I wanted to watch this film since a long time but was a little hesitant because knowing the subject I felt it might be depressing. But nothing prepared me for this little gem of a movie… It is easily one of the most sensitively made, thought-provoking, deeply affecting superbly written and crafted movies I have ever seen. In one of the scenes from the movie, when the character of Rajkumar Rao exclaims how he does not understand poetry because words seem to go above his head, Manoj Bajpayee\’s Prof.Sirus remarks how poetry is not so much about words as it is about the silences, the pauses…The same can be said about this movie as it gently guides the viewer into the world of it\’s 60+ year old protagonist; a mild mannered Marathi Professor who is so removed from the world which labels people based on their sexual orientation. How can a three letter word describe such a complex emotion and longing he asks…. The portrayal is so effortlessly humane one feels the depth of his loneliness.. his longing, his pain.. But more importantly his fight for his dignity and his right for privacy… It is impossible to ignore the fact that this movie is inspired by true events and it made me extremely uncomfortable that I too am a part of the society which can be so jugdemental and cruel to a fellow human being… \”Love is such a beautiful word and you make it sound dirty, I have problems with that\” the professor says and I couldn\’t agree more…How can loving another human being be a crime??
And about performances, oh my! If someone were to ask me to rate the top five most amazingly real performances in Indian movies IMHO Manoj Bajpayee\’s Prof. Sirus would surely be one among them( followed closely by Irfan\’s Paan Singh Tomar perhaps…). Bajpayee uses his eyes, body language, gait, posture, hands and even feet in a scene to convey a wide range of complex emotions but is so gentle it\’s a performance that breaks your heart. Rajkumar Rao on the other hand is equally good, playing a young journalist with equal measure of enthusiasm and empathy. His emoting is extremely effective especially in the climax. Also the movie has a fantastic background score which adds to the emotional heft of the scenes.
To sum it up, this movie made me introspect and left me in a deep sense of meloncholy…And Manoj Bajpayee\’s riveting performance will remain etched in my memory for a long time..
Definitely not to be missed…
