Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost

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Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost (A) Hindi -------- my Rating: ★★★ HEAD SCRATCHING CLIMAX

STRENGTHS:- * Trailer: attracts to watch. * Story Screenplay and direction: very good script for * Casting and performances especially by Irfan Khan....

WEAKNESSES:- * Tisca's performance expected a lot but not much to see... * Last 20 minutes confuses the audience.....

FINAL VERDICT:- * Overall.. it is a super natural flick gives a strong message for a male dominant society in India with a head scratching climax and power packed performances. I liked Rasika Dugal's acting in the second half.... So go for a one time watch

Umber Singh is a Sikh who loses everything during the separation of India in 1947 and is forced to leave his homeland. He obsessively wishes for a male heir. When his fourth daughter is born, he decides to wage a fight against destiny.

Director: Anup Singh Writers: Madhuja Mukherjee, Anup Singh Stars: Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome | See full cast and crew »

Its a story of one unfortunate irrational mind which produces a situation which destroys everyone. If the challenge the nature , it's bound to be a catastrophe and in this movie its a domino effect.

The character played by Irrfan is undoubtedly cannot be played and executed by someone other than Irrfan himself. He is a true artist and words are less to describe the versatility he chooses in his film carrier. Kanwar played by Tilotima Shome is also well done. The character is living in self guilt and humility at the same time and its only theater artists that can wear this sheen to showcase their capability.

Honestly I had this movie for a long time with me but did not happen to see and when I did - I was just silent for some time. It leaves with thoughts and admire the way this is being narrated. The climax could have been much better and a little pacey. It dragged a bit in the end but till the half time its an interesting , well paced, ready to fire kind of buildup is achieved. You will enjoy as long as you don't die for mainstream only.

Anup Singh's "Qissa" is one of those movies which are not meant for the mass but for a specific set of people who are well-aware of the theories of symbolism, sociology and above all, psychology. The plot is a direct interpretation of King Dhrupad's story from the Mahabharata blended with Freud's theory of Id, Ego and Subconscious.

Speaking of acting, Irrfan Khan is just brilliant again, Tillotama Shome is flawless. Tisca Chopra is perfect and Rasika Dugal is stunning.

Anup Singh and Madhuja Mukherjee's screenplay is the best gift we get from the movie.

The background score by Beatrice Thiriet and Manish J Tipu goes along with the slow pace of the movie but not very apt considering the Punjabi background of the movie. But the songs are brilliant, got a flavor of Lohri and the Punjabi Tappas.

I couldn't relate the landscape. Punjab hasn't got that much of hilly terrains.

Cinematography by Sebastian Edschmid is simply superb.

We need more movies like this even considering the fact that it's not for the commercial sector of the industry. Movies like this are essential to understand cinema and it's theories. It is a pride that Nandan, Kolkata has got a screening of this feature.

I had a chance to see the film "Qissa" while it screened at the South Asian Film Festival in New york. Not knowing the premise of the film, what struck me most was the depth of the different characters portrayed in the story. Actors Irfan Khan and Tillotama Shome displayed a beautiful and sensitive chemistry playing the father-daughter duo, replete with complex emotional struggles and seemingly unsurmountable conflicts. The interpersonal relationships between the characters were touching and real despite the darkness that surrounded them. Tillotama's gender-transcending portrayal of a complex and conflicted "Kanwar" was seamless and simply blew me away!

QISSA rightly showcases the ugly Indian psyche of a family being obsessed with only sons instead of daughters for many obvious reasons. Set in the post-independence era the subject still remains relevant in India and more specifically for regions like Punjab, where Girl foeticide is one of the key problems even in this much educated and more aware society of the 21st century.

A bold plot for Punjabi as well as Indian Cinema, QISSA certainly gives you the feeling of watching something brutally honest that has never been tried before here with such impactful intensity. Yes, it does remind you of the masterpiece from Pakistan titled BOL as far as the obsession for a son is concerned, but then finds its own individual path different from the one witnessed in that 'not to be missed gem' to clear the visible doubts.

Directed and co-written by Anup Singh, it's a disturbing tale of an eccentric father Umber Singh who after having a fourth girl in the family doesn't want to kill her but forces her to grow up, dress and behave like a boy only, ignoring all her bodily changes happening with the time in a much weird manner. The film begins with the bloody event of our Partition when the family has to shift to the Indian part after losing everything they had. And then focuses on the relationships alone going through many unexpected twists and turns leading to a serious shock coming just before the intermission as a director's master-stoke. The second half brings in a strictly unexpected supernatural turn for the viewers making the film a bit slow and sad too, taking away the hold it displayed in its initial hour especially for the common man sitting in the theater not able to grasp the multi-layered projection ending on a more thoughtful note.

In other words, despite being a visual cinematic experience, a first of its kind - bold subject in Indian films having a well-conceived (unusual) storyline and all brilliant performances, QISSA arguably remains more appealing to a specific section of viewers only appreciating the meaningful cinema as personally experienced watching the film in theater with some 30 odd Punjabis, who probably had only come listening the word 'Partition' and seeing 'Irrfan Khan playing a Sikh' in its promos as I strongly felt.

Having said that, I was really glad to see that even though the film was not about anything those 30 Punjabi speaking people had come for, it still successfully kept them engaged to its unique storyline in its first half, wherein they were all simply awestruck watching its twisted lead character and his insane intentions worrying more about the society instead of his own family.

However the scenario wasn't the same post intermission with the 'ghost component' thrown in (slowing down the pace to a large extent) which actually couldn't impress anyone among them and they began showing the restlessness by chatting loudly and checking their mobile phones shining bright in the almost empty theatre. The complex philosophical metaphors in the film's second hour couldn't reach them as desired missing the emotional connect and I even heard one in the group clearly categorizing the project as an "arty festival film – not for them".

Now talking about the brave attempt from the other technical & cinematic perspective, its indeed a well-shot, splendidly conceived and superbly acted film having an unconventional plot probably inspired from some true life events as it seems. The writer-director is able to write his poetry on the screen with the help of all fabulous performances from a well-chosen cast that actually owns the film from the front. Irrfan Khan (as Umber Singh) playing the eccentric wicked father performs the bizarre act convincingly, though one feels his Punjabi accent a bit compromising in some particular sequences. The exceptional actor actually wins you over completely in the first half much more than the later due to the reasons mentioned above. In fact the best part of his portrayal is that you never hate him for what he does to his family since he also loves them all from heart despite having that society- oriented wish to have a son.

Tillotama Singh (as Kanwar – the son/daughter) is equally effective as the suffering girl coming out of her shell towards the end playing it soulfully. Her cross gender act looks deliberate at first but then sinks in as the film progresses towards a more moving climax focusing on the two girls. Rasika Dugal (as Neeli) is simply outstanding playing it expressively as the innocent one standing in between the father and his son/daughter. Plus Tisca Chopra underplays the weak mother perfectly who is not able to protest against her husband's impractical moves as a typical Indian lady suppressed by her own upbringing.

Cinematography, background score and the soundtrack beautifully capture the right mood and essence of the tough subject pulling you into the world of its torn family. And few particular scenes don't easily get off your mind like the one where Umber Singh catches Neeli running away at night and then Kanwar baring her naked body to everyone passing by in despair.

Further, though beginning from the time of India's Partition, QISSA has nothing to do with the historical land partition in details. But it does deal with the sick partition in our minds thinking about a man and a woman or a son and a daughter as two unequal social identities with one owning the other even in this present so-called evolved society.