Mannu (Ajay Devgan) loses his job and goes to Calcutta to raise money for a business venture. There he stays with a friend and his wife. He is loaned a raincoat as he goes from acquaintance to acquaintance trying to get loans. He makes a planned stop to visit his old flame Niru (Aishwarya Rai), who ditched him to marry a rich man with a job. At that point the movie takes on a languid pace and a somber aura as the two former sweethearts catch up on each other's past and talk about their present. Knowing full well that Niru is married into a rich family, Mannu tells her of his bright and prosperous life, while she in turn boasts of her two servants, car and driver. As Niru borrows his raincoat and goes to shop for food, the landlord sneaks his way in and Niru's secrets are revealed. Mannu pays the landlord with his borrowed money and then eats and finally leaves, very saddened at Niru's life. He then discovers what Niru has bestowed upon him in the pocket of his raincoat. This retooling of O'Henry's saga is moody, sad and very sentimental.
Rituparno Ghosh's first Hindi venture, I found this to be a film that did draw me in but is actually quite full of flaws. First - story and character development flaws: Why is Niru so adamant to marry for money and leave Mannu despite his pleadings and their past love? And once she is shown to be a shallow person then why does she suddenly turn generous when she discovers his plea for loan money in the raincoat pocket? Was Niru supposed to be a character we are to be sympathetic towards? Why was she living like a complete slob in that house? Other women do find time to complete their daily chores when they do not have other occupation. Heck some women do that and hold a job! She did not come from a very affluent family, so why this distaste towards house work? When she tells Mannu that her husband is jealous and will beat her or lock her in the house, why does he accept that and then they move on to other topics? In fact the lesser characters like the friend, his wife, the landlord are much better developed than the protagonists.
Second - flaws in the lingo: Aishwarya does not do the 'village girl in town' lingo well at all. There are inconsistencies and the use of words like decent in their modern context does not help. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Iyer before this and Konkona's Tamilian English accent was flawless and always on for the whole film. Ajay's mother speaks a strange village lingo that is not authentic at all for Bhagalpur. Why did Mr. Ghosh not try for a decent language and accent in the film? Or let them speak Hindi.
The good: The movie is full of mood and beauty. The present is gray and rainy, the past bright and colorful. The music is divine and helps the setting up of the mood. The acting by Ajay is competent, though he is always a bit distant - un-engaged. Aishwarya does her best serious role, but it is still sub-par compared to other serious female protagonist roles. I like her best as a bubbly persona - she can do that well. The other folks are just about perfect. The film missed perfection by a fair bit, mostly due to a story and characters that were not quite right. O'Henry it ain't.
Worth a watch though.
Rituparno Ghosh's first Hindi venture, I found this to be a film that did draw me in but is actually quite full of flaws. First - story and character development flaws: Why is Niru so adamant to marry for money and leave Mannu despite his pleadings and their past love? And once she is shown to be a shallow person then why does she suddenly turn generous when she discovers his plea for loan money in the raincoat pocket? Was Niru supposed to be a character we are to be sympathetic towards? Why was she living like a complete slob in that house? Other women do find time to complete their daily chores when they do not have other occupation. Heck some women do that and hold a job! She did not come from a very affluent family, so why this distaste towards house work? When she tells Mannu that her husband is jealous and will beat her or lock her in the house, why does he accept that and then they move on to other topics? In fact the lesser characters like the friend, his wife, the landlord are much better developed than the protagonists.
Second - flaws in the lingo: Aishwarya does not do the 'village girl in town' lingo well at all. There are inconsistencies and the use of words like decent in their modern context does not help. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Iyer before this and Konkona's Tamilian English accent was flawless and always on for the whole film. Ajay's mother speaks a strange village lingo that is not authentic at all for Bhagalpur. Why did Mr. Ghosh not try for a decent language and accent in the film? Or let them speak Hindi.
The good: The movie is full of mood and beauty. The present is gray and rainy, the past bright and colorful. The music is divine and helps the setting up of the mood. The acting by Ajay is competent, though he is always a bit distant - un-engaged. Aishwarya does her best serious role, but it is still sub-par compared to other serious female protagonist roles. I like her best as a bubbly persona - she can do that well. The other folks are just about perfect. The film missed perfection by a fair bit, mostly due to a story and characters that were not quite right. O'Henry it ain't.
Worth a watch though.