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Starring:
Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Divya
Dutta, Shefali Shah, Jisshu Sengupta
Directed by Rituparno Ghosh
The film is inspired by the famous Bengali actor,
activist and playwright Utpal Dutt and his play "Aajker
Shahjehan" (The Emperor Today). The play was about the
enormous trust and faith that actors repose on those who
support their art. Just as much as it is about the
betrayals of that very trust.
The Last Lear having a Bollywood star cast is an English
language film. It has Amitabh, Arjun Rampal and Preity
couldn't have been more perfect. Amitabh hogs the
limelight not in as towering personality, but as Harish
Mishra.
No, he is
not crazy. Just passionate. A little unpredictable.
Slightly pompous. A wee bit whimsical. Totally adorable.
Harry lives with his resilient partner, Vandana (Shefali
Shah) and together, they don't care a damn for social
sanction. Harry lives for acting, loves theatre, adores
Shakespeare and absolutely detests cinema. He feels that
it is an apology in the name of art. Harry and Vandana
are living happily in the cubbyholes of Kolkata,
oblivious and invisible to the world.
In walks one
day Siddharth (Arjun Rampal), a young, cool and stubborn
director. He is smart. Harry finds out on the very first
meeting. no one else could have cracked that doorbell.
He is glad to have found a cerebral partner to have a
conversation with. Harry has no idea that Siddharth has
a film on his mind and Siddharth has no clue how tough
this ride is going to be. He soon finds out that to
please Harry, he just needs to like you. That should be
eary . So he plays strong.
Each scene is very nicely
executed making it a pleasure to watch be it when the
three women are dealing with their frustrations in the
middle of the night or when Amitabh and Arjun are trying
to stop people from urinating in public areas. The
emotions are beautifully relayed across the screen.
Amitabh Bachchan is mesmerizing and and has delivered an
intense performance. Preity Zinta's role is her most
un-bubbly one, yet remarkable. Shefali Shah is also
fantastic. Arjun Rampal is in his best performance ever.
- PAW
CAST
Harish Mishra - Amitabh Bachchan
Shabnam - Preity Zinta
Siddharth - Arjun Rampal
Ivy - Divya Dutta
Vandana - Shefali Shah
Gautam - Jisshu Sengupta
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Harish Mishra (Amitabh Bachchan) is the protagonist of
this offbeat film. The film-within-the film is a
lamentation about the dying art of the circus. As winds of
change accompanying neo-liberal policies sweep across the
country, older cultural forms give way to newer ones. In
this moment of transition, trust and treachery collide and
crumble.
What does a 65 year old man
do? Sit at home and enjoy the fruits of retirement? If you
are Harry, you are at home, relishing vodka, pondering
over why has the world gone mad, busy making a doorbell
that only Einstein can ring and chanting Shakespeare
without a worry in the world.
As they bond over coffees,
vodka and conversations, well, stuff happens. When Harry
decides to do the film, he changes the lives of everyone
involved. Siddharth feels his job is done. In reality, it
only has just begun. Shabnam (Preity Zinta), his co-star
picks up tips on acting, Shakespeare and happy living. She
could do with all of that, considering her stumpy acting
skills and messed up personal life.
The film set becomes happy, lively place. Laughter echoes
in the mountains. New relationships blossom. And then
comes along an event that will change everything - the
shot, the mood and the relationships. No one remains the
same once they have met Harry. Despite all odds, Harry
will sail through this tough situation.
He is Harry, you know. No one can hate him.
Harish Mishra's life is
transformed by a Mephistophelean filmmaker and three women
who meet by chance to grieve the loss of faith. As
darkness melts away at daybreak Shakespeare returns to
heal the terrible scars of the night.
CREDITS
Produced by Shubho Shekhar
Bhattacharjee, Arindam Chowdhuri
Directed by Rituparno Ghosh
Writing credits - Rituparno Ghosh
Based on Utpal Dutt’s play "Aajker Shahjahan"
Original Music by 21 Grams
Cinematography by Abhik Mukhopadyay
Film Editing by Arghakamal Mitra
Production Design by Indranil Ghosh
Costume Design by Varsha Shilpa
Sound Department - Bishwadeep Chatterjee, Leslie Fernandes,
Sachin K. Sanghvi
Digital Intermediate Line Producer - Salil Deshpande
Title Designer - Avik Banerjee
Colorists - Mahesh Deshpande, Mahesh Despande
Visual Effects Supervisor - Paul Naveen
Digital Compositors - Avinash Gupta, Pavan, Uppu
Pavanrajesh, Ranadheer Reddy, Balakrishna P. Subaiah |
