Mitr: My Friend

Mitr has a pretty good concept, interesting story, and a dynamic performance by Shobana who illuminates the screen whenever she is there which, luckily, is most of the movie. Nasir Abdullah, who plays her husband is OK but everyone else in the film seemed like they got their acting chops from Grade D late night cable TV. The daughter, friends, neighbors, -- everyone else -- gave stilted performances as if they were reading their lines. Fortunately, the daughter's performance got better towards the end of the film but the director should have elicited better performances from everyone unless that was their best and the casting crew would have to take the blame for not finding better actors. I would have preferred the over-acting of a lot of Hindi actors than some of the drivel and inane delivery that permeated this film.

Despite my misgivings of Mitr, I will still give it a 6 because of Shobana's performance and look forward to seeing her in other projects of better quality. Watching Shobana in action is worth enduring the cringe factor that occurs when watching the other actors.

This is a film made in Bharat but mostly in English. The film is about adjustment crisis in marriage and bringing up children in a foreign country.

This was the directorial debut of acclaimed South Indian actress Revathi and also won Shobana her second National Award after Manichitrathazhu.

Nasser also performs well as the balanced husband, the anchor in the family. The fulcrum of the film though is the daughter played by Preeti Vissa. Such a genuine and excellent portrayal of such a tough role. Preeti plays a daughter being brought up in a foreign land and hence unable to relate to the culture her mother tries to imbibe in her. She hence rebels and faces violent consequences of her mistakes.

Preeti was of the right age and hence I could play it from the heart, apart from her good looks and talent. Honestly, I became a fan and developed a crush on her. It was sorry to see her not appearing in any films after.

The ending of the film is a bit loose and disappointing and hence the drop in ratings and recommendations no doubt. This is otherwise a wake up call and a must watch for parents considering to bring up children in a foreign culture.

Mitr, which is all about alienation an average woman starts feeling when her daughter and lifemate starts blaming her to be orthodox and a nag; and hardly find time to understand her. It also depicts how one forgets to live her own life for relations and a very positive ending marks states that still we can believe in relations.

It's a film which is so much refreshing for all those who got a heart to empathise and understand problems of others.

The same hands that point out the mistakes being commited doesn't go without touching the deeper core of our soul.

cinematography of the film by fowzia is unbelievably merged with the narration and fellings dealt.

Also the music score by bhavatharini needs special mention which simply complements the visualisation and moods.

If films like this are never being appreciated when can india come out of melooodramas and "got all the crap in this" type of films.

Director Revathy and her crew which consists only woman deserves cheers...(but why this gender division? for ads?)

never miss this movie.

Lakshmi, a traditional Indian woman, marries an American-Indian and lives in America with him and their daughter. Both husband and daughter are "American" (i.e., very independent, living for own self) while Lakshmi lives only to please them. Their lack of concern for her leads her to pursue her own life and the other two feel left out and abandoned, instead. I really enjoyed the story, music, and acting. We had the privilege of having the director herself come to present this movie to our university and were permitted to ask questions. She told us that at first, the all-women technical crew was a fluke, until the final member was chosen, when she decided to stick with all females (though would have compromised had an adequate female not been found). To me, the acting was a bit rough at times, and characters and actions seemed misplaced, silly, or over-Americanized. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it as a good cultural pick.

Mitr plays like a Seventh Heaven episode, a sweet domestic drama about an Indian mom and dad living in the US whose marriage is in trouble and who have a rebellious teenaged daughter. The film is set in the US and must've been made to appeal to the NRI (Non-Resident Indian) population. It was pitched to me as an exploration of the differences between Indian and US culture, but Lakshmi isn't so much an Indian woman as she is a repressed and overprotective mother (this sort of woman also exists in America as no doubt everywhere in the world), and it's a disservice to blame her attitudes on her cultural background.

Mitr is a very accessible Indian film, being 95% in English, relatively short (~100 minutes) and lacking the elaborate music-video numbers typical for a Bollywood product.

I found it ultimately unsatisfying, primarily because I watch Indian films in order to experience the color of exotic cultures and locales.