Pushpaka Vimana

Pushpak (a.k.a Pushpaka Vimana in Kannada) is a must see film. Director Singeetham has done a superb job. Even though there are no dialogues in the movie, you don't feel like you are watching a silent movie. Camera work and direction are so clever that the scenes itself convey everything. And, Kamal Hassan is simply brilliant! He deserves all the greatest awards out there (be it Academy Awards or anything else). The film focuses on the life of an unemployed youth. The comedy, or I should say dark comedy, is superb! Pushpak is the real thing, you have to see it to believe it.

I think that Pushpak has gone unnoticed by international movie aficionados. It is a pity that Pushpak does not feature in IMDb's top 250 lists. And, I am disappointed to see many flaky Japanese horror movies being over-hyped!!!!

There can and will never be a film like Pushpak. Pushpak is a cult film from day one.

A poor and unemployed youth, played by Kamal Hasan enjoys the good life by stealing the identity of a rich middle-aged drunkard. Pushpak is the name of the apartment-hotel the rich man resides in. While an imposter, Kamal gets to experience a life normally not granted men of his station and meets a beautiful girl and falls in love with her. But, like all good things, this brief excursion into paradise must end.

The movie is set against the backdrop of vast urban unemployment among educated youth in the India of the Eighties. While peppered with numerous comic incidents, the movie is quite serious in adressing its central theme. The glaring contrast between the lifestyles of the rich and the rest is evocative of Indian society. A rich beggar, whose possessions the public tries to scavenge after his death and a bungling killer who gets electrocuted are interesting diversions that do not detract from the depth of the storyline. But, what makes this film a cinematic masterpiece in my opinion is that such a powerful portrait of the times is created without resort to dialogue. This is a silent movie !! It is truly difficult not to be atleast a little moved by the ending.

Words are not enough to describe the strengths of this movie of which there are so many that no doubt Pushpak deserves the status of a cult-movie. A silent movie and an intelligent one at that should have shaken up the world of cinema. Alas, it was not meant to be. Nevertheless, it is a landmark film. Had it been made in Hollywood, it could have been the "Avatar" of 3D viewing experience.

It tells the story of an unemployed youth Kamal Hassan who kidnaps and steals the identity of an alcoholic businessman, locks him in his one room apartment, and starts living the life of his dreams in the hostage's suite in a luxury hotel. What follows next is a mix of Alice-in-Wonderland like excitement; boy meets girl charm; hit man-on-the-loose pandemonium; guilt and redemption - all served with a puff of magic.

Despite having no dialogs, the makers of this movie have managed to create such endearing characters that unless you are like me who has watched this movie more than 20 times, you watch with wide eyed wonder at the innovativeness with which each character's story and the situations they find themselves in is revealed. For example, in the musical chairs being played out between Kamal Hassan and random characters in front of the public bathroom, each one of them is desperate to out maneuver the other to get the best "seat" and it is a sight to behold. You can't help but marvel at the subtlety with which Kamal Hasssan plays this scene. Even more intriguing is the sequence of events that propel the action from a daily routine like having a surrogate breakfast, romancing the magician's daughter (an irresistible Amla) at a funeral, dodging the hit-man's innovative weapon, to pouring alcohol down the hostage's throat after cleaning his bottom. It's a remarkable mix and you wonder how much of it was improvised.

Interestingly, the entire concoction is held together by symbolism and metaphors. The idea of boosting one's ego by drawing inspiration from the story of the clever crow that drops pebbles into a jar to raise the level of water in order to quench its thirst plays out beautifully when the protagonist does the same with a cup of tea. Only this time, he drops knick-knacks into the cup. In another scene, once the protagonist has successfully kidnapped the alcoholic businessman and taken over his identity, for a brief moment, stands in front of the hotel logo that has wings on its sides thus forging the idea that he himself has grown wings and is now ready to explore the world that has been out of his reach so far. The movie also boasts creative situational music, some of which sounds like as if it belongs in a lullaby but seems to gel beautifully with the well-choreographed sequences.

Pushpak has a very strong message, especially for the youth, and you don't need spoken words to understand that honesty is still the best policy both in life and in love no matter how bitter-sweet the outcome. If you loved "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro" and "Chashme Buddoor", make it a point to see Pushpak. If not for anything, watch it for Kamal Hassan and witness how he inhabits his quirky character and missteps not even once.

After numerous recommendations I finally managed to get a hold of this movie. I appreciate the director's attempt of making a silent movie that is charming, funny but very flawed. As much as I enjoyed it, I would not place it among the best movies. Some of the humour is too tacky for my liking, especially the toilet humour (for example the whole toilet situation with the hostage) and some comic tracks just fall flat. At times, the film moves at a lethargic pace. The Tinu Anand track did not need that much focus. That entire track could have been better left out. Yet, 'Pushpak' remains likable. I loved the irony in the end and that beautifully concludes the poetry of the entire movie. In terms of acting, 'Pushpak' belongs to Kamal Hassan. The actor gets into the skin of the character and nails the part. I never thought of him as one of the best actors in Indian cinema but i admire his attempt at experimenting with different things and he is exceptional in 'Pushpak'. Amla is vivacious in a smaller role. Director Singeetham deserves credit for daring to make a silent film, and one that mostly manages to avoid the clichéd gimmicks. Perhaps this was his homage to the voiceless movies made in the 30s. I loved his use of symbolism and metaphors especially in the end sequence. For the most part, 'Pushpak' is a fun watch and I thin it would have been excellent had the editing been more crisp but there's enough good about it that compensates for the weaknesses.

This is pure cinema at its best. For a popular mainstream director to do a silent project as recently as the 80s is in itself staggering, but to pull it off with elan as Singeetham Sreenivasa Rao has done in Pushpak is commendable.

"Pushpak" is the name of the aircraft upon which all human dreams come true in Indian mythology. ("Pushpaka Vimaana"), and we get to see in these two hours how one's dreams can indeed come true, and makes us wonder if this life is in itself a dream.

To go into this theme so fluidly and to still entertain us wholeheartedly, there is something at work here that may not be quite easily understood, but Pushpak is here to entertain, and I would highly encourage you to delve right in!