By Taran Adarsh, September 12, 2008 - 11:20 IST


Rituparno Ghosh, one of the finest storytellers from Bengal, chooses Utpal Dutt's play 'Aajker Shahjahan' as the premise for his new endeavour THE LAST LEAR. The plotline [the story of an aging superstar] as also the execution of the subject is the type that holds appeal for a miniscule section of audience.

The problem with THE LAST LEAR is that there's too much Shakespeare in the movie, which, to put it bluntly, isn't everyone's cup of tea. Besides, certain themes may hold some appeal for those into theatre, but don't work on cinematic level.

Write your own movie review of The Last Lear
Yet, there's no denying that THE LAST LEAR has its share of engrossing moments. A few individualistic sequences are noteworthy as also the portrayal of characters by some prominent names. But that's not enough!

In a nutshell, THE LAST LEAR fails to connect. At best, it may find some patronage at Festivals, but there's nothing for Indian moviegoers.

Harry [Amitabh Bachchan] lives for acting, loves theatre, adores Shakespeare and absolutely detests cinema. Enter Siddharth [Arjun Rampal], a movie director. He is smart, Harry finds out in the very first meeting. He is glad to have found a cerebral partner to have a conversation with.

Slowly, they bond over coffees, vodka and conversations. Harry decides to work in Siddharth's film. New relationships blossom. But an incident changes everything?

Director Rituparno Ghosh's choice of the subject has its limitations. It's good to think different, but THE LAST LEAR is abstract. From the writing point of view, a number of points remain unexplained and even if they are, it's difficult to decipher.

Like, for instance, Shefali Shah's hatred for Preity is unexplainable. Why does Shefali detest Preity? Her problem, in the first place, should've been with the director of the film [Arjun Rampal], not the co-actors. Also, the accident and the aftermath lack clarity. Why does Arjun want a retake? Why does he want Amitabh to perform the death-defying jump all over again? This, when he knows that Amitabh can't see without his glasses. Clearly, the writing has its share of loopholes.

That's not all, for THE LAST LEAR is too verbose, like Rituparno's earlier film RAINCOAT. It gets very talk-heavy after a point and that's quite off-putting.

Amitabh Bachchan is the life of THE LAST LEAR. But it's definitely not his best performance so far. The actor has delivered stronger performances in the past. He's good, not great. Arjun is evolving into a fine actor. After ROCK ON!!, this is another performance that would fetch Arjun laurels. Preity is very effective. Shefali Shah is superb. Divya Dutta is wasted. Prosenjit is alright. Jishu impresses.

On the whole, THE LAST LEAR has something for the Festival circuit, but nothing for the cinema-going audience in India. At the box-office, it caters to a minuscule section of moviegoers at select metros only. Disappointing!

1.5/5




Effectively intriguing

Sukanya Verma | September 12, 2008 11:12 IST




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There is a difference between people and personalities.

Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear [Images] makes a fascinating and uncompromising journey in this thought. Although his vision may be marred by dissatisfactory subtext, apathetic characterisations and awkward communication; it single-mindedly strives to discriminate greatness from genius and idiosyncrasy from commitment. In that sense alone, The Last Lear inspired by Utpal Dutt's play Aajker Shahjahan, is effectively intriguing.

Ghosh is completely absorbed in deciphering the workings of his central protagonist's Shakespeare-dominated mind, where silence is a poetic pause and the untold becomes enigmatic.

*
Also Read: Touching up Amitabh Bachchan

Fortunately for Ghosh, his leading man Amitabh Bachchan [Images] appears to be reading his mind. He plays Harish Mishra aka Harry, a theatre actor hailing from the Shakespearean school of thought. Moody like the English weather, he expects everyone to be well-versed with A Midsummer Night's Dream and recognise it's the Tempest that he lovingly quotes.

Like an actor in play, he's always a different person at different hours of the day. At times, he transforms into a gallant knight in a grand battle. On other occasions, you can hardly tell him apart from an eight-year old petulant child (albeit a drunken one) languishing to have his way. Occasionally, he is eerily quiet only to unexpectedly bark at a mindless passerby peeing on his walls. His penchant for drama reflects in the unkempt white tresses dominating his wrinkled countenance as well his choice of clothing, ranging from kimono robes to Egyptian galabeyas. He is a legend of his own making. And Bachchan essays this startling personality with awe-inspiring ardor.

