Mr. and Mrs. Iyer

I disagree with the reviewer who says that this is a film made just to win awards in the West. On the contrary, one would have to be an Indian to understand the nuances throughout the film and I don't think the average Western viewer can appreciate the cultural connotations within the story. I was brought up as a South Indian Brahmin for the first 30 years of my life in an area of intense religious tension that frequently boiled over in violence. Therefore, I do not need a Yale researcher to tell me the meaning of religious intolerance or the background of Meenakshi Iyer's character. I don't think the film gives a biased view of the religious or cultural divide in India. Apart from the scene in the bus, the faith of the fanatics is kept deliberately vague so that we are not quite sure of the identities potential killers or their victims. This is sadly true in today's India where a slight misunderstanding can easily flash out of control. Until all concerned learn to tolerate and respect one another's beliefs while keeping to the appropriate boundaries, the situation is unlikely to change. And Aparna Sen makes a superb job of getting this rather ambiguous message across.

Mr. and Mrs. Iyer deals with many prevalent issues existing with in India today. It is a social commentary on the class system, religious warfare and gender inequalities. The film is shot beautifully, juxtapopposing the beauty of nature against the 'uncivilised' capacity that us humans have to bestow on one another. The script is written thoughtfully setting up charged dynamics between the main characters Raja and Meenakshi.

Konkona Sen Sharma's performance is delightful with her authentic accent and mannerism of a South Indian. Rahul Bhose performance is sensual and heartfelt, portraying depth and breadth.

The wonderful thing about this film is that although it focuses on a particular situation, it illustrates issues that exist worldwide, in all walks of life, simply manifesting themselves in different situations. Meenakshi faces constrictions throughout life due to her gender, she is constricted and faces the 'glass ceiling'. She longs to be free and to live life freely as Raj does. Raj is free is every sense of the word, physically he is free to roam the world. He is also free from the psychological limitations from which Meenakshi suffers, that of class and caste bound prejudice. The religious warfare shown is a very current issue, with fundamentalism at its most notorious in years.

Definitely worth seeing. 8/10.

Aparna Sen has done a wonderful job writing and directing this film. The characters are delightfully underplayed (a nice change from the common melodrama of Hindi films), and Konkona Sen-Sharma and Rahul Bose were wonderfully believable.

But best of all was the photography... a tragedy depicted by a nuance... I was touched, and cried my eyes out.

The religion and caste issues are depicted beautiful. Even the educated are often senselessly prejudiced, and likewise grace often appears in unexpected forms. A beautiful movie which I would recommend to all.

I love this film. It might further enhance the Western clichee of the uprising-ridden India as another reviewer states, but actually, that's beside the point: This film is a fairy tale. The voice over at the beginning tells of "a little red and white bus" ... and you're already in the fairy tale world. There is always danger in a fairy tale and I'll focus on that later, but criticising the film for not portraying real situations is like accusing "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" for inaccurate portrayal of lilliputians ...

The film is actually quite close to films by Mani Rathnam who also takes a politically hot topic and connects it with a personal drama (good example: "Kannathil Muthamittal"). With Rathnam, the focus always seems to shift more to the political side of this dual idea, whereas in "Mr. and Mrs. Iyer", the focus is more on the personal aspect. In this punctual uprising of extremist Hindus, the two leading characters discover how they themselves fall victim to distrust and prejudice. It seems an easy target to criticise the conservative Brahman woman's ideals, but the film doesn't do it harmful. In the end, the woman still is who she was before, but she opened up - especially opened up her heart.

And this is what the film is all about: Heart. It oozes love in so many scenes. The violence takes over for a couple of scenes, but then the film returns to the topic of love. There are incredible scenes that you won't easily forget: The "couple" in a diner telling their fictional story of their honeymoon, the fooling around in the woods in the morning, the killing of a man right in front of their window, the last night they spend together when she takes his hand to comfort herself. These are all very subtle but convincing scenes that don't primarily assault the woman's Brahman principles but tries to expand them. Again: It's a fairy tale and in this fairy tale world which is ridden by real-life violence, a woman and a man come closer - emotionally. Not with sex or a common way of love. It's a very heartfelt sort of love you don't usually see in movies. It felt extremely sincere to me - and the just cracked my heart.

"Mr. and Mrs. Iyer" is not your typical Bollywood movie because it's rather short, has no songs, no stars and is rather subtle. But it works on so many level. It is a cry for peace and unity - something Indians do so well since they live in the biggest democracy in the world. There are so many people in this country who still believe in living together and this is visible in many of their films. This is one, Mani Rathnams "Bombay" is another. Also, the film is a tribute to deeply felt and sincere love, a love that is more touching than many love stories I've seen before. I know the film is not fully realistic and of course there are a couple of problems that I have with the film. But if a film is this charmingly acted and poetically directed, I'd cannot but defend it and recommend it to you. Such a beautiful film.

Rating 8/10

Meenakshi Iyer is traveling on a bus with her son Santanam and befriends a fellow passenger Raja, a wild-life photographer. When fundamentalists attack the bus, she claims the photographer as her husband thus saving his life. Reason: Raja is Muslim. What follows later is a compelling journey into human relationship under critical circumstances.

Rahul Bose yet again delivers fantastic performance. Bhisham Sahni and Surekha Sikri played the old Muslim couple in the bus. It was great to see Bhisham Sahni after a long sabbatical.

Finally about Konkona Sen Sharma - to be frank, I was a bit skeptical about the gifted director Aparna Sen's daughter. To me the star-kids are pampered lot and fail to rise above the talent of parents. Noteworthy performance of Konkona Sen Sharma as a orthodox Tamil Brahmin house-wife leaves you mesmerized. The finer nuances right from her accent, language, mannerism, dress, bindi has been portrayed with utmost perfection. The parallel cinema can now rest as we have an apt successor to Shabana Azmi.

A very different story devoid of the usual Bollywood masala but made with sheer conviction that makes the audience captivated into the storyline. Worth commending is the directors ability to extract the best out of the principal cast.

Undoubtedly a launch vehicle from Aparna Sen showcasing her daughters talent - and it hits the bull's eye.