Chokher Bali

I wanted to see this movie long back. But then my attempts at seeing this movie ended in vain as it was a special screening and they had limited tickets. They say everything happens for a good. And I guess they are right cos the PVR cinemas have just opened up 11 new screens. And they had Chokher Bali running in one of them. The word Chokher Bali, pronounced(as I heard) as Cho-kher(as in Anupam Kher) Baali, means 'Sand in the Eye'. The movie perhaps is one of the most artistic and sensual movie I've ever seen. Poetry seemed to have creeped itself into every scene and every word uttered. Never mind the story. Probably it has been told in umpteen number of ways but maybe not in this beautiful way. I have never had a taste of Tagore's work till now(except for the national anthem :) ), but then this one was vintage stuff. Every character was etched to perfection. They weren't right or wrong but they were just owners of their actions and reactions wielded by passions and emotions. I always felt a movie is only half good as the book. Then in this case probably the book is twice as sweet. Hmm...makes me wonder how beautiful the book must be. That too in bengali it must be too good cos u always lose smthing in transalation.(I like the passage by Salman Rushdie in the novel 'Shame', where he talks about translation and its shorcomings.) I guess Rituparna Ghosh must have fell madly in love with the book. You can never talk about smthing so beautifully unless u fall in love with it like this. (One day, probably I'll finish my screenplay for "The God of Small Things" :) ). Talking on the subject of beauty, there's Aishwarya Rai & Raima Sen. Aish just fits in the role of an young widow. The longingness in the eyes when she sees ornaments, marital privileges. Damn..whoever said she cant act?(Actually I did :)). Raima Sen was just ravishing in the movie that sometimes(understand as mostly) I ended up looking at her rather than whats happening on the scene. Anyway if you are in Bangalore, I'd suggest the movie cos the theatre is jus too good and they really have cool speaker system. Go take a look..ofcourse, they have english subtitles.
P.S: Two years back, when I was in Austin, one of my teammates Minerva initially used to call me Bali. At that time, I felt bad about being called by some weird island in indonesia :( . Now, the name really doesnt look that bad. :)