Anuranan (2006) - Resonance
In the Indian Film Industry there is a distinction between art cinema , more precisely realistic cinema and commercial cinema. The makers of commercial films would probably come down heavily on Off beat , non commercial films. But in reality these films have an audience among the educated and so called the intellectual elite class. Anuraanan is a film that would precisely define the distinction between the two categories . It has its commercial values and at the same time it is a realistic thought provoking film that is bound to be liked by a wider audience ..The film is in Bengali and it boasts of an excellent star cast .
It also won the following awards -
Santa Cruz film festival 2008 - Emerging Flim maker award (Aniruddha Roy-Choudhury )
54th (Indian) National Film Awards - Winner (Best Regional Film)
The Story of Anuranan (Resonance or Chemistry )
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An NRI couple from Birmingham migrate to Kolkotta , India since the husband Rahul (Rahul Bose) a civil Engineer /Architect has to work on a project on the Kanchenjunga Mountains in Sikkim. The wife Nandita (Rituparna Sengupta) takes up job as a teacher in a Montessori school . The couple are worried about the fact that Nandita is unable to conceive after having lost a child earlier....They become friendly with another couple , the business-minded husband Amit (Rajat Kapoor) who works with Rahul , and hardly finds any time for his wife Preeti (Raima Sen). The two seem totally unmatched in their interests . Preeti is totally dominated by her husband Amit who has very little thoughts for her feelings .Whereas Rahul and Nandita , inspite of their worries are happy with each othe and totally devoted to each other.
The two couple meet often and become good friends. Nandita and Preeti share a very cordial and close relationship. Preeti is happy to see Rahul and Nandita being so much in love and happy with each other. As the two couple interact more and more Rahul and Nandita begin to realise that they share a lot of common interests - both of them share a love for Books, Poetry and Nature . They find that they are able to share their feelings and thoughts freely with each other . They begin enjoying each others company and when Preeti visits her friend at Sikkim, she meets Rahul there and they spend time together exploring the beautiful sights and mountains of Sikkim.
They share a platonic yet a very close relationship with each other which makes them both happy. Preeti also realises Rahul's special bonding with his wife Nandita.
They visit a nearby hill station at Kanchanjunga ,staying at a resort in separate rooms. When Preeti goes to Rahul's room in the morning to wake him up , unexpectedly she finds him dead , having had a heart attack at night.A police complaint is lodged, and there is scandal and Preeti becomes the target of malicious gossip from all quarters including her husband and friends ...
My views on this film
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I have read several reviews about this film and many of them have been very critical - negative and in my opinion biased. I myself loved this film. The story idea, the direction, the actors - it is perfectly put together and keeps you interested throughout. Nowhere do you find any jarring note, it looks natural all the way - the sets, the costumes, conversation, expressions..
Rahul , basically a dreamer , loves his wife Nandita inspite of not sharing many common interests with her. He dreams of having a child and living happily ever after with his family . Nandita on the other is the more practical kind, who gets upset with Rahul when he forgets little details , but she loves him far too much to hold anything against him - their relationship is very naturally portrayed here, very believable . In one of the scenes Amit jokingly remarks saying that there is some magic in Rahul's house and on the spur of the moment Preeti replies that it is the magic of Rahul and Nandita's love that spreads such happiness among even the visitors and guests, much to Amit's annoyance ..
Rahul after several meetings with Preeti tells her ' There is an incredible uncertainty about you ' which is true because Preeti is not really given much love or attention by her husband Amit and this makes her extremely unsure of herself and insecure . But Rahul is quite different and he begins to value her opinions and views and treats her with a lot of affection and respect and they begin to share a special relationship, comfortable with each other, able to understand each others inner most feelings and one can actually see Preeti blooming in Rahul's company - Raima Sen is fantastic in some scenes.
The kind of rare rare relationship where there is no need for words. As Rahul ponders over this he feels that 'Relationships are devine and why give them a name? They are both dreamers sharing a special bond.
The film is shot in Kolkotta (Calcutta) and Sikkim with Himalayan mountains as the back drop.The photography is breathtakingly beautiful, focusing on various wonders of nature.
The film has an incredible and a most unexpected ending.
Raima Sen with her natural good looks and talent is blooming as an actress of late with the right kind of films and roles .She is excellent in her role as Preeti. She underplays most of the time, since her character is that of an unsure person lacking in self confidence while dealing with most people except Rahul with whom she is able to let her hair down and be natural..
Raima looks dignified but a little dowdy in her tightly wrapped round the shoulder ,saree clad look with spectacles - an excellent portrayal of Preeti who is uncertain and unsure . Rahul once asks her if she has any problem with her vision and she giggles , and he asks her ' Is it a defense mechanism?' and she answers back ' something like that' ..
Rahul Bose according to me , is one of the most talented actors , who has been acting mostly in films that have some substance in them. He is not a great looker nor does he have the usual trappings of a Bollywood hero, but he is a tremendous actor , an intelligent actor i would say and it comes out in his personality and the way he portrays a character on screen. He has a good role in this film and he outshines the others easily. I try not to miss his films no matter what language they are in - having earlier seen his cross cultural films in English and ' Mr and Mrs Aiyer' which was an exceptional movie made with terrorism as the subject ..
Rituparna Sengupta is a top Bengali star and she looks lovely and has done a great job here as Nandita, Rahul's wife. Rajit Kapur yet another sensitive performer who is seen mostly in off beat class films, is effective as the haughty don' t care business man and the dominating husband of Preeti.
This is an Excellent movie and full marks to the director Aniruddha Roy Choudhury for having done a superb job. The film has all the necessary ingredients to make it interesting but at the same time it is not the usual commercial film that is being churned out now. It is a sober film that dwells on relationships , definitely worth a watch for the unusual treatment that has been given by the director .
The film is in Bengali, which is not a deterrent as it has English sub titles . The language used is poetic and the sets are very pleasing with some attractive interiors ..
The Photography is beautiful with some great shots of the Himalayas and the Kanchanjenga range at sunrise, daylight and in the Moonlight- some heavenly shots that really thrill you!
The film also features very soothing and melodious music composed by tabla maestro Tanmoy Bose. Bengali music is classy and based on Classical Indian music especially Rabindra Sangeet..
I give an A+ for this film although most of the critics in India have written it off as an intellectual hotch potch..I find that criticism extremely harsh for a film of this calibre
Details of the DVD
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Cast: Rahul Bose, Rituparna Sengupta, Raima Sen, Rajit Kapur
Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
Country: India
Language: Bengali
Year: 2006
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