Ship of Theseus

 

Saints are supposed to follow celibacy then why are you practicing so much of intellectual Masturbation….

This is a dialogue from the movie and this movie is full of such erudite and surprising - humorous dialogues. Not only the dialogues, this movie itself is a piece of intellectualism. From the title to the dialogue, to the subplots, to the story, to the acting; everything is so scholarly and has a background of its own that if you are able to get each and every piece then you really belong to that elite world of intellectuals. I will give you a few examples excluding the meaning of the title; that you should figure out by yourself, atleast! One of the character’s names is Charvaka who is supposed to have founded the first Atheist system in our Indian Philosophy and the character also portrays similar practices. The same characters also dons a T-shirt with a phrase – “Pastafarian” written on it. Pastafarian comes from the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a light hearted view of religion. Mentions of the Novel Perfume to correlate the intent of one of the Protagonist can also be traced in the movie. 

The movie is a big intellectual conversation amongst a set of people who are also playing the protagonist in the film. The director has taken help of conversation or dialogues to portray the contemplation of the protagonists and their idealism, identity, dualism, pseudo identity and Theseus’s paradox. It is one of a scholarly movie I have ever come across in Indian Cinema. This one fits into the league of Eat, Pray and Love or Darjeeling Express. The movie is highly innovative and keeps you thinking all the time and finally influences you at the end. It sends out a very clear message to donate your organs in the end - to be precise explanation of the movie, otherwise it gives you too much food for thought. 

The movie shows three stories of three very unique individuals who are highly talented in their own fields and equally obstinate about their ideologies. And all three of them are suffering from some or the other physical ailment apart from their physiological stubbornness. All three of them go through transplants and as the Theseus Paradox depicts their actual self does not exist after that. They are changed individuals though each one of them tries really hard to follow his or her own doctrine. In the climax, these three meet at an NGO meet alongwith some other people who are all saved by same person who saved these main characters. Yes, correct!!! One person’s organs saved eight people. And that’s how movie inspires each one of us to donate organs. Your organ can actually save some really impressive people!!!

The direction of Anand Gandhi is outstandingly beyond the scope of appreciation. And I become more appreciative when I came to know that he has accomplisdhed this job with the least crew and technicians. Most of the cast are filmmakers, story writers, producers or real practitioners without much experience in the field of acting. And you will be amazed when you see these people acting. Aliya kamal played by Aida Elkashef is a visually impaired, celebrated photographer. When you see her on screen you will think for once that she is really blind. What acting!!! A saint Maitreya played Neeraj Kabi, I was almost sure that the director must have taken some sadhu only to play this character because of budget constraint. But he is a theater artist and Aida Elkashef is basically a casting director. 

The story is not as such a story, it is basically a literature of thoughts which is weaving a very tiny plot. The Screenplay is overwhelming and the cinematography is totally stunning & world class. The movie is a bit languidly paced and sometimes gives a feeling of restlessness when you just listen to some overdosed philosophical – erudite dialogues but mind it those dialogues are the soul of the movie. Finally I would wish - more power to Anand Gandhi for such a master piece and a brilliant transformation from writing dialogues of ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi bahu thi’ to create such a fine piece of Art. I wish that more and more people watch it and appreciate such artworks.