New Indian voices lend Mumbai a sharp focus in Toronto

Three first-time Indian directors, each with a distinct and exciting sensibility, have generated a major buzz at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

All three – Anand Gandhi, Manjeet Singh and Mohit Takalkar –have films in TIFF’s City to City programme devoted to Mumbai. But none of the films has anything in common with the song-and-dance idiom of popular Hindi cinema that the city churns out for mass consumption.

Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus weaves the stories of three disparate characters – a blind photographer, a spiritual guru and a stockbroker– into a stunning narrative tapestry that adds up to one of the significant debuts in India cinema in recent years.

Ship of Theseus draws its strength primarily from its sheer originality. While several three-in-one tales might have filmed around the world, the feel and texture of Gandhi’s remarkable film are unique and unlike anything seen before.

The film has a pace and rhythm that draws the audience into its world without much apparent effort. Mastery of this nature is rare indeed in a film made by a debutant. Ship of Theseus deals with big philosophical questions, but the film never ever lapses into didacticism.

Outstanding casting gives director Gandhi’s work a fillip. Egyptian filmmaker and actress Aida Elkashef plays a photographer who regains her eyesight and begins to look at her life and art in a new light.

Theatre doyen Neeraj Kabi gets into the skin of an animal rights activist and religious leader whose principles are tested when he falls seriously ill. Sohum Shah essays the character of money-minded stockbroker who goes all out to get to the bottom of the truth after he stumbles upon a kidney theft racket.            

The psychological journeys of the trio are no different from the inner voyage of discovery that the young male protagonist of Takalkar’s The Bright Day undertakes, but the latter film has its own rhythm and logic.

Incorporating a slew of Kabir couplets into its genteel and gentle narrative design, The Bright Day follows Shiv as he travels across three different landscapes and seasons – Pune in the rains, Rajasthan in summer and Benaras in winter – in search of the note that defines him.

Theatre man Takalkar brings all his storytelling experience to bear upon a film that isn’t interested in conventional narrative methods. Lead actor Saran Sathaye (who is a member of Takalkar’s Pune-based theatre group) delivers a performance that is a study in emotional subtlety.

With a cast of actors like Mohan Agashe, Robin Das, Rajit Kapoor, Shernaz Patel and Radhika Apte, among others, the introspective film conveys essential message of renunciation and self-realisation without the slightest trace of pretension.

Pretty much the same is true of Manjeet Singh’s Mumbai Cha Raja (Mumbai’s King), about two street children (amateur actors playing themselves), a boy fleeing an abusive father and dysfunctional family and a spunky balloon-seller, who form a strong bond in their bid rise above their misfortunes.

Singh follows the two boys as they negotiate their way through different experiences on the streets and bylanes of the megalopolis as the city celebrates the culmination of the festival of Lord Ganesh.

The film stresses the tenacity of the two boys but does not glorify their poverty. More than anything, Mumbai Cha Raja underscores the indomitability of the human spirit amid the most appalling social and economic circumstances.

What unfolds before our eyes rarely, if ever, look likestaged situations. Director Singh sustains the naturalistic strain all through the film without once attempting to either liven up or prettify the frames.

The grandeur of the title injects an air of irony into thetreatment and the occasional touches of humour lend the otherwise the grim toneof the film a dash of intrinsic lustre.