Love, Lies and Lovers. Review on Raincoat

An overcast day, a meeting of two estranged lovers and a love transcending time and selfishness. That, in a nutshell is the story of Raincoat; loosely based on 'The gift of Magi' by O. Henry.

Movie: Raincoat

Main Players (Rituparno's termI; Ajay Devgan, Aishwarya Rai, Annu Kapoor

Music: Debajyoti Mishra

Direction, Lyrics etc: Rituparno Ghosh

The Story:Mannu (Ajay Devgan), forced into unemployment, makes the trip to Calcutta to seek monetary help from his friends to start a business. Unable to bury the ghosts of the past, the rain-drenched mannu, clad in his friend's raincoat, finds himself at the door of his lost love, Neeru (Aishwarya). This meeting, clouded by a bitter past and an unacceptable present ends up getting drenched in the lies of the two lovers trying to cling to an image they have of each other. The atmosphere of falsehood is broken by the house owner (Anu Kapoor) who comes calling during Neeru's short absence. The story concludes with the lovers trying to salvage each other out of near hopeless situations.

How the story works:

Like any good story, this one works at multiple levels. Apart from the superficial story of the meeting of two lost lovers, it unfussily brings out the magnanimity of love. The movie touches upon how relations and people change with time. Grey shades creep into each charecter. The lover who can do nothing about his beloved getting married to the other, the beloved who places security over love and friends who can help, but just that much. Finally, it also has something to say about how women develop their own defences against the worst tragedies.

Encore!:

Direction and Screenplay: Sensitive direction, well sketched characters and an engrossing screenplay. Even fringe players like Devgan's friend have been written to the minutest detail. A fabulous job from Rituparno.

Ajay Devgan: With such a well built body, Ajay Devgan doesn't look the Devdas character he is supposed to represent, but he more than makes it up with his acting. Not for a moment does he feel unbelievable as a person stricken by the vagaries of fate.

Cheers!

Music:Shubha Mudgal's voice haunts throughout the film and Debajyoti Mishra keeps the mood of the movie going throughout. Of course, I do wish that it was Lataji doing the background but that is such a personal opinion.

Clap Clap Clap!

Aishwarya Rai:As the housewife resigned to her fate, the deglamorised Rai brings out her best and sometimes, the effort shows. I have never been a great fan of her acting but I have to admit that barring a few scenes, Ms Rai does a commendable job. I would have loved to see Kajol or Konkana sen do this but then...

Finally...

This movie is a great watch for people who have gone through the misfortunes of love. I am sure that you will be able to relate to every word in the movie. For those who liked ''Dhoom'' and ''Hum Tum'', ''Veer-Zaara'' would be a better bet at trying to understand such themes without getting yourself too taxed.

This may well be the last movie I am seeing this year and I thank Rituparno for winding up my annual cinematic experience.