Being Cyrus

The dark comedy Being Cyrus centers around the lives of a Parsi family, the Sethnas. From the film's name, expectations that conjure up are about a typical Parsi existence. But as the film gets underway and the plot unravels, you realize that it is far from that. The story brings out the dark sides of some seemingly ordinary characters, who eventually go to unbelievable lengths to achieve their goals.

Cyrus (Saif) shows up at the Sethna's at their Panchgani bungalow, and offers to be an assistant to pot maker Dinshaw (Naseeruddin Shah). He spends a year with them and in the process a romance seemingly brews between him and Katy (Dimple Kapadia), Dinshaw's wife. Other clandestine activities coincide with this; Cyrus receives some money for an undisclosed reason, and he is shown working on something in a lab setting. He then arrives at Dinshaw's brother, Faroq's (Boman Irani) house in a very Parsi locality in Mumbai. Faroq takes care of their father who lives in a room in their Mumbai apartment, and does not treat him too well. Cyrus befriends the father but Faroq loathes his proximity. Katy on the other hand, gets frequent calls from Mumbai, in a parallel unexpected development. Tina(Simone Singh) who is Faroq's wife, befriends a policeman Lovely (Manoj Pahwa), and their interactions provide good comic relief. In what follows, the plot slowly unfurls, revealing morbid and unanticipated sides of many personalities. The movie takes a shocking turn at one juncture and the few minutes around that scene unravel a range of unforeseen occurrences.

Saif's fist English movie, his lead character transitions from carefree sculptor's assistant to a starkly more somber character in a span of a few minutes. Naseeruddin Shah again plays the intoxicated old man following Iqbal; he is a reclusive pot sculptor who is hooked to a different kind of pot. Dimple Kapadia fulfills the role of middle aged vain Parsi lady, but her character could have been more believable. Boman Irani, originally Parsi, is at home with the characters and dialog delivery in this film. There is a scene where he gets into an argument with a Parsi lady about her pet dog which captivates the viewer with its authenticity and comedy. Simone Singh gives a good performance of an unassuming bride who transforms into something very different.

The film does not have songs, but the soundtrack is effective and did justice to the different moods. Some scenes could have used a more topical background score to build up and establish the importance of the scene. The use of English, not all actors' first language, causes some parts to come across as unnatural.

For a directorial debut, Homi Adajania's work is commendable and one wonders how he managed to clinch such a stellar cast on his initiation. He has shown his versatility in comedy and drama scenes as well as evocative dream sequences. Considering how unpredictable the plot is, it has been stitched together well.

On the whole, the movie has a few things going for it - the star cast, the plot and the direction. This one is not to be missed - an offbeat stunner with true box office potential.

Being Cyrus is a wonderful and intense psychological drama. It is a dark, comic, urbane and very interesting film about a young man who shows up on the doorstep of a dysfunctional Sethna family, led by a carefree sculptor named Dinshaw, who Cyrus claims to be a fan of. That's where he resides, working as Dinshaw's apprentice and assistant. Cyrus gets close to Dinshaw's adulterous and impulsive wife Katy. Through his narration and their relations the story presents us the other half of the family living in an old dilapidated building in Mumbai - Dinshaw's brother Farookh, who lives with his young bride Tina and their father Fardon, a neglected old man who is badly maltreated by his son. Thrown between these two families, Cyrus has to materialise a plan, which seems to be quite evident throughout the movie but is revealed only towards the end. The mystery is not solved until the film's final scenes. An engagingly complicated and twisted script is the strongest link of Being Cyrus. The film is riveting, symbolic and straight to the point. It is not your run-of-the-mill Bollywood film, it is a different and fresh product which celebrates its uniqueness, and that's one of the things it must be applauded for. Cyrus is a young sophisticated man whose silence often says more than his actual words. Saif Ali Khan brilliantly displays this aspect of Cyrus's nature. His narration is also very effective. Naseeruddin Shah does not disappoint in a greatly restrained act, but he actually does not have that much to work with. Dimple Kapadia, though very sexy as the neurotic Katy, is surprisingly disappointing and at times her acting looks forced. Boman Irani is excellent in his role. Simone Singh does very well, too. To sum it up, Being Cyrus is a fun watch. It is intelligently written and well directed, and it is only one hour and 25 minutes long, quite an exception.

I have always seen Saif Ali Khan as one of the most talented stars of Indian cinema. He is one of the actors who underwent enormous transformation in his career, and is today one of the rare entities in Bollywood who have style with even more substance.

Being Cyrus is not his best performance till date. And yet, it will probably always be remembered as one of his memorable roles because of the dark shades to his character.

The movie boasts of an incredible line of greats from Indian cinema, and a pretty good storyline. I will refrain from making any reference to the storyline since it is bound to give away something about the movie.

Overall, an enjoyable movie and something that you will probably want to watch more than once!

Homi Adajania misses the century by few runs, but no worries even Dravid missed one on his debut. Yes, its a brilliant start for him as a story teller. I remember seeing sixth sense, it wasn't too great a movie(every one will agree me on that) till I saw the climax, that's where the brilliance lies. Its the package of the film that's makes directors GREAT. Well, Homi can pat himself for his honest original attempt and not trying to remake any of classic English thrillers in Hindi.

I thought the first half was little too long in describing things which weren't related to the title. I felt a lot of attention should have been given to Cyrus which i think lacked except the dream scene. Unfortunately you actually cant really draw the outline for Cyrus, which you do with other character. The cinematographer and editor make you eyes busy with colors and cuts. I thought Salim-Sulaiman still has a hangover of Booth, cause the music in the first half was little loud for the way the movie opens and proceeds till interval, but they did make up in the second half with the sound. All characters where apt in their roles, but i still think the director ran out of wine when feeding Saif and Shah.

If not the best movie i ever saw, its a brilliant and a honest movie from AN India for which i can be proud of. For me the hero is Homi Adajania, HATS OFF.

I saw this film in New York last December (05) and couldn't believe that films like this are made in India. It was FABULOUS. The crowds were enough to demand another full-house screening but unfortunately union rules prevented the cinema from doing this. Though the film takes time to digest (the credit roll being sufficient), everyone I met after the film seemed very impressed. The director, Homi Adajania, has a very unique style of story telling. It's a bold blend of genres and calling it a black comedy would be the closest to describe it, yet not totally justified. It would be fair to say that Being Cyrus is truly an alternate film, but it certainly refreshes our take on Indian Cinema and i hope more films like this are weaved out to surprise and entertain us. Absolutely fantastic in the direction, cinematography and background score department. This Director is someone to watch out for in the future. It's a must see.