Yatra

This is an Indian film in the mode of the now-defunct 'parallel' cinema. One of my favorite actors, Nana Patekar, plays against 'type' (read: his most famous roles, where he is invariably angry, hot-headed & explosive) as a soft-spoken, easy-going, yet jaded writer at odds with the world around him. Good performances also from Rekha & Dipti Naval, in this thought-provoking and intelligent film. An interesting script & understated direction mark the film as a literate, intellectually superior film. It only falters in the last quarter with a development that seems needless (and at odds with the lead character's personality & ideas), and I personally could have done without the musical numbers (fewer and in an entirely different vein than the usual Bollywood song- and-dance numbers, but still sort of disposable) even if they are plot-specific. A refreshingly different & subtle film from an industry that is known more for its formulaic & bombastic entertainment. Not quite a classic, but a damned good attempt anyway. I couldn't help wondering how a filmmaker like Gulzar might have handled the story.

Ghose beautifully directs 'Yatra'. He makes fine use of colour, camera-work (thanks to the mesmerizing cinematography) but he comes up with a very complex abstract screenplay. This is not a bad thing if the viewer is mature enough and has patience. I liked it and I'll be watching it again as I think it's understanding will improve with multiple viewing.

To start, 'Yatra' is so beautifully filmed! The scenes in Miss Lisa's house look just like painting canvases rich in colour. There are scenes where he makes less use of colour allowing it to reflect the thoughts and mood of the characters.

Ghose also tells the story of a simple man, Dasarath, who is a writer soon to win an award. His relationship with his wife, Smita may on the surface, look like a normal marriage but later we find out that thing's are a little more complicated. We see Smita excitedly showing Dasarath the marble turtle she just bought to add to her collection of turtles. She cleans them and takes good care of the delicate things. In a much later scene towards the end, one of the bigger marble turtle breaks into pieces as the maid was attempting to clean them.

On the other hand, Dasarath has a friendly relationship with the graceful Lajwanti. He is more open to her about his concerns and they have an understanding that exists as a kind of confidante. He loves to write and she loves to sing and dance. He sees her as a solace from the outside world. During a monologue in the award ceremony, he expresses his opinions on the corrupt world as it becomes more materialistic there's almost no place for art and back in his hotel room he imagines his son (who's a musician) fighting in some kind of riot, his daughter stuck in a call center job and the girl (who received him at the station) having sex in front of a camera surviving in the 'corrupt' society (full of sex, violence and easy meaningless jobs). Ghose also shows the change in time through Lajwanti's dances very cleverly. When Dasarath sees Miss Lisa's dance he realizes again that art is something that's losing its value in today's society as people are concerned with more materialistic things. Lajwantyi no longer performs the beautiful mujras. Instead she dances by shaking her hips to item numbers.

The ending is a little dramatic but I wonder what that symbolizes? A full closet is being taken towards sunset. While Dasarath is a real artist in this materialistic world and while Lajwanti has transformed to Miss Lisa who has long stopped practicing her traditional 'mujras' (even though she practices classical singing by herself) could that final scene symoblize the vanishing of art? Then there's Smita who values small material things like a marble turtle. But isn't that what everyone today is chasing? Material things? And coming back to the last scene, I think it symbolizes that art is vanishing rapidly in this material world.

Nana Patekar delivers one of his finest performances. Unlike his loud performances, here he's very subtle and downplays his part with dignity. Rekha plays her part with grace and she dances beautifully. Deepti Naval is brilliant. Supporting cast is adequate. The songs fit well with the screenplay.

As I watch the film in repeated viewing, I'll add more to this comment. But, I'd recommend it to those who like abstract cinema and it's a great movie to discuss.

Goutam Ghose's Yatra is a quiet, subtle and beautiful film which keeps engaging you with its mystery and ambiguity. I'm not surprised Yatra performed so miserably with critics, let alone audiences. You can't help, most people cannot see beyond the pace, and Yatra is incredibly slow, frankly speaking, something which I too had a problem with at some points. Having said that, I was engaged by the story, by the realism, and by the blend of reality and fiction through the story of famous writer Dashrath Joglekar's journey through time and his memories from his old and celebrated novel "Janaza". The cinematography is excellent and the music, by the great Khayyam, is equally wonderful. Yatra is very poetic and symbolic in execution and therefore it is not a very easy film to follow. On the other hand, it leaves several questions unanswered which give the viewer an opportunity to answer them themselves the way they want to. The ending is one such instance which is free for individual interpretation.

One of my favourite actors, Nana Patekar is excellent as the main protagonist, playing his part with atypical subtlety and restraint. Deepti Naval is equally impressive as his loving and caring wife. Just like in Leela in which she co-starred with Dimple Kapadia, here she is once again pitted against an actress like Rekha whose presence could make it easy for people to overlook Naval's, but Naval once again holds her own with a quiet and nuanced portrait of dignity and patience. The character of Lajwanti is full of mystery, and who could be a better choice for this part if not the enigmatic Rekha? No one can play the classic courtesan as brilliantly as she does. She has both the great acting and dancing skills, the grace and the unmatched screen presence, and here, she is wonderfully unpredictable and cryptic. Even at her fifties, she is sensuous and attractive and she masterfully performs her mujras and recites these fine poems with her husky, sexy voice. As always, her emotional outbursts are aptly acted, and her astonishing modern mujra performance for "Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar" is one of the best moments in the film.

To sum it up, Yatra is an appreciable piece which certainly requires patience but is definitely worth the watch for more than one reason.

I was not expecting such a mediocre work from Gautam Ghosh, the director of "Paar". The film is extremely boring and slow. Nana Patekar and Rekha both are unbearable. This is so called meaningful cinema at worst.. in which u keep on finding some meaning and end up wasting two hours. Rekha as Lajwanti looks old and exhausted. One reason i decided to watch this movie was Khayyam's music but again the magic of Umrao Jaan and Bazaar was missing. The director in his pursuit of looking super intellectualism ends up putting some surrealistic nonsense. Nana Patekar for most part keeps on drinking again and again. Deepti Naval looks wasted. The problem is that the movie lacks a proper story or plot... or the story or plot is so complex that only Oscar Academy or Gautam Ghosh can understand that.

Rather slow and ponderous exploration of the nature of fiction, memory and the alleged change in Indian culture from the spiritual to the materialistic (was there really ever a time when most people weren't materialistic?).

There are some beautiful moments in this, particularly some of the music, dancing and landscape shots, but much of the framing story, set for the most part in domestic interiors, moves more slowly than the content can support.

There is some interesting layering and interweaving of different levels of reality as people from the author's life appear as characters in his various fictions, and he has a long discussion with a film director character presumably intended to represent Gautam Ghose himself.

There are references to earlier films and literature which I am sadly unfamiliar with so much of the nuance would have been lost on me. Rekha for example has played similar roles in several films over the years, most notably Umrao Jaan, so her appearance here will have a resonance lost on western audiences. (However I also detected echoes of Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" and maybe even Tarkovsky's "Mirror").

Having said that, my (Pakistani) companion unfortunately lost patience about 3/4 of the way through and went out for a coffee so I was a little distracted. My advice - don't take a Bollywood fan to see this movie!