15 Park Avenue

Boasting of a host of talented cast and one of the most acclaimed filmmakers, 15 Park Avenue takes us to a dark philosophical journey. It's about a young schizophrenic lady, her intellectual sister, her ex-fiancée, her mother and the people surrