Is marriage the sunset of love?. Review on The Great Indian Butterfly

"Love is the dawn of marriage, and marriage is the sunset of love"...or so states a French proverb! The Great Indian Butterfly looks at the institution of marriage with binoculars, and it has to be said that all the flaws in the modern institution are revealed in great detail....making it look very much like the "sunset of love"...or maybe not. Maybe the French got it wrong, and its not marriage in itself that is at fault, but its the mammoth expectations of eternal love and romance that kill a marriage.....watch the movie and come to your own conclusions!

Plot:

Krish (Aamir Bashir) and Meera (Sandhya Mridul) are a modern day, upwardly mobile couple, both with demanding jobs and work schedules, and not a lot of time to devote to each other or to themselves. They decide to take their annual weekly holiday in Goa, searching for an elusive indian butterfly only to be found in the Cardegas valley in Goa. Before they can get to the great indian butterfly, they have a number of hurdles to cross.....missing their flight to Goa, unresolved issues at work, a memory of an abortion that wont go away, an ex-girlfriend (Koel Purie) that haunts the couple..and so on! As can be imagined, the couple bicker and argue through each mine field that they knowingly/unknowingly step on..until they get to the end of their vacation and find the mythical butterfly.

My Take:

The movie is shot entirely in the english language, giving it an urban, realistic feel. There arent a lot of characters in this movie and the focus is on the couple Krish and Meera. That being said, the films moves at a good pace as the characterisation of the couple is spot on and if you are married yourself, you will definitely identify with one of the two characters.

Sarthak DasGupta (the director) takes the viewer through the minute details of a couples marriage...the failed expectations, the ego hassles, the "you said this" "you did that" etc etc unsavoury details..so frighteningly true to life. Yet, despite all the unpleasantness that the couple exchange, ultimately you just feel sorry for the both of them and know that they are both just victims of a demanding and stressful life. What I really liked about this movie is that the director doesnt take sides, he portrays both Krish and Meera as real, flawed, yet likeable human beings.

Aamir Bashir as Krish is superb and absolutely natural....I guess its the quality of being able to blend into a role that has unfortunately sidelined him in the industry. Hopefully, with more and more movies being made for the multiplex audiences, we will get to see more of him on screen. Sandhya Mridul is a bit shrill and over the top, but she displays a vulnerability that reaches out to the audience. Koel Purie is good as the femme fatale (kind of like a modern day anuradha patel from "ijaazat"). The only casting disappointment was Barry John as the narrator, and the keeper of the secret of the mysterious butterfly. I know he is a huge theatre personality, but he should so not act!

Do watch this movie...while it may seem like a cynical portrayal of marriage, it has a happy ending. I know I could identify with a lot that I saw on screen and I was completely absorbed for the two hours that the movie ran for...what more can you ask for? :)