Movie: Mukti Bhawan
Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani
Actors: Adil Hussain, Lalit Behl, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Palomi Ghosh, Navnindra Behl
Mukti Bhawan is not completely free of faults. It has its warts but in many ways, it provides a window to the salvation from the cloying mainstream sensibilities of Bollywood.
My father is 86 and over the last year his health has given us enough scares in his movement in and out of hospitals. The overwhelming feeling of finding a loved one slipping away has often left me howling. So when Rajeev (Adil Hussain) who even while nursing a childhood grudge unflinchingly goes through his filial duties of a son when his father Dayanand Kumar (Lalit Behl) checks into Mukti Bhawan in Varanasi to await death on the banks of the Ganges had me fighting tears.
While the impermanence of life, the trap of the cycle of life and death and the pursuit of moksha in the middle of the existential chaos made it all real. It is Adil's effortless ease of being in character which keeps you riveted.You almost rue the fact that the 64th National Awards, couldn't think of anything more than a special mention for this actor for Mukti Bhawan who has given us samples of some truly exceptional acting in Life of Pi, Lessons in Forgetting, and English Vinglish.
This is not to say other actors are any less. Lalit Behl as the adamant geriatric who means well, Geetanjali Kulkarni (After Court another great performance) as Rajeev's wife Lata, Palomi Ghosh who plays her daughter Sunita and Navnindra Behl as the fellow inmate Vimla aka 'Surabhi' from Mukti Bhawan who finally teaches Dayanand to let go, have all acted with such consummate ease that you get a feeling this a true story.
Credit is due to the director Shubhashish Bhutiani for ensuring that the subject doesn't meander into familiar terrains of melodrama or pathos. Here is a filmmaker whose work I will watch out for. In fact, there are several instances of really wry humour that leave you smiling through the film.
It will be grossly unfair to not mention the more than brilliant cinematography. While it is true that many films like Masaan and to a much lesser extent, Raanjhanaa have also tried to capture one the oldest cities in the world, Varanasi; Michael McSweeney and David Huwiler infuse the camera with an eye to bring the gritty and great together beautifully with some amazing composition and lighting, giving us some really poetic views of Hinduism's most revered river.
All in all I would say, don't miss this one for anything!
Ratings: ****
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 "Mukti Bhawan, Shubhashish Bhutiani, Adil Hussain, Lalit Behl, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Palomi Ghosh, Navnindra Behl, Michael McSwee")
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