The houses are being set ablaze.
Innocent people are being massacred.
Terror has already captured the freedom of air.
Nothing oozes hope.
Can one trust somebody from the so called opposite religion to play a friend in such a situation?
Mrs. Meenakshi Iyer with her infant son is on her way to Calcutta to be back with her husband. One of her family friends introduces her to a young successful photographer Raja Chaudhary. As their journey starts, they grow friendly. But at one instance the bus halts due to communal riots.
From Mrs. Meenakshi Iyer's stand: Meenakshi is from a Tamil Brahamin family. As soon as she hears that the man who has been helping her in the bus is a Muslim, she repels away from the very man who had been helping her knowing that she is a Hindu. Meenakshi comes from an orthodox Tamil family, hence she isn't ready mentally to accept friendship of an individual from Muslim origin. Her mindset is limited to a block which states that, she cannot trust or even speak to a person from another religion. This mental and cultural background of her's prevents her from accepting Raja as a friend at the first instance when he tells her that he is a Muslim.
From Raja Chaudhary's stand: Raja is a successful photographer. He respects his religion, but doesn't feel the need to stick to the norms of his religion to prove that he is a Muslim. On Meenakshi's instant reaction when he tells her his religious identity, he is shocked. He is from a modern society, where religious identities don't held a major importance in any relationship. He has a secular state of mind towards religions.
Hope in a dark world of Fanaticism:
As curfew is in effect in the area where the bus has halted, all the passengers are given strict warnings to remain in the bus till the curfew is not lifted. As moments of terrorised silence pass by, a Hindu mob enters the bus searching for Muslims. One of the jews in the bus points towards an old Muslim couple. An old man and his wife are mercilessly dragged out of the bus and.....
Raja is watching all this helplessly. The moment, the old couple is pushed out of the bus, he tries to get up from his seat to escape. But to his astonishment, Meenakshi hastily keeps her baby in his lap. When the Hindu fanatics ask his name, Meenakshi utters, ''Mr. & Mrs. Iyer''
Meenakshi needs Raja's help to pass safely through the trauma of riots. Raja needs the name 'Mr. Iyer' to come out alive of these mad riots and moreover he has to fulfill his duty as a human being by accompanying Meenakshi to safety till her destination. This journey gives birth to a beautiful relationship. A relationship that substitutes distrust and hatered with tender pulsebeats of love. A relationship that will keep glowing in entire lives of two people in anonymous corners of the world.
The Protocol of Mr. & Mrs. Iyer:
'Mr. & Mrs. Iyer' is about trusting a human being for the sake of a religion called humanity rather than going with the flow of a particular man made religion. The movie is a tight slap on the hypocrite face of fanaticism. It's about a poetry of love in midst of communal disharmony. The movie has scenes, that leave one breatheless.
One of the most effective scenes is where the old couple are dragged out of the bus without even taking their age in consideration. Here we see the dark shadow of hatered that has taken the better off human beings. This scene has been executed brilliantly. We see no literal violence in this scene, but our eyes defy us as our hearts feel violent strokes without witnessing it.
There is a scene showing the next morning after slaughter of the old couple. Here Raja is seen taking photographs. But there is more to this scene than eyes can see. Raja's heart is crying as he thinks of yesterday's event. He is trying to wash his heart clean off anger and pathos. For this he is taking the help of photography which is his hobby and profession.
The scene where Meenakshi wakes up one morning and finds Raja gone with his luggage. This scene sees her regretting for her deed of saving a stranger who has now left her alone. As she looks out of the window she finds Raja sleeping on open ground below a tree, just because she had denied to share her room with him.
There are many such scenes which are better watched than read. So better I keep my mouth shut.
The Strength of Mr. & Mrs. Iyer:
The strength of this movie lies in the honest team work of the director, actors, cinematographer and music director
Rahul Bose shows Raja's sensitivity and patience with comfort. His naturally easy going facial expressions leave a mark of a man's deep thoughts. He is no doubt a brilliant performer.
Konkana Sen plays Mrs. Meenakshi Iyer to the nooks n' corners of the character. Her Tamilian accent doesn't show the hard work she has gone through to get it right. That's where she comes out as a winner.
To add to these two lead actors, the old couple played by Bhisham Sahani & Surekha Sikri don't tend to leave my heart. These are two small roles, but the way these seasoned actors have performed is something that leaves the viewer restless.
Aparna Sen has used her skillful directorial abilities to their best. After 36, Chowrangi Lane, this is surely one of her most treasured works. She lets the characters part ways in a gentle way without letting the scene go melodramatic. Many such scenes in the movie make her directorial touch felt.
Cinematographer Gautam Ghose uses his camera creating the poetic atmosphere of the movie. One of the scenes where the whole village is set ablaze and a small kid is standing outside a burning house crying his heart out gives the idea of what his eyes must have seen. That's called craft of the camera. And Gautam Ghose executes it brilliantly.
Ustad Zakir Hussain's background score and songs lend the perfect narration to the movie's most complex scenes. The background score at the climax, is a master's piece of art. In one of the scenes, the voice of insects has been brilliantly used in background.
What Mr. & Mrs. Iyer teach us:
We badly need to arouse the human beings deep asleep under the covers of religions.
Religious disharmony is not born out of any religion, but from the hurted religious egos of it's followers.
Communal riots are the times when each human being has to stand by his fellow human being and not by his respective religion.
