The Last Lear

THE LAST LEAR - Movie review.



"What makes an actor ?? The Desire to perform...!!" --

is what you hear from Harish Mishra alias "Harry" (Amitabh Bachchan).The movie directed by Rituparno Ghosh, is a brave film to adapt. You watch Bachchan perform the way he does and the only question you can ask yourself is why doesn't he take up more roles like this. This film showcases his acting prowess to perfection.

Reciting Shakespeare is not the easiest of tasks, and even mugging it up won't help. One has to show faith in those lines, and speak them out loud assuming himself to be the character. Seeing Amitabh Bachchan do it to perfection...is such a big relief. He plays a retired Shakespearean-Actor, who is lured back for one last assignment - A Film. Bachchan's ability to play an "obsessive-compulsive Theatre Actor" goes unmatched in the film. One such brilliant scene is where Bachchan is haggling with the Director over the deletion of "entire two pages" from the script. These are the moments which give youa natural high as a viewer.Bachchan adds a sinister-charm to his character which causes the viewer to become judgemental.Bordering on the thin line between a maniac and a genius, this is one of his Career-best performances.

Arjun Rampal is a pleasant revelation. He plays the "quiet-but-strong headed" Director with tremendous ease. He is a complete anti-thesis to Bachchan's loud Shakespeare-reciting character. He convinces the genius to come out of retirement, with flair.The negative-shades too are done to perfection. Shefali Shah and Divya Dutta perform with nobility, and come out with sincere performances. Preity Zinta does not have much to do, but moan about her nosy-husband.

Although the actors do a good job, and apparently a lot of work has gone into the Art Direction as well...The film is never quite imposing in its story-telling. The Non-linear screenplay and the abundant flashbacks do very little to take the boredom out of the film. Without giving out any spoilers, the "accident on the set" appears a bit too preposterous. In this cyber-age,there are cables for actors performing action sequences. The Director never pays heed to such basic-details, which is quite a shock. Rituparno Ghosh's ability as a Director is in question, when he tries to end the film on an ambiguous note and fails to make a point. The Writing is not coherent, which makes the movie appear cluttered for the better part.

Even though the movie has some genuinely awe-striking scenes, and some brilliant performances... the film does not quite addup to a fantastic piece of cinema. This is the first film I've seen by Rituparno Ghosh, and I am not mighty impressed considering his reputation as the maker of modern classics.