Essentially, The Last Lear is only about Harry, how he is persuaded to act in a film and his concealed regrets. He always wanted to enact King Lear but due to some ambiguous reasons, could not. Later, when the reality of it is spilled out, you really wish Ghosh had thought of something better than that. Harry, l believe, is way too unconventional to succumb to such a lame obstacle.

Therein lays the problem with The Last Lear. While Ghosh builds Harry's aura to perfection, everyone around him fails to reach out. To think their conversations, the film keeps travelling from past to present, gives us an insight into the man in question. Still, they come across as a bunch of unimportant people whom he interacted with.

As the visionary filmmaker Siddharth, Arjun Rampal [Images] is convincingly intense, understated and dry. But there's not much detailing to his character. Is he really as radical as he seems? Is he genuinely feeling guilty about Harry's condition since he is the one who persuaded him to act in a movie? Somehow, the open ending fails to convey anything substantial. To me, he strikes as a self-centred and hypocritical manipulator.

Indeed, this is one of Preity Zinta's most un-bubbly roles. As a traumatised soul struggling to hold back a long-due outburst, courtesy her tumultuous, abusive relationship with her man, Zinta is palpably vulnerable. Sadly, her dialogues in English distract one from the seriousness of the situation.

It's an English film with crumbs of Bengali and Hindi thrown here and there, in which the priority of the language seems apt in all scenes AB. But the interaction, between his live-in companion (played by an excellent, commanding Shefali Shah), night nurse (Divya Dutta [Images] re-doing her Veer Zaara [Images] bit in English) and Preity, limps and lugs uncomfortably. On such occasions, a local flavour could have added to the authenticity.

Flaws aside, this film belongs to Amitabh Bachchan. The actor is at his unconditional best, lending unrestrained brilliance, puckish nonconformism and persuasive madness to the actor he portrays. Gradually, during the process, they become one, making it hard to distinguish the star from the subject. This is Bachchan's masterpiece even when it requires him to do something as casual as twisting a whiskey glass around his long, perceptive fingers.

Ultimately, The Last Lear is neither a study nor a summary. It is an indulgent celebration of a larger-than-life personality, a classic consumed, for better or worse, by his art. In this case, Shakespeare.

Rediff Rating: 3/5

Rituparno Ghosh is a far cry from ordinary. He does not make films for the masses, he does not make films to help people escape reality and he does not make films to revel in the luxuries of money. He makes simple films soaked with emotions—films that make you feel. As Cameron Bailey so rightly put it at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, “Rituparno Ghosh can make a simple conversation between two characters unbelievably dramatic.” After watching The Last Lear, I heartily agree.

There are those that are so inadequately skilled that they throw emotions in your face to trigger laughs and wrench tears from audiences. And then there are those, whose proficiency is so overwhelming that a simple dialogue or gesture can open the gates to a flood of emotions. Rituparno Ghosh belongs to the latter. There are also those whose mind is painted stark black and white that they need to spell everything out as if they are making a film for a two-year old child. And then there are those whose eye is so tuned, who showcase their mastery of detail so vividly that only the most attentive of viewers can bask in the splendor.

Many people like to draw a thick line between ‘commercial’ and ‘art’ films. In the world of cinema, this is a line I fail to recognize because filmmaking is an art, which comes in various expressions. And let me tell you, if you open your eyes to the world of art—real art like The Last Lear—you are in for a treat.

William Shakespeare is often regarded as the ultimate master of literature and remains an inspiration to millions around the world. It seems director Rituparno Ghosh holds Shakespeare in high esteem as well, high enough to heavily incorporate his play, King Lear, into his latest, and first English-language film. Adapted from Utpal Dutt’s play Aajkar Shahjahaan, The Last Lear is not an adaptation of Shakespeare’s work, but instead follows an aged, reclusive and quirky actor named Harishraj Mishra (Amitabh Bachchan). He has shoulder-length silvery hair, hates when people pee outside his house, refuses to buy a regular doorbell and likes to be called Harry. He is a bizarre man, but he is a man with passion—a passion for Shakespeare, and only Shakespeare.

As a theatre actor, Harry has portrayed an unbelievable magnitude of characters from Shakespearean plays, but his career was cut short a week before the opening of King Lear, in which he was to play the title role; the role he had been dying to play for his entire life. Withdrawn and secluded in his flat, his passion is re-awakened when director Siddharth Kumar (Arjun Rampal) approaches and finally coaxes him into playing the lead in his next film titled ‘The Mask’. Siddharth himself is quite the literary expert, and it is his vast knowledge of Shakespeare that attracts Harry into working with him. The two develop a warm relationship and share humorous moments together. As they begin work on their film, the story takes a turn while Harry meets Shabnam (Preity Zinta), an actress in grave need of acting tips. Another friendship blossoms until one shot in particular changes Harry’s life—forever.

Harishraj Mishra is laying in bed. Ailing. Motionless. And speechless. It is the premiere of ‘The Mask’ but the leading man cannot muster a clap for his own film. Siddharth refuses to visit him while Shabnam tries her level best to bring him back to life. Through intriguing and fantastically written conversations between Shabnam, Vandana (a woman living with Harry, played by Shefali Shah) and Ivy (Harry’s nurse, played by Divya Dutta) and the conscious of a guilt-ridden journalist (Jishu Sengupta), we slip back into time to where the reels began to roll—and got tragically stuck.

Heavily laced with Shakespearean dialogues and undertones, The Last Lear is a subtly crafted film. More-so than the story itself, it is the powerful and earth-shattering dialogues that make The Last Lear truly an apt tribute to Shakespeare. More than half of the film is a series of dialogues, so beguiling that the viewer is left captivated. It’s hard to believe that such simple conversations can create so many wonderful dramatic moments on celluloid. It simply proves that it is not a bucket of tears that defines drama, but circumstances, situations, what’s spoken and sometimes what’s left unspoken. It’s an extraordinary feat for a writer used to writing in Hindi or Bengali to present dialogues in English which are undoubtedly world-class. When all is said and done and you creep out of your seat, it is the dialogues that stay with you.

It does take about thirty minutes or so to get used to our stars speaking solely in English, but it grows on you until you start to like it.

Though there are no songs, the background score by 21 Grams is note-worthy and builds up tension throughout the film. What’s nice is that they understand that sometimes silence is the perfect background score. Abhik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography is essential to setting the tone and his method of snapshots during the climax is extremely interesting and innovative though it might irk a few viewers. However, if one looks at it from a different perspective, those snapshots capture expressions better than a regular rolling film.

All is not well in The Last Lear. The film suffers heavily in the editing department (Arghya Kamal Mitra), especially within the first hour or so. It takes time for the story to pick up pace and start moving. Unfortunately this comes as quite a damper because there are some sparkling scenes in the first half, which might get overlooked due to the crawling pace. Editing in the second half is much better. In fact, the entire film is quite slow in its execution and you wish things would pick up a bit faster, but the brilliant cast keeps you watching.

It seems like Ghosh can take any star, no matter how overbearing their persona, and make them deliver. He did it with Raima Sen in Chokher Bali, Ajay Devgan and Aishwarya Rai in Raincoat and Soha Ali Khan and Abhishek Bachchan in Antar Mahal. And he has done it again with his entire cast.

Divya Dutta is cute as Ivy and she really does have a penchant for dialogue delivery. One really hopes she gets bigger roles in the future, as she continues to prove that she’s a great actress. Jisshu Sengupta is quite good as the journalist, but his voice lacks the power and gripping voice quality required of his narration scenes. Shefali Shah is an absolute scene-stealer and delivers a performance full of fire and gusto. She takes to her character beautifully and her facial expressions are priceless. Wow!

Arjun Rampal has long been ridiculed for his lack of impact as an actor, but naturally, Ghosh extracts quite a worthy performance. There are times where he stumbles, but overall he pulls his role off well. It’s his sometimes mundane facial expressions that fail to match up with his powerful dialogue delivery. This will most definitely act as a stepping stone in his career. He definitely deserves to be noticed in his scenes with Amitabh, which are some of the most enjoyable of the film.

She once claimed that art films don’t pay and she doesn’t work in them because she doesn’t want to live in a hut. If it’s Preity’s prerogative to call this an art film, then please, do more of them! Films like Salaam Namaste, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and even Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna have not exploited her talent well enough. As Shabnam, she proves that it is not the glamorous clothing, excess make-up or Yash Raj stamp that makes her who she is. On the other hand, she is an accomplished actress that has been quietly hiding and remaining complacent with ordinary roles, waiting to lash out and prove to us that she is worthy of her slot as a leading actress in Indian cinema. It’s not so much the earlier part of the film or during dramatic scenes in which she excels. Surprisingly, she is the best during conversations with Vandana. She’s outstanding during the last scene, and has expressed herself better in English than we have seen her express herself in Hindi for quite some time.

As I write this review, I do not know behind which corners to search for words to describe the astonishing talent that runs through Amitabh Bachchan’s veins. When watching him on screen, it’s hard for any viewer to forget they are watching Amitabh Bachchan. But in this role, you forget about Big B and you are only intrigued into the world of Harishraj Mishra and his eccentricities. There is no, I repeat, no other actor in this industry that could have pulled this role off with so much power. Whenever he projects his baritone voice and bellows Shakespearean dialogues, it sends an intense shiver through your body. For all those in doubt of his talent, let me remind you that Amitabh Bachchan is THE best. If you don’t believe me, go watch The Last Lear and leave behind any star-persona you have attached to his name. It’s a pleasure to watch the film just for him. Not even Shakespeare would be able to find words to express how brilliant he was. More so than Shakespeare, The Last Lear is an ode to Amitabh Bachchan.

At the end of the gala film premiere at TIFF, the audience, Indians and non-Indians rose to give a standing ovation. As we slowly walked out of the theatre, each one of us were in complete awe. There were hushed conversations, most commenting on Amitabh’s astounding performance. Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear is art at its finest. There are blemishes with the pacing of the film and the editing, but any connoisseur of cinema would be delighted to indulge in such an authentic experience. Rituparno Ghosh has put together a film to be a proud of and a film to be appreciated by all lovers of art and literature.

As William Shakespeare once said: “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players…” (As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII, 139-140). Let me tell you Mr. Rituparno Ghosh, you have played your part brilliantly.

Rating: 3.5/5

Greatness, they say, is never thrust on you. You are either born with it. Or you are not. Amitabh Bachchan is at a place today where nothing and everything he does surprises us.

The Bachchan saga gets one more twist in the tale as the ageing, cantankerous, flamboyant, eccentric and embittered Shakespearean actor battles old age, unwieldy hair and a receding genius.

And what a tale! Rituparno Ghosh specialises in telling stories that pitch two utterly unmatched characters against each other in a battle where the lines are drawn between the egos of the two individuals.

The Last Lear is actually a series of dramatic dialogues sewn together in a pastiche that suggests pain to be the constant subliminal text of all human interactions.

So we have this bearded 'intense' director Siddharth (Arjun Rampal) who decides to make a film on the life of an unemployed ageing clown. For the role, he approaches the reclusive wacky stage actor Harish Mishra (Amitabh) who sneers wryly at the very thought of entering cinema at his age, and then warms up to the idea and gives the part his heart and soul.

Interesting possibilities pitching cinema against theatre examined, explored, searched and dissected by the director with the microscopic manoeuvrings of emotions that the camera ferrets out of the human heart and makes visible to our eyes.

In Ghosh's incandescent world of human suffering and redemption, you won't find more than two people in the same room at any given time. Sometimes there are three. But then the third individual is so still in her space, you hardly notice her/his presence beyond a shadow.

Such is the truth of Divya Dutta's character. As the benevolent nurse on night duty to look after the dying Shakespearean actor, she gives the actor's mistress Vandana (Shefali Shah) and his co-star Shabnam (Preity Zinta) quiet company. The two women talk the night away on the man they're both fascinated by.

Ghosh goes backward in time from the night the film featuring Harish Mishra is premiered to the interactive events leading up to his selection and shooting for the film.

The narration is purposely loose-limbed. Even the one-to-one interactions that are the backbone of this beautifully layered chamber-piece are done with the casual grace of a trapeze dancer walking the familiar tightrope blindfolded and not fearful of the fall.

The characters are all in desperate need of redemption. Whether it's the jaded but still-spirited Shakespearean actor or his unhappy overworked mistress, or the model-turned actress Shabnam, or even the young journalist (Jisshu Sengupta) trying to piece together the opulent mystique of the Shakespearean actor's ego and enigma - the characters are perched on the brink of self-destruction, holding on to that thread of self-esteem, which keeps them from that fatal fall.

The Last Lear is Ghosh's second film in a row after the Bengali movie "Khela" to be located in the film world. The distance between the 'reality' of the acting world and the realism of the real world where people are often acting before one another, is covered by the sensitive director with supple grace.

The English dialogues are spun in spoken sensitivity. But the words do get in the way of the characters sometimes.

When the film starts Shabnam is on the verge of breaking up with her suspicious husband. By the time she starts shooting with Harish Mishra in a scenic hill station, she's in an off-camera dialogue with her aged co-star and ready to scream out her angst in a war-cry of articulated liberation.

Preity does here what most actors shy away from. She actually listens to her co-stars as they express their angst.

The film is littered with luminous performances. If Divya is quiet and warm in her small role, Shefali simply takes over the screen each time she walks into the frame.

And after "Rock On", Arjun Rampal delivers another pain-lashed performance.

As for Amitabh, he goes from venom to vitality in quick succession, creating for his character a kingdom of theatrical yearnings.

Ghosh has created a world carved out of mahogany-like glistening surfaces, hiding fears and anxieties that have little to do with Harish's age, and everything to do with the rage that the experience of life brings in its wake.

Indranil Ghosh's artwork and Abhik Mukherjee's cameras write out the poetry of the motion picture.

Watch The Last Lear to see the layerings of emotion that the director extends into his narration without losing sight of the lightness of touch in the outer crust.

Final Rating: * * * ?

What the heck is wrong with Taran Adarsh. Everywhere in news I am seeing it is one of the best movie by Amitabh. Indiafm reviews sucks these days. Look at IMDB it got 8.8/10. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1039969/

Can't wait for dvd to come out.

total agree he loves commercial films

I already Posted InDIAFM review

thanks dude go to allbollywood.com and post more

The Last Lear - Movie Review- 2stars

Sanskriti Media

Last Updated: September 11, 2008 08:29:03
wire photo

Director: Rituparno Ghosh

Producer: Arindam Chaudhuri

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal, Priety Zinta, Shefali Shah, Divya Dutta, Jishu Sengupta

Rating: **

Satyajit Ray's films opened even the dullest mind to quality cinema. Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear tests the patience of even the most dedicated parallel cinema lover. It isn't the pace of the film, it's the shallow portrayal of a character-driven static play. Not that director Rituparno Ghosh fails in detailing; the failure is just in the film's ability to touch the audience.
The Last Lear traces a theatre veteran Harish Mishra(Amitabh Bachchan) aka Harry's journey into films to his current state of coma.

Throughout the film Harry is bed ridden, so the story is revealed in flash backs by those closest to him. Harry's film, The Mask, is releasing on Diwali and people seem to be too occupied with the festivities of the season to pay any attention to the film. Even the cast and crew of the film seem to have no interest in launching the film. The director of the film, Siddharth (Arjun Rampal), is in a defiant mood choosing to ignore the press waiting outside the theatre. Its lead actress Shabnam (Priety Zinta) refuses to attend the screening and goes to visit the unconscious hero instead. And Harry, of course, is in no state to attend to even his basic needs, much less a film screening.

So at Harry's place the maidens of the film sit together to exchange 'unpleasantries'; How dare you come to see him? It's your fault he's a living vegetable….Have you got no shame coming doused in perfume like that….etc, etc. With all the bitchiness out the women then settle down for some quality bonding. Vandana (Shefali Shah) melts and talks about how she came to live with him. Shabnam talks about her dying relationship with her husband and how Harry helped her perform under these circumstances. Elsewhere, journalist Gautam(Jishu Sengupta) reminisces how Siddharth and Harry first got together.

As expected from a Rituparno Ghosh film, this one too has a slow moving pensive plot, but it lacks steam. There isn't much of a story to begin with; the characters are the heart of the film. But the treatment is rather half hearted leading to a rather emotionless film.

Amitabh Bachchan is impressive in parts but at others he's just screaming himself hoarse which is so not what Shakespeare is all about. His baritone voice shouts out lines from Shakespeare's works like a speech at some political rally trying to make a point on the streets. The same goes for Shefali Shah who is quite good in parts but then she really overdoes it at times. Could it be the director's influence?

Preity Zinta has a dialogue in the film where she says that she's not really an actress, she is a model who happened to get into acting and the critics don't understand that. Well, she just said it all about her performance in this film as well. She's plastic and completely out of place in this off beat world of cinema.

Arjun Rampal is the subtle character in the film which comes as a relief. He doesn't scream, he doesn't move around much and he doesn't overact, maybe because he doesn't know how to overact, or simply act. Either way, the director has used his capabilities well. The same cant be said for Harry's nurse. Divya Dutta's style of speaking in the film is simply ridiculous; so contrived and so completely unbelievable.

The film does have its finer points like the chemistry between Arjun Rampal and Amitabh Bachchan that's been captured really well. They drink together, they discuss Shakespeare together with great pleasure and they watch people peeing on the walls of Harry's house through a CCTV; small family, happy family.

As far as production values are concerned, they're average. Cinematography is decent. The edit could have been better. And the background score does not add a lot to the film.

Well it's as they say, all that glitters is not gold. Or, in this case, all that's carbon is not diamond.
? Copyright 2008.