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A scene from “Vihir” in competition in the New Currents section of the 14th Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival |
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
BUSAN ― "Vihir," in competition in the New Currents section of the 14th Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival, forgoes the usual song and dance featured in the batch of Bollywood films that make their way here.
But you can forget about comparing it to ``Slumdog Millionaire'' ― not to mean this introspective coming-of-age drama isn't crowd-pleasing.
In his second feature, critically acclaimed director Umesh Kulkarni (``Valu'') offers a keen look into how children deal with death. Meditative and rife with nostalgia, the film is beautifully shot. ``Vihir'' shows that something classic never goes out of style, and shines through the lush, organic montage of pastoral scenery, carefully constructed dialogue and naturalistic performances by its actors.
But still waters run deep ― the allegorical tale, albeit well-told, is rather crawling in pace and more for hotwiring the film festival circuit. Indeed, having made its world premiere here the Marathi film is now featured in the London film festival, which opened Thursday.
Fourteen-year-old Sameer (Madan Deodhar) and his 15-year-old cousin Nachiket (Alok Rajwade) are the best of friends. They write to each other (the return of the traditional paper and pen is quite refreshing, adding to the fable-like character of the film), exchanging concern about their future as they face graduation.
Sameer and his family leave the city of Pune to visit their country relatives in time for a wedding. But for our protagonist, the visit has only one purpose, to hang out with Nichiket. The two are inseparable, with Sameer looking up to Nichiket, a free-thinking spirit who seems far wise beyond his years.
When not mulling on one of Nichiket's existential questions, such as the deception of human perception, the two pass the lazy summer hours swimming in a local well (the title of the film) and playing with their little cousins. But the sweet sojourn ends on a rather sour note for Sameer, who takes offense in Nichiket's doubts of pursuing studies in Pune and thereby moving nearby.
The boys stand at a crossroads between childhood innocence and adulthood, and their troubled minds are mirrored by shaky family dynamics, in particular the poor fate of a female cousin who is being forced into a marriage she does not want.
Just when Sameer heads back to the country home, however, he is shocked to discover that Nachiket has drowned in the well they were so fond of. The film does not make it clear whether Nachiket's death was pure accident; the film adds on a touch of realism ― and fantasy ― in portraying the often elusive nature of truths, and the narrative focuses on how our protagonist tries to deal with the tragedy, rummaging through memory in an attempt to reconcile what he knew, and what he didn't know, about his late friend.
Deodhar is most convincing in portraying the sensitive teen who feels like he is alone in mourning Nachiket's death, and showing how the innocent game of hide-and-seek he once played can be painful when applied to real life's search for self and meaning.
While ``Vihir'' seems to proceed a little too slow at times, at one point seeming to end before the actual finale, its incisive observation of sorrow ― the numbing stupor, acceptance and the final stage of letting go ― makes the stumbling tempo but a minor, even natural, form of mortal beauty.
hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr
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