Jaya, fille du Gange

I was shocked to find only one review here for a film of this calibre, which is already 25 years old.

Not just any film, but Jaya Ganga, did it really reach so limited an audience? If so there's no justice in the world.

I won't go into the film's plot here; suffice to say it's about a man who tries to grasp both the worldly and the spiritual, and ends up with neither. It is an allegorical story, of Ganga, of India herself.

It's the telling that counts, the journey, the poetry and lyricism, the staggering and fatalistic beauty of Vijay Singh's portrayal and of Vanraj Bhatia / Eric Piederriere's score.

It's a film which asks questions rather than answering them; a film which leaves the viewer with much to contemplate, but also much to revere.

Asil Rais is well cast as the cerebral but unworldly writer Nishant, Smriti Mishra dazzling as the tawaiff Zehra. Something of her rise and fall puts me in mind of Beatrice Dalle's trajectory in Betty Blue, though Zehra is altogether a different character. Along the way there are many beautifully crafted cameo scenes by a strong supporting cast.

One small thing - it would appear that scenes filmed in Paris have been cut from the DVD release: Although I've never seen a version which included them, the DVD extras and credits nonetheless suggest they existed. No matter, this absence perhaps heightens the elusive quality of Jaya, and the film is still a master work by - incredibly - a first-time filmmaker (who also appears creditably in the film, as Sanjay).

Jaya Ganga is perhaps not for the masses; but an absolute must for Indophiles and lovers of art cinema - track it down, you won't be disappointed.

Jaya Ganga is an apparent tribute to the great river Ganga. The film narrates the story of Nishant, an Indian writer from Paris, and his journey on the river. He undertakes the pilgrimage of the course of the river in search of his fantasy woman Jaya, but he meets Zehra. Nishant falls in love with her and asks her to accompany him for the rest of his journey.

The good parts of the film are the photography and locations. The journey of Nishant starts from the Gaumukh and ends at Banaras. The river and all the sceneries are photographed with pleasing authenticity. But I'm slightly disappointed that the plot could not infuse the rest of the river's course. The secondary Indian characters' appearances and dialogues look and sound genuine.

The not-so-good parts are the very common cinematic elements and tropes that are trademarks of tragic romance and independent art films. The spiritual journey, the mysterious woman and her charm, the beautiful courtesan and ambiguities in her life, the tragic romance, and other allegories galore. You always feel like you have seen this tale somewhere before.

Jaya Ganga has allegorical poetry, but, in the end, it is a rather ordinary film.

I saw Jaya Ganga in a group of a dozen people, and at the end there was silence for 5 minutes till the first person spoke. It took us 15 minutes of quiet chat for any-one to feel strong enough to leave! We start with the hero, Nishant at the source of the Ganges. He intends to travel its length, an allegory of a spiritual journey. The photography was stunning - except for the absence of smells, it was like being in India for an evening. Halfway through the film, I thought this was a conventional romance heading for a happy ending. But darker themes, both human and spiritual, emerged. With superb acting by the two main characters, I can't imagine a better film - although I haven't read the book. And it's a mystery to me how under-appreciated and hard to find this film is. I give it an enthusiastic 10/10!