Advertisement
Subscribe
X

Connect with us

The Last Lear

The film refuses to connect, boring you with its affected air. The narrative moves in fits and spurts, the intensity of relationships seems manufactured, conversations are awkward.

Namrata Joshi

Updated on:

Starring:
Directed by
Rating:

Y
et another film gets described as Amitabh Bachchan’s best performance ever and falls woefully short. Agreed his character, Harish aka Harry, a former theatre actor insanely devoted to Shakespeare, is eccentric and idiosyncratic. Still Bachchan feels way too over the top and unhinged—at times, a replay of his previous characters, especially that of the teacher in Black; at others a reflection of his own larger-than-life personality. His Shakespearean soliloquies seem like Bollywood dialogue-baazi, delivered in the manner of those famous lines from Deewar: "Aaj khush to bahut hoge tum."

To be fair, he’s not the only one at fault. The film refuses to connect, boring you with its affected air. The narrative moves in fits and spurts, the intensity of relationships seems manufactured, conversations are awkward. Harry, who quit theatre just when he was about to play King Lear, is rediscovered by a journo for a seemingly avant garde film on clowns being made by his filmmaker friend Siddhartha (Rampal). The rapport with Sid brings Harry alive. It expands his world, opens him to new friendships like that with model-turned-actress Shabnam (Zinta). But eventually it ends in a tragedy that may well have been averted. There are other intense stories about other intense people surrounding Harry. Shabnam is in an ugly marriage on the verge of breakdown. She finds solace in a sisterhood at ailing Harry’s place—his much younger partner Vandana (Chhaya) and nurse Ivy (Dutta) who has her own relationship issues to sort out. It results in some of the most mundane "men are so unfeeling" talk.

Surprisingly, Zinta and Rampal come up trumps, looking natural, comfortable and unaffected.

Worst aspect, perhaps, is the weak voice of the narrator. Who wants to hear a story in such a weedy voice? The one moment that worked for me is when Shabnam says "what a film" while Waqt ne kiya plays in the background. You think she’s talking about Guru Dutt’s Kaagaz Ke Phool but is not. It’s a moment that takes you by surprise. The other surprise is a lovely old B/W photo of Bachchan displayed in the house. Never seen that one before. And he has never looked better.

High Fives

Advertisement

Bollywood

1. Rock On
2. 1920
3. A Wednesday
4. Bachna Ae Haseeno
5. Singh is Kinng

Hollywood

1. Burn After Reading
2. The Family that Preys
3. Righteous Kill
4. The Women
5. Tropic Thunder

Digital Numbers

1. So What (Pink)
2. Whatever You Like (T.I.)
3. I’m Yours (Jason Mraz)
4. Disturbia (Rihanna)
5. Paper Planes (M.I.A.)

Courtesy: Film Information

Published At:

Tags