
            The film opens with a narrative about a nondescript town called Lakhot in Rajasthan, India. The narrator is Satyaveer Singh Randhawa (Abhay Deol), a down-on-his-luck public works engineer. He compares Lakhot - dry, desolate and despondent - to the general downturn in his own life. As he returns to his irritable and nagging wife Nimmi and their young son, we learn that Satyaveer has just been implicated in a small bribery scandal at work. Nimmi (Gul Panag) broods over how she wishes she had married a richer fellow. Satyaveer, an aspiring writer whose only novel Manorama sank without a trace, laments about how he had once wished to be famous but is now resigned to a banal and unremarkable existence.They have an unusual visitor that night. A well dressed, affluent woman presents herself as Mrs. P. P. Rathore, the wife of the Irrigation Minister (and former Maharaja, presumably prior to Independence) P. P. Rathore (Kulbhushan Kharbanda). She says she is a big fan of Satyaveer's novel. Captivated by the ingenuity of the detective Raghu, the principal character of the novel, she hopes to secure Satyaveer's assistance in applying the same ingenuity to procure photographic evidence of her husband's affair. She pays him an advance and leaves. Satyaveer accepts the job in spite of Nimmi's reproach. He stealthily stakes out Rathore's manor. He spots another woman visiting Rathore. Rathore rebukes the woman and turns her away. Satyaveer snaps a few pictures of this exchange and hands over the roll to Mrs. Rathore. He also confides in his brother-in-law and best friend, the loutish but generally well-meaning local cop Brij Mohan (Vinay Pathak). Brij finds this all very fishy and advises Satyaveer to take Nimmi on a short vacation. Strange events happen to Satyaveer. He finds out that the woman who hired him is not Mrs. Rathore; the real Mrs. Rathore is an invalid. Late one evening, as Satyaveer returns home after drinks with Brij, he spots the same woman running for her life from people who are out to kill her. She earnestly urges him to remember her real name, Manorama (Sarika), and that she is 32 years old. The next day's papers report that Manorama committed suicide in connection with her protests against a canal being built through Lakhot. The canal project is sponsored by Rathore.He decides to investigate further. He finds out that Manorama was connected with a local children's home and lived with a roommate, Sheetal (Raima Sen). The roommate is confused and scared. She refuses to talk with Satyaveer. Satyaveer is later set upon by thugs; they turn out to be the same men who chased Manorama on the night of her death, and they want to find out what she told him that night. Satyaveer tells them what was told to him after getting his two fingers broken and his motorbike is stolen. Satyaveer later uncovers that Manorama's death was an accident; she was hit by a truck as she fled her pursuers.Sheetal calls him. She is still scared but somehow warms to him and asks if she can stay with him for a few days. Seeing as Nimmi has returned to Rohtak (her parent's house) for Diwali, Satyaveer agrees. Sheetal moves in for a little while. Around this time, Satyaveer attends a rally function with Rathore in attendance. He follows Rathore and discovers that Rathore receives regular medication from a doctor for an unknown ailment. He also spots the woman who visited him on the night Satyaveer took the photos.He follows the woman and makes contact with her. She lives with the doctor Anil Potdar. She turns out to be Sameera Rathore, the illegitimate daughter of Rathore. She was trying to get Rathore to accept her as a daughter. Satyaveer begins piecing the parts together. However, when Satyaveer visits the doctor, he finds that the doctor and Sameera have both been brutally murdered. There he and Sheetal discuss what to do next and they almost kiss but his wife calls him and he takes her call immediately remembering his marriage.He runs to the children's home where he discovers that Sheetal has been dead for quite some time!Arriving home, he finds that the woman masquerading as Sheetal is neither surprised nor scared. She blames him for the act she had to up (as Sheetal), and she directs him to meet Rathore. Rathore demands the photos. Satyaveer turns over the photos he had taken. Not surprisingly, Rathore is not the least bit interested in photos of him having an argument with his biological daughter. It turns out that Neetu (the girl pretending to be Sheetal) is a concubine for Rathore. Rathore now openly threatens him and asks that he hand over those photos. Satyaveer returns home. He scans one of the photos he had taken and suddenly finds a clue in it. This clue leads him to what Manorama had said to him on the night she died. The clue was that Manorama from his book died at page 32. He uses the clues to land up in the room of a small hotel in town, where he discovers a shocking set of photos in a packet cached behind the light switchboard.Satyaveer returns to confront Rathore. He presents the shocking evidence he has found. Rathore was a pedophile (a person who is sexually attracted to children). The children's home was his steady supply of (orphaned) children. The real Sheetal and Manorama, who worked at the orphanage, had realized his wicked activities. They were about to blow his cover and hence he had them silenced. Rathore calmly informs Satyaveer that Satyaveer, smart though he may be, is still a small-town man that may easily be dispensed with. He then has Neetu harass him sexually which makes Satyaveer come out of disgust and he sees the goons dismantling his scooter. Satyaveer then comes back and reveals another fact. The doctor, Anil Potdar and Manorama were siblings. Also, though the doctor knew that Rathore had lung cancer, he kept concealing the fact from him and kept giving him placebos merely to suppress the symptoms of cancer. The doctor and Manorama merely wanted to keep him alive long enough for him to accept Sameera as his daughter and heir. Then, on Rathore's eventual death, the estate would come to Sameera and thus also to the doctor and Manorama. It was now too late since cancer had reached an advanced stage and Rathore had precious little time left to live. Hearing this Rathore's wife laughs with great relief. She commits suicide in the morning.The film ends as Satyaveer quietly walks out. He remarks that the only thing that is certain in an unknown world is a known God.
    

Manorama: Six Feet Under


            A glance at 62 years old Manu bhai Shah (Raghubir Yadav), and he appears peculiar in his outfit, crazy in his behavior, flamboyant in his style, loud and funny in his conversation, and overbearing in his relations! With colored hair, trimmed French beard, colorful t-shirts with slogans (inappropriate for his age), GUCCI glares and i-pod plug-ins; when this 60 year old enters the tennis ground of the club he shouts in his inimitable style of gujrati mixed marathi accent..'public..audience (sounding as odience). He moves around in a red colored open jeep and thrives on friends. He lives life unapologetically. He and his gang which includes Dhillon (sharat saxena), Mansukhani (satish shah), Zafar (tinu anand) and Sinha (Vineet Kumar) are a group of irrepressible 'five' whose lives revolves around a tennis court in a club called CLUB 60. They can drive anyone crazy by their antics. Bordering around sixty years of age; they play, fight, abuse, bitch and can even put youngsters, half their age, to shame when they talk of wine, women and sex.
Story of club 60 unfolds when Dr Tareek sheikh (Farookh sheikh), a neuro surgeon, suffering from acute depression after the death of his only son, shifts to Mumbai from Pune with his wife Dr sayara (Sarika). A chance encounter of suave Dr sheikh with the flamboyant, talkative, funny and overbearing Manu bhai, who stays in the same building, snowballs into Dr Sheiks forced and reluctant entry into the club 60's gang of five. But is Manu bhai and his gang just a chunk of some well-to-do crazy and fun-loving 60 years young or is there something more to them under their colorful and playful facade? We explore it along with Dr sheikh as slowly and steadily his reluctant participation in Manu bhai's 'gang of five', makes him fall in love with life again.
    

Club 60


            Every now and again comes a film that shakes you. A film that deeply affects you and the core purpose of the film goes beyond the realms of cinema as being just entertainment as the purpose then turns into education. Yes, the best of commercial directors ala Santoshi is able to merge commercialism with realism, portraying the social message in a commercial format, however on the other hand we have directors like Rahul Dholakia who take an event/issue and portray it with utmost reality, conviction without adding any commercial elements into the movie. These movies are usually a bleak watch; nonetheless prove to be a rewarding and eye-opening experience and PARZANIA falls into the same category.Rahul Dholakia brings to screen the Godhra riots and the aftermath of the riots. Inspired by a true story the movie narrates the heart breaking story of a Parsi family, living in a Muslim colony in the state of Gujarat. The riots break out and the family lose their 10 year-old son. A simple story on paper by Dholakhia turns into one of the most hellish and horrific films Ive seen in recent times. The screenplay by Dholakia and David Donihue starts off establishing the milieu of where the horror is about to take place as well as establishing the key players of the movie. The build-up to the actual riots is slow allowing enough time for the viewers to build a bond with the family. Once the riots begin the movie takes a gripping and shocking turn which in many instances is a hard watch. The pace does flounder a little in the second half; however the movie still manages to retain the viewers interest as the viewers are given an insight into the scars left by such a tragedy.First, Mr. Dholakia certainly deserves all the accolades he has been getting for his sheer courage in choosing to portray this extremely delicate flash-point episode in Indias recent history. Dholakia made his debut with the inane comedy KEHTA HAI DIL BAAR BAAR, however after watching PARZANIA its evident that his forte lies in handling a complex, and realistic film like PARZANIA.The movie is constructed in three acts. In the first, the main characters are set up the happy family of Cyrus comprising himself, his wife Shernaz, daughter Dilshad and son Parzan, the disillusioned American studying Gandhi and the rest of the residents of the Muslim-dominated chawl including the sole Hindu family that lives in harmony with the others. In the second act, we see elements of brief consternation shown in the first act coming together and exploding into the pogrom that comes to wreck the lives of Cyrus and his family. The third act is a soul-searching exercise following the aftermath of the first violent 72 hours leading into the denouement of the NHRC hearing first the faked exonerating testimonies, then the inevitable admission of guilt by a Hindu followed by a pouring forth of searing indictments.  The realism and barbaric brutality that happened in the riots have been shown with unflinching honest and Dhoalkia must be given full credit for NOT deviating from his core aim. Now there is a section of people who will question WHY IS THE HINDUS SHOWN AS VILLAINS AND MUSLIMS IN A SYMPATHETIC LIGHT? Frankly, if youre questioning that after watching PARZANIA, then youve missed the point!! It wouldnt have mattered whether Dholakia chose to portray the movie from the Hindu or Muslim point of view, as while watching the movie I (as a Hindu) simply didnt care! The movie goes beyond religion and in many ways questions the reasoning behind our beliefs. Having the movie from a Parsi stand-point is also a masterstroke as they are neither Hindu nor Muslim which adds to the blindness and fanaticism of such tragedies. The third act though slow, still manages to leave a hammer-strong impact as it examines and studies the after-math of the riots. One of the most startlingly beautiful moments in the movie which again questions the reasoning behind our belief is when Sarika holds her daughter closely to her and prays to god. On one hand our faith is what keeps us alive, our faith is what confirms us, our faith is what gives us hope and also gives us strength, and at the same time all the violence and horror around her is being caused in the name of the same god? Searingly beautiful! The expose of the politics involved with the riots too is an eye-opener right from the involvement of the police to the politicians, truly a tragic state of affairs. The court-room scenes towards the end are excellent to say the least. A film like PARZANIA will also evoke arguments, discussions and also raise some excellent points for debates. The film in many ways raises more questions than it answers and in my view for the better. The biggest crime is that PARZANIA has been banned in the state of Gujarat. The people of Gujarat need to see this movie as the movie is about, for them!The major nitpick I had with Dholakia was the inclusion of an American character in the movie. The characters thoughts and ideals I found absolutely fantastic, Corin Nemec as Allan gives a brilliant performance. While it may have been done with the intent to appeal to an overseas audience (and that can scarcely be blamed, given our own reluctance to admit folly), it deserved more treatment the Americans disturbed childhood (believe me when I say however, that it was not as disturbed and as tragic as I had been led to believe and as I have known of some others), his introduction to Gandhi, his impotent, drunken rage and finally with a mere sob the disavowal of liquor and embrace of Gandhian values was somewhat hurried and jarring. On another ironical level, having a white outsider being prevalent when such an event occurs watching the nightmare unfold is insightfully strange to say the least. There was a time when the whites were our enemy, and here is a time when were our own worst enemy! Dholakia himself a Parsi makes it no surprise that he is an ardent follower of Gandhis values and ideals. The movie is laden with Gandhis famous quotes (AN EYEFOR AN EYE..AND THE WORLD GOES BLIND which was also used by Kashyaps BLACK FRIDAY). The other slight problem I had with the movie was that the entire movie was in English for the most with some Gujarati and Hindi thrown in. Once again I believe this is Dholakias way of appealing to a wider audience, however in this case it does stand out in many ways for the worse as the dialogues dont sound natural in all places. The film also has a HEAVY usage of expletives which makes OMKARA look like play-school and words like fuck and ben-chod are used frequently though I should add that they only add to the authenticity of the movie and are NOT there for gimmick purposes.Next, we come to what really made PARZANIA work the actors. Naseeruddin Shahs portrayal as the patriarch and Sarikas role of the mother were two of the most compelling performances in recent times.Nasseruddin Shahs has played a Parsi to perfection before in THE ENCOUNTER and BEING CYRUS, yet he still manages to add another facet to the persona, and in turn brings the character of Cyrus to life! Shah brings so much warmth and sincerity to his everyday guy performance, that when the riots to occur your heart cries out for him. Given the stature and talent of Shah, I actually found his performance in a first half a little subdued, however he makes up for it in the second half. The affected Cyrus when he goes on his 9 days of solace is simply startling and Shahs ability in portraying Cyruss unrest mind is amazing. The scene in the cinema hall as the truth comes to him is just amazing, and Shahs facial expressions will evoke a tear. Undoubtedly one of Indias finest actors; Shah strikes again with a performance that makes us sit up and take notice.However it would be unfair to say the film is dominated by him, as Sarika is equally (if not more) powerful here. Sarikas performance is a stunning revelation. Her Shernaz is a woman whose universe is snugly wrapped around her husband and her two bubbly kids, and which is mercilessly shorn asunder when the rioting mob invades her chawl and burns it up. Yet, she displays phenomenal strength and resolve hiding her anguish in the innermost vestiges of her heart and only once sobbing uncontrollably (and even then, so as not to add to all that her daughter has been through, locking herself in the bathroom). The courtroom scene in the climax is yet another testament to Sarikas acting ability and she doesnt disappoint.Parzan Dasturs Parzan is an innocent and unforgettable performance as the face of the young boy haunts you long after the final reels are over. For those that dont remember this is the same little boy from Karan Johars KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI who had the famous lines to Kajol Tussi mat jao!More than Dasturs Parzan, it is Pear Barsiwalas Dilshad which impressed me most as the adorable young daughter who plays a foil to Parzan during the happy days, then comes into her own when she escapes the clutches of the fanatics with her mother. She successfully persuades Shernaz to stay with her instead of going to look for Parzan. The shock is surely indelible, but she displays unfathomable pluck in clinging to her innocence and childhood.Colin Nemecs performance itself is praiseworthy and the actor does a fine job. His out bursts at the India, the politics and his thoughts on Gandhi make-up for an interesting watch to say the least, but as mentioned earlier the character at times sticks out.Raj Zutsi, Sheeba Chaddha, Asif Basra are all superb in their respective parts. This is Zutsis best performance in a long time. Pushpendra Saini who plays the Gandhian in the movie is outstanding to say the least. The movie features an array of supporting actors who play the residents, policemen, politicians etc and they are all spot on.Technically the cameraman has tried to be as authentic as possible when capturing the movie on celluloid which works well here. Sham-Kaushals riot sequences are award worthy as mentioned earlier. Zakir Hussains music too is masterful and soulfulPARZANIA is a far cry from the commercial cinema that Bollywood is for the most made-up of and the scene where a huge poster of Karan Johars KABHIE KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM is burnt and tattered serves as a reminder that the world of PARZANIA is entirely different. a must-watch. All up PARZANIA is highly recommend, be prepared for an incredibly real and deeply impacting movie which makes us question..WHY?
    

Parzania


            
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Sarika Thakur

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