Shwaas

A first reading of this film comes across as a lofty inspiring story of true grit and wilful determination in the face of painful, irreversible personal trauma. But that turns out to be superficial.

"Shwaas" the way it is portrayed and sequenced, and here it is entirely the inexperienced director's mistake, seems to suggest that eyesight is more important than blindness, its great to be able to see and that the blind are missing out on so much of life. All of these statements are obviously true but are POLITICALLY INCORRECT and highly judgmental!

If the makers of Shwaas want to us be sensitive to the little boy, now that he's being operated upon and will go blind, how about showing some respect and sensitivity to the blind too?? This movie doesn't even pay lip service -- at the very end, there are couple of scenes showing some blind persons at work (as if to say, yea, they can work too..) but not much else. Aside from direction, it suffers from serious over-acting by Amruta Subhash who really does a disservice to the efforts of Sandeep Kulkarni (the doctor) and Ashwin Chitale (the kid). She drives all the gravity out entirely by herself.

The subject matter has been bungled completely, and the director's lack of maturity shows. No doubt this is much better fare than 99% of usual Bollywood crap. But if they expect to withstand the critical glare of a mature audience they better be impartial in their presentation.

Serious viewers are NOT blind -- then can 'see' thru the deception here that only one side of the issue is explored as if the boy's life story ends when he becomes blind. Hello?? Thats where it really begins!!!

"Sparsh" by Sai Paranjape explores this subject from a blind man's POV. Naseerudin Shah is blind and its a take on his life. In Shwaas, the boy becomes blind. But what next?

Now, now…don't get me wrong! I mean no disrespect to the Marathi film industry, and this film in particular, in relation to which I am making a pejorative statement.

My heart(also my lungs, I believe) was overwhelmed with pride, joy(and carbohydrates) when I learnt that a Marathi film had been felicitated with the National Award. A long wait of 50 years( the last Marathi film to win the prestigious(?) award was Acharya Atre's 'Shyamchi Aai') had finally born results. 'Shwaas' is a low budgeted and modest film made earnestly by a fairly inexperienced group of artistes. Both director Sandeep Sawant and principal actor Arun Nalawade are not big names in the talented pool of Marathi arts, be it theatre or cinema. In fact it has always baffled me as to how the same Marathi medium that keeps producing absolutely fine actors from time-to-time, also manages to make the most senseless films possible. In this dark age of Marathi films, 'Shwaas' literally came as a fresh breath of promise to rescue Marathi cinema from its self-inflicted state of nadir.

A warm, fuzzy feeling began in my stomach in anticipation(although I've now come to a conclusion that the feeling was caused due to an extra-plate of methi bhajias, the night before) as I left to watch a screening of the movie, at a theatre near me(in filmi parlance!). I waited with bated 'breath' as the movie began. About two hours later, and even now, I am still waiting to exhale. And I don't mean that as a compliment! This sorry excuse of a movie(it should've been a thirty-minute TV film in the first place) beats around the bush unnecessarily and, to the misfortune of the viewer, incessantly before getting to the point in the final reel. Every scene creates a feeling of deja-vu, because almost every action and situation is repeated, albeit in different locations. For eg. Convincing the doctor to talk with the affected child about the implications of the concerned operation is repeated such an alarming number of times, that Yossarian begins to make sense! Arun Nalawade keeps an estranged and bewildered expression throughout the movie. One isn't sure if he is worried or constipated! Ashwin Chitale as the kid is endearing initially, but begins to get on your nerves as the reels roll on. The only saving grace is the Sandeep Kulkarni(portraying the doctor) who manages to mouth the most funniest(unintentionally) and corniest of lines with such earnestness and sincerity that you actually forget their absurdity and listen to him in rapture. The plot has umpteen loopholes, the biggest of which is the undisclosed reason behind the doting grandfather's decision to not inform or tell his daughter-in-law's brother about his plan to take the kid out of the hospital to the town. The actual story of the movie is only worthy of a few minutes, and in the time the movie takes to reach there, Andy Dufresne has already escaped from the Shawshank prison! But what is perhaps most appalling is the ideology that the films purports. The final reels indirectly imply that a blind life is a wasted one. The doctor's resolve to carry out the operation when 'pleasant' images are yet etched in the child's memory sounds similar to the last hurrah of a dying man. The movie had ample potential to be a heart-tugging story about the triumph of the human spirit. And it actually seemed to be on the right track for sometime early on. The scenes where the doctor tries to make the young boy understand the importance of other senses with the aid of smell and touch are indeed well-intentioned. But sadly, the final product isn't! I am a Maharashtrian later, an avid film buff first. I firmly claim that there have been better Marathi films in recent years than this one. 'Sarkarnama' is a fine example. I do concede that as a unique effort, 'Shwaas' is commendable. But it doesn't deserve the accolades that it is receiving. Films of much higher caliber have released this year. 'Maqbool', a marvellous adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth has been ignored inexplicably. Ironically, in a film about a human story of a kid combating his inevitable blindness the camera captures of the beautiful locales of Ratnagiri is what stands out.

Sorely disappointed.

Rating- **

* Poor ** Average *** Good **** Very Good ***** Excellent

After a very long time Marathi cinema has come with some good movie.This movie is one of the best Marathi movies ever made. It shows how a old grandfather tries to save his grandsons eye. He tries everything that is possible in his hands to save the child's eye. Doctor and a relative of his tries to help him in his attempt.

The acting by the grandfather, the boy and the doctor are simply superb. They have shown true picture of a typical Marathi life. Every bit of action has some meaning in it. I would recommend to watch this movie, as initially I thought this one would be of documentary type but this was above my expectations.

This film is really going to touch your hearts.I would expect more Marathi movies to come up with performances like this.

This is a film about a six year old child from a village in Maharashtra (a state in India) and his grandfather who come to Pune (a city in Maharashtra) to treat the child's eyes. here the grandfather gets to know that the child has cancer in both eyes and that they have to be removed to save the child's life. the movie is all about the main characters' and their feelings and actions until the operation.

The movie is not a typical cliché Indian movie, so dun expect to see songs or romance or melodrama. this ia a supremely crafted sensitive movie which resorts to silent expressions rather than over the top dialogs to get the point thru. witness the scene where the grandfather is told about the need to remove the child's eyes. the acting is superb, dialogs heart breaking. your heart goes out for the grandfather who has the unenviable task of telling the child and his mother about the operation.

the handling of the subject has been excellent. the film was made under great hardship by the director, Sandeep Sawant who had to knock many doors to gather the Rs. six million (approx. $130000) budget. even then the final product seems polished and has decent production values. also witness the subtle city village contrast shown by the director by incorporating some random shots of the boy's life in the village. Sawant definitely seems to prefer village life.

THe acting by all is excellent. Amruta Subhash as the social worker is competent adding the required humane touch to her role. Sandeep Kulkarni as the docter is great, showing perfect mannerisms of a doctor. Ashwin Chitale as the child is a natural. he doesn't seem to be acting. everything about him is natural and does not seem forced.

But towering above all is Arun Nalawade as the grandfather. he is astounding in his role. mere words cannot describe his work. it is a performance to cherish forever.

Shwaas is a sincere effort to make good cinema. it should not be ignored just for the fact that it shows that if things are kept simple, the the results can be really surprising. 10/10.

I remember the pre-Shwaas era wherein going to the theatres never meant watching Marathi movies. In fact, in my teenage years, Shwaas was my first Marathi movie in theatres. Often cited as the movie that provided the "Shwaas" necessary for Marathi movies to live on, it is a lesson in acting by the great but unheralded Arun Nalawade. That it went to the Oscars is a proud moment for Marathi cinema but more importantly it created the ecosystem for Marathi cinema to prosper in the form of more screens, higher political interest, a new re-energised audeince, large production houses and an intelligent film fraternity.