Sparsh

Subtle, simple, sincere and stunning are four words I can use to describe 'Sparsh'. Any movie that involves names like Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Sai Paranjape, Gulzar and Om Puri are more than worth a watch. 'Sparsh' follows Anirudh, a blind young principal who runs a school for the blind. While he is dedicated to ensure that the students have the best possible future and tries his best to make things accessible to them, he is fiercely independent. He dislikes it when others offer a hand and he resents their pity. Anirudh thinks he is satisfied with life the way it is until he meets a beautiful widow named Kavita. The two strike a friendship and he offers her to teach the children at school. At first she is reluctant but soon gives in and finds a new purpose that has taken her away from the lonely life she had accepted to live.

Sai has yet again provided the viewer with another excellent example of the impact subtlety has on cinema. The execution of 'Sparsh' is very simple and efficiently. It's done so effectively as it echos the silence of the unsaid words between the characters. The director raises awareness regarding the educational facilities that are available for the blind and the shortcomings of these schools but he never does so by intruding on the story. It is all part of the story, a part of Anirudh and Kavita's life. Special mention goes to the music. There are only a few songs but the lyrics highlight great poetry.

The development of the bond between the characters, such as between the Aniruch and Kavita and between Kavita and the children is displayed beautifully. Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi are definitely one of best on-screen pairs in cinema. While the two have always worked terrifically together, perhaps 'Sparsh' is the movie that outstandingly showcases their undeniably magical chemistry. The rest of the cast, that includes Sudha Chopra and the students, provides fine support.

'Sparsh' has already become a favourite and I'll surely be watching it again. With raw simplicity as Paranjape has created cinematic magic, something very few directors have managed to display on screen.

As opposed to the general notion of Indian movies, this is not a regular run-of-the-mill film.

It is a sensitive movie, with intense performance by Naseeruddin Shah in the role of a self-respecting visually-impaired principal of a blind school, who hates the society for pitying people like him. He works towards making his students self-reliant. Shabana Azmi plays a social worker who has a troubled personal life supporting him as a volunteer. The movie depicts the relationship between the 2. The pride of the man and the sympathies of the woman are the cause of turbulence in their relationship.

I first heard about the director of this movie by a facebook post written by a fellow Sri Lankan movie lover. As mentioned in that post, the director Sai Paranjpye had received many acclaims for the movie and awarded many times. So without even thinking or researching (which I do before I decide to watch a movie if I haven't heard about it before) I downloaded it and watched it.

It was a slow start but I was amazed by Naseeruddin's acting and fell in love with Shabana's natural smile and eyes. And the plot was not a usual one to me.

To be honest, it took me sometime to fully attain to it but when I did, I couldn't took my eyes away. It was a great plot with great dialogs and characters. How she has captured the most inner feelings of the characters and how perfect the actors do their best to express it is truly amazing.

And even when I thought something might get wrong, well it doesn't. Everything was perfect and this became a movie which rushed tears in to my eyes.

Looking forward to watch more movies of the director. Hope they are available with English subtitles.

Fantastic movie. This movie is an example of real cinematic artform. It also has an authentic flavour of Indian movie culture. This is pure and really heartfelt. Naseeruddin Shah was magnetic to watch. also loved the performances of om Puri and Shabana azmi

This movie deals with people with handicaps – one is bitter due to blindness and the other is depressed due to heart break. Society tends to glorify blindness as a bigger handicap than heartbreak. The movie poignantly shows that both are debilitating and need a lot of work to overcome. Kavita and Anirudh are fortunate in discovering each other. Their individual handicaps first help them in working together, then bonding together and then tears them apart. A well-wisher has to step in ultimately to bridge the gap.

There are some endearing scenes with the kids and the dialog is very engaging. The sequence where Anirudh describes his perception of Kavita's beauty deserves special mention for its poetry. Both Naseer and Shabana excel in their minimalist style.