Starring: Aparna Sen, Radhika Apte, Rahul Bose, Sharmila Tagore, Kalyan Roy, Mita Vashisht
Directed by Aniruddha Bose
Rating: ****
Antaheen (Bengali)
Director Aniruddha Bose deals with an abstraction like loneliness with rare clarity. And he does so with the help of a group of excellent executers.
Antaheen, dubbed in English as “The Endless Wait”, speaks in a universal language called loneliness. It explores emptiness, which eats away but never quite finishes us. Sadness which isn’t exactly sorrow—as it simmers slowly, never really reaching the fire. Until ...abruptly...it does. And then it’s too late.
In the backdrop of Calcutta, ordinary people go about their lives. Cops chasing crooks. Journalists chasing scoops. Rahul Bose plays a police officer who quotes Jim Morrison, ‘This is the end’, as he makes arrests. Radhika Apte, a TV reporter out to unearth a land grab scam, calls herself an ‘investigative’ journalist. Thus they try to rise above the hollowness of their lives. But it’s when the harshness of daylight gives way to soft candlelight that their true selves emerge. They log on and chat. In the virtual world, when their identities remain hidden, their ‘real’ uninhibited selves come alive.
Director Aniruddha Bose deals with an abstraction like loneliness with rare clarity. And he does so with the help of a group of excellent executers. A sensitive script by Shyamal Sengupta and sharp editing by Arghya Kamal Mitra and skilful camerawork by Abhik Mukhopadhyay. You can almost taste the mist clinging to window panes. Set to Shantanu Moitro’s music, these images create some magical moments.
As for the acting, Apte is credible, Bose convincing. Veteran actors Aparna Sen and Sharmila Tagore fit comfortably into their roles as television executive and unmarried aunt respectively. But it’s Mita Vashist, in her tiny role as the embittered wife of a business tycoon, who stands out. The film plays lyrically, like a beautiful song, with silences conveying more than words. But at times the song goes off tune. For instance, the dialogue often seems didactic and entirely dispensable. Characters express themselves volubly, yet remain sketchy. Even in conflict, they show no anger or irritation. The potential for depth lurks just beneath the surface, bursting forth only occasionally.
One such moment, perhaps the most memorable is a song sequence where the ‘endless’ rain bursts forth, washing away the loneliness.
High Fives
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1. My Name is Khan
2. Ishqiya
3. 3 Idiots
4. Veer
5. Rann
Hollywood
1. Valentine’s Day
2. Percy Jackson & the Olympians
3. The Wolfman
4. Avatar
5. Dear John
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Pop
1. Tik Tok (Ke$ha)
2. Bad Romance (Lady Gaga)
3. Sexy Chick (David Guetta featuring Akon)
4. Replay (Iyaz)
5. According to You (Orianthi)
Courtesy: Film Information
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