Ship of Theseus

Anand Gandhi's first feature-length film is an intriguing and thought-provoking piece of Independent cinema; it deals with life, purpose and philosophy. Gandhi's prior experience with short films helps him direct the three disparate story lines with certain finesse; the stories shed some light on Theseus's Paradox and give a transcendent look at consequences arising from individual actions.

In Greek Legend, according to Plutarch, Theseus's ship was preserved, and the decayed parts were replaced piece by piece until no part of the original ship remained. Plutarch asks whether you would call it the same ship or not. The paradox might seem too confusing to discuss, but Anand Gandhi just uses this to connect the three plots through the theme of organ donation, questioning identity in the face of change. Rather than making a statement, Gandhi just raises interest and discusses various important philosophies and issues; having compelling arguments for and against the topics, it helps us being a part of the discussion.

The characters are likable and interesting. All the actors have done a commendable job, and Neeraj Kabi's brilliant performance as the Jain monk stands out. As the three stories go, the first one (with the blind Egyptian photographer) deals with behaviour to change, the second one (with the animal-rights supporting Jain monk) might seem more philosophically and intellectually orgasmic, but it's the third one (with a stock broker seeking justice for a kidney scam victim) which oozes with brutal honesty. The use of humour to lighten the serious tone of the movie is delightful.

The cinematography is spectacular. Rarely have I seen such breathtaking visuals in an Independent film; the shots have a certain poetic and aesthetic charm. The blend of far-off shots and sudden close-ups gives us an intimate look at the characters' lives.

The movie is really good, but far from perfection. 2 hours 20 minutes is too long for the movie; with better editing, it could have maintained the pace and momentum well. And as most movies with multiple story lines suffer from this, the characters lack enough depth and screen-time for us to invest ourselves in them. The first story, though the idea of a blind photographer is a bit far-fetched, suffers from an abrupt ending. The second story has many interesting viewpoints and arguments, but part of them seem off-the-book and pretentious; it suffers from an illogical ending too. The third story, though quite honest and absorbing, is quite messy and detours from the main theme of the movie.

From writing screenplay and dialogues for cheesy soap operas to an intellectual independent feature film, Anand Gandhi has come a long way; I guess his experience as a playwright and short-film director must have come in handy.

Anand Gandhi's SHIP OF THESEUS is in one sentence an amazing story, amazingly shot. One rarely came across a film where narrative is powerful but the visuals add a whole new subtext, a new dimension to the overall experience. Without being too arty, intellectual or surreal, it is an original piece of cinema, where there are moments when you wish your characters to stay silent and they get into arguments and when you expect them to say the things, they stay silent yet speak a lot. It is a classic example of a wonderful use of the language of cinema. It engages your mind provided you have not left it at your home to watch a mindless entertainer. It is intense, sensitive thus overall a rare gem of cinema. Overall Good.

"Whether the ship would remain the same if it were entirely replaced, piece by piece. What would happen if their original planks were gathered up after they were replaced, and used to build a second ship. Which ship, if either, is the Ship of Theseus'."

Ship of Theseus starts by stating the Theseus' paradox and then moves on, leaving the viewers struggling to find the answer of this paradox. SOT is based upon three stories which raises questions on Existence, Identity, Humanity and Karma.

The first story is about a girl named Aaliya Kamal (Aida El-Kashef) who took photography after she lost her eyesight to a cornea infection and when she is asked "Do you feel limited?", she replies "Uhh.. No. Why is it so amazing not to have limits and doubts?". This is the part where each and every frame of the film looks stunning and exceptionally beautiful. There is no story in this part but it's about the perception of beauty, how black and white can be the most colorful combination and how a person loses her comfort when she gets her vision back. Aida plays with her eyes and did a great job with her part. Watch out for her body movements when she hears distinct voices during her photo sessions. Pankaj Kumar (director of photography) does an excellent job and his part gives real definition to the movie's aesthetic value. The sequence where Aaliya starts seeing her photographs when she gets her vision back is another highlight of the movie. Ah!!! Those photographs were just mind blowing.

The second story shows an ailing monk, Maitreya (Neeraj Kabi) who is suffering from Liver Cirrhosis and is fighting against pharmaceutical companies which performs cruelty against animals for the sake of experiments. It's the part where questions are raised about Karma, Religions and Beliefs. The moment where Chakrava (Vinay Shukla) asks the monk, when he is restricting himself to take medications to support his protest, "What about the violence you are committing on yourself by not taking medication?. And how is your choice not different from a suicide bomber who is so convinced about the fundamentalism of his political and religious thoughts?" and so many points that he makes e.g., "what if the caterpillar's karma was to get crushed" sequence and the fungus-making- an-ant-a-zombie-to-reap-benefits-out-of-it-concept defines this part and we, the viewers get puzzled with each and every words what this character says. It apparently questions the monk's beliefs and his karma. This is a part where to some extent dullness appears just before the interval but goes to another level when it ends in the second half.Neeraj Kabi is exceptionally well in his role of a monk. Hats off to him for the workout he did for this role.

The final part takes the whole movie to another level by asking questions on humanity and why the poor always gets crushed by the rich peoples. It's a story of a stockbroker who is the recipient of a kidney, which he later discovers that it was stolen from a labor who has been part of a racket which was led by highly esteemed doctors. It changes his life's perspective and then he goes to help that poor and make things better for him. This part is totally gripping and will be highly likable by many peoples. An exceptional performance by Sohum Shah makes this part even better.

Ship Of Theseus didn't waste any time on character development. It starts from the middle of the characters' life and doesn't tell you about their ending. But it tells you the way their perception gets changed about their life.

At the start I was thinking about the title. But when the film ended I thought that this is the most appropriate title which a movie could ever have. Anand Gandhi provides us a movie of the decade and is certainly going to give Indian Cinema a new definition. He is a talent to watch out for.

I am going with 4.5 stars for Ship Of Theseus. It's not run of the mill kind of movie but if you are a movie fanatic then it's totally your cup of tea. MISS IT AT YOUR OWN RISK!.

P.S:- Twitter was heavily flooded with the praises of Ship Of Theseus, but I was skeptical regarding those.

But now the one tweet which I totally found appropriate for the movie is "After watching the movie, do a blood test. You will find the traces of the film in it".

Have been more than 5 months since I saw the film. But it surely got to be a film which will stay with me forever. A film dealing with a philosophical paradox doesn't sound exciting but this film totally surprised me. The paradox of the Ship of Theseus is an underlying layer of the film which has 3 stories. The characters in the film deal with things that challenge their beliefs and in unexpected ways. The beauty is in the treatment which is effortlessly unpredictable without ever being manipulative or calculated. You feel tremendous empathy for the characters which seems to come for the filmmakers deep understanding of the human psychology and behavior unlike most films/narratives where the author/ filmmaker try to 'design' a character for the purpose of eliciting emotions. Here its all so natural that there seems no design and that is the best part about the performances. They are real as well as really intriguing. I found the character of monk played by Neeraj Kabi to be specially intriguing. His is an amazingly natural performance and yet larger than life in some ways. Sohum Shah was a revelation. For once I thought that he may have been casted in the film for being the producer but when you see the film, he was just brilliant. His performance is one which is so subdued that it took me sometime to realize how good he is. Aida who plays the photographer also delivers a delightful performance. I guess her role was the most difficult as she plays a character which one cannot normally find references in real life or even fiction and despite that she delivers such a natural performance.

What is most surprising about the film is its technical finesse. Cinematography is the best you'll see, the film is a visual treat. It took me sometime to realise that the film is set in Bombay not because its a Bombay which you rarely ever see in Bollywood films. It was later that I got to know that the film was shot on a Canon DSLR and I couldn't believe it. Sound design and mixing is also top notch something which is rare for low budget productions(In Indian context even for big budget films). The background score is absolutely mesmerising and only comes when needed. Particular mention should be made of the Naham Janami song which plays in the background during the monk story. I really believe that this film deserves a big screen experience and that is why am so happy that it is finally releasing in India otherwise most would have either not seen it or would have to see it on small screens which does not do justice to this film.

I can go and on about the film but at this point will end at this note that do not miss this film if you get an opportunity to see it. You'll thank me for this!

Well, I'll keep this plain, short and simple. I have no clue why this film is rated so low. In my opinion this film is an exceptional piece of art. The director keeps you hooked on to the movie right from the very start. You might be left wondering what is happening here but as the movie reaches it's conclusion, you will be left mesmerized. Each story has its own moments, its own ideas. Each idea is so subtly and thoughtfully expressed, I was left spell bound.The overall experience watching this movie actually raises thoughts in your mind about the issues discussed so beautifully. I saw this one at a film festival and in my opinion, this was the best film in the fest. 10/10