Pushpaka Vimana

rare movie that too in the mainstream Indian cinema. a movie with out words, but conveys much more than words can convey. good direction , good screen play , good background score, good acting. the movie has mixed emotions , comedy, sentiment , love. funny way of handling the scenes of unemployed poor guy. how he tastes fortune in impersonation. the craziest scene is how the guy poses that he has more money than the beggar and get insulted as the beggar has more money than him. later after stealing money he goes near the beggar to show of his money and feels sorry to see the beggar dead and people running after beggar's money. even the romance scenes are handled well.

First of all, if you did not know that this is a silent movie, you will never realize it unless somebody tell you. Such is the brilliant direction, background music and acting. This movie was shot in Bangalore (mostly in Windsor Manor Hotel).

Brief Story: An unemployed young man who lives frugally bumps into a rich unconscious drunkard. He takes the drunkard to his house and gags him and ties him to his cot. He than assumes the drunkard's identity and lives in the drunkard's suite in a luxurious hotel.

Most memorable moments: 1) The way he feeds the drunkard and takes care of his morning chores. 2) The ending

This is the best comedy-film I've seen ever(Hollywood and Bollywood). This film deserves an award and Kamal Haasan, as well, who acted great for me. The story, I think, is easy to understand for everybody everywhere. A must to see!!!!

A poor and unemployed youth, played by Kamal Hasan enjoys the good life by stealing the identity of a rich middle-aged drunkard. Pushpak is the name of the apartment-hotel the rich man resides in. While an imposter, Kamal gets to experience a life normally not granted men of his station and meets a beautiful girl and falls in love with her. But, like all good things, this brief excursion into paradise must end.

The movie is set against the backdrop of vast urban unemployment among educated youth in the India of the Eighties. While peppered with numerous comic incidents, the movie is quite serious in adressing its central theme. The glaring contrast between the lifestyles of the rich and the rest is evocative of Indian society. A rich beggar, whose possessions the public tries to scavenge after his death and a bungling killer who gets electrocuted are interesting diversions that do not detract from the depth of the storyline. But, what makes this film a cinematic masterpiece in my opinion is that such a powerful portrait of the times is created without resort to dialogue. This is a silent movie !! It is truly difficult not to be atleast a little moved by the ending.

Words are not enough to describe the strengths of this movie of which there are so many that no doubt Pushpak deserves the status of a cult-movie. A silent movie and an intelligent one at that should have shaken up the world of cinema. Alas, it was not meant to be. Nevertheless, it is a landmark film. Had it been made in Hollywood, it could have been the "Avatar" of 3D viewing experience.

It tells the story of an unemployed youth Kamal Hassan who kidnaps and steals the identity of an alcoholic businessman, locks him in his one room apartment, and starts living the life of his dreams in the hostage's suite in a luxury hotel. What follows next is a mix of Alice-in-Wonderland like excitement; boy meets girl charm; hit man-on-the-loose pandemonium; guilt and redemption - all served with a puff of magic.

Despite having no dialogs, the makers of this movie have managed to create such endearing characters that unless you are like me who has watched this movie more than 20 times, you watch with wide eyed wonder at the innovativeness with which each character's story and the situations they find themselves in is revealed. For example, in the musical chairs being played out between Kamal Hassan and random characters in front of the public bathroom, each one of them is desperate to out maneuver the other to get the best "seat" and it is a sight to behold. You can't help but marvel at the subtlety with which Kamal Hasssan plays this scene. Even more intriguing is the sequence of events that propel the action from a daily routine like having a surrogate breakfast, romancing the magician's daughter (an irresistible Amla) at a funeral, dodging the hit-man's innovative weapon, to pouring alcohol down the hostage's throat after cleaning his bottom. It's a remarkable mix and you wonder how much of it was improvised.

Interestingly, the entire concoction is held together by symbolism and metaphors. The idea of boosting one's ego by drawing inspiration from the story of the clever crow that drops pebbles into a jar to raise the level of water in order to quench its thirst plays out beautifully when the protagonist does the same with a cup of tea. Only this time, he drops knick-knacks into the cup. In another scene, once the protagonist has successfully kidnapped the alcoholic businessman and taken over his identity, for a brief moment, stands in front of the hotel logo that has wings on its sides thus forging the idea that he himself has grown wings and is now ready to explore the world that has been out of his reach so far. The movie also boasts creative situational music, some of which sounds like as if it belongs in a lullaby but seems to gel beautifully with the well-choreographed sequences.

Pushpak has a very strong message, especially for the youth, and you don't need spoken words to understand that honesty is still the best policy both in life and in love no matter how bitter-sweet the outcome. If you loved "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro" and "Chashme Buddoor", make it a point to see Pushpak. If not for anything, watch it for Kamal Hassan and witness how he inhabits his quirky character and missteps not even once.