Rating: 3.5/5Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Shefali Shah, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Divya Dutta
Director: Rituparno Ghosh
It is Diwali night and Siddharth Kumar’s (Arjun Rampal) film The Mask is premiering. However, sadly for him the film’s two main protagonists Harish Mishra (Amitabh Bachchan) and Shabnam (Preity Zinta) are absent. As the film moves on you are told that Harish has met with an accident that has left him bed ridden while Shabnam doesn’t want to be a part of the premiere as she wants to get away from her dominating husband and be by the side of the man who changed her attitude towards life.
Shabnam arrives at Harry’s home only to come face to face with his sullen wife Vandana (Shefali Shah) who looks at her with complete suspicion and a part of the film industry that has put her husband into bed forever.
Now you may be wondering what all of this has to do with The Last Lear or Shakespeare for that matter. The Shakespearean connect comes in through Harish Mishra who eats, breathes and lives Shakespeare and theatre. Just when he was about to perform one of his dream roles that of King Lear, he leaves the stage for good. Despite being a prolific actor on stage, he has never ventured onto the big screen - that’s till Siddharth comes knocking on his door and lures him into the world of the silver screen. However, sadly for Harish and for the rest of the crew, the filming of the climax scene marks the end of Harry baba.
But Rituparno Ghosh’s Last Lear is still not just about Harry and his fixation with acting and Shakespeare. It also accounts for the lives of Shabnam who is dealing with an insecure husband, that of Ivy (Divya Dutta) who is Harry’s nurse and is constantly trying to convince her boyfriend that when she is at a night shift, she is actually working and that of Vandana who is coming to accept the end of her husband’s illustrious career as an actor. The Last Lear also perfectly depicts the guilt of journalist Gautam (Jishu Sengupta) who blames himself for Harry’s current condition because it is him who tells his friend Siddharth about Harry.
The Last Lear is for those who want to see Amitabh Bachchan at one of his finest moments. The actor’s presence on screen leaves you in a trance and unable to blink. And it is due to his stupendous performance that his co-stars who have done a great job themselves almost feel like interruptions in Bachchan’s poetic flow. Rituparno has managed to capture Bachchan in a light that most directors who have worked with the superstar have not even touched.Preity as Shabnam does a good job but in some scenes she appears too controlled in her attempt to not appear in control. Arjun Rampal as the off beat director comes off well and his last scene makes you want to hate him and when you as an actor are able to do that then it means you’ve done your job.
All in all The Last Lear is a good watch for all those who love Shakespeare. For all those who like what we in India call alternative cinema. And for all those who want to see Big B at his finest!
