Aparna Sen's latest offering is a forceful statement against the twin evils of communalism and casteism that plague Indian society. Indeed, so forceful is the statement that the movie often loses itself in the maze of rhetoric it spins around itself.
At the outset, a series of headlines scream out the violence of today's world. Kashmir gets juxtaposed with Jenin, Kandahar rubs shoulders with 9/11 and Gujarat. The mind-battering nature of this visual display is deliberate, and sets the pace for what is to follow—an essay in social criticism that is perhaps too self-conscious to be convincing.
Mrs Iyer—the delectable Konkona Sen Sharma—is a young bride who sets off in a bus to catch a train. Her parents ask Raja (Rahul Bose), who is travelling the same way, to 'look after' their daughter. A climate of communal clashes leads Raja to reveal to Mrs Iyer that he is a Muslim. Subsequently, she saves him from the rioters by telling them he is Mr Iyer. What follows, as the narrative unfolds, is a gratuitous lesson in sociology for Mrs Iyer and by implication, the audience.
Interestingly, the bus is a microcosm of India—a country with 18 official languages as the omniscient narrator comments at the very beginning. There is young and old, there is Bengal, Bihar, Tamil Nadu (among others) and most importantly, there is Hindu, Muslim and even a Jew. There is also a mother travelling with her autistic son. If this were not contrived enough, make what you will of the oh-the-lips-almost-touching-damn-interrupts scene between Mrs and Mr Iyer. That must take the cherry of the icing for a weak attempt at manufacturing masala.
Unlike Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding that depicts a Hinglish world with Hindi and English coexisting amicably, the world of Mr and Mrs Iyer is in linguistic limbo. The dialogues are in English (with a clutch of them in the vernaculars) which are devoid of nuances, appearing stiff and formal throughout the movie. No wonder, spontaneity is a major casualty in this movie.
The saving grace is Konkona's acting. She is brilliant and delivers her lines in Tamil-accented English with consummate ease. Rahul Bose, despite retaining a bit of his English, August/Bombay Boys persona, complements her well.
There is no denying the evils of communalism and casteism. However, lack of subtlety and art do not make good bedfellows. From the director, whose last film was Paromeetar Ekdeen, one expected a lot more. Unfortunately, she fails to deliver. And one last question: Just when will Sen outgrow her photographer fixation?
