Jun 05, 2006 05:23 PM
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(Updated Jun 05, 2006 05:54 PM)
Ever since I saw Terrorist, I eagerly wait for release of Santosh Sivan’s films. Though he is basically a cinematographer (Dilse, Iruvar, Thalapathi, Kalapani, Bride and Prejudice), he is one of the finest directors in India. The visuals of “Terrorist” and those close-up shots of the big eyes of Ayesha Dherkar are still fresh in my mind. Navarasa is his last and the latest Tamil film about Third Gender, which got released in 2005 and also won the national award for Best Film. It later got released in Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai but I couldn’t watch it at that time. So I was more than happy to grab a copy of VCD of the movie when SONY BMG released it recently.
A moment can’t get more embarrassing and annoying than it is when a eunuch comes for begging money from you in a train. And it becomes worse when you don’t give money. Their behavior in public is so bad that we obviously develop a kind of hatred towards such people. But what makes them to act like this? “Navarasa” gives a detailed answer for this question on artistically crafted visuals.
Swetha a schoolgirl happens to find out that his uncle transforms to female attire by wearing sarees and jewels at night and dresses and behaves like a man in daytime. Her uncle well aware of his condition decides to run away from the family to attend the koovagam festival that happens every year in Vizhuppuram district (South India). It is in this festival where eunuchs from all over India come together to perform a ritual of marrying Aravan (son of Arjuna). They believe that they are the reincarnates of lord Krishna who transformed as a female called Mohini to marry Aravan who has to sacrifice his life for the victory in the war. Swetha decides to bring back her uncle and goes to this koovagam festival. In her journey she explores more about eunuchs and their culture. Would she find and bring back her uncle? Even if she brings back, would the family accept a eunuch? These are the questions answered and by doing so, the movie leaves a lot of unanswered questions in our mind. Yet, the ending can’t get more optimistic than that in the movie.
Santosh Sivan has done a great favor to the eunuchs community by making such a sensitive movie, which reveals the other side of them. After watching the movie, every one in the audience would think for a moment and develop sympathy towards them. The great thing about the movie is the way the screenplay mixes documentary, fiction and mythology in the movie. The final product evolves out to be a new genre that is yet to be explored in world of cinema.
The movie initially starts as a fiction narrating about Swetha and her family and then moves to mythology when Swetha’s uncle tries to make Swetha understand how (s)he feels and what (s)he is by narrating the Aravan’s episode from Mahabaratha. Then it moves to koovagam festival and what we see is the footages from real festival with the fictional characters suitably placed in between real life eunuchs.
Editor Sreekar Prasad must have had a real tough time editing this movie. No matter how hard he does, some of the scenes towards the end are jerky. Santosh Sivan could have avoided deliberate scenes like streetwalkers teasing Bobby Darling. It kind of looks immature in this otherwise innovative story telling. As the name of the production ‘Hand Made Films” implies, technically the film is rough. Santosh Sivan has just used natural lights and steady cams to shoot the entire movie. Considering these constraints, the visual quality he has achieved is remarkable. The camera angles, the composition of shots and especially the final 10-15 minutes of Koovagam festival episode shot in slow motion enhance the impact of the proceedings on us.
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