ladies ! She chooses to go for artificial insemination, not a path many would approve. She is one of our finest actresses. She brings out all the emotions effortlessly.
Then her friend, Juhi Chawla who visits Srinagar to sign the papers of the house. She revisits the city. Their is no violence but the pauses & the gun shots from the memory are enough to bring in her helplessness. Manisha Koirala has another story of her own, she can’t leave her aged parents & her brother who has surrendered & lives the agony every day. He has to get up from his meals & talk to the police. Juhi goes to buy saffron from the store which doesn’t have good memories for her. The barbed wires & the patrolling, the atmosphere is serious. When Manisha asks her if their places were exchanged? Megha (Juhi Chawla) realises her plight then!
The two stories of Sanjay Suri & Rahul Bose are equally unnerving. Sanjay Suri has endured abuse at the hands of his step father. His actions & thinking fractured today are the result of the trauma. Rahul Bose endures pain for his being gay & the swindling that takes place. His partner, the policeman, the beating, humiliation, money lost & the trust .. it is a series of insensitivity towards the differently oriented.
Onir has made it to let us think about those who are not as fortunate. An eye opener indeed. Happy viewing!
Asian Entertainment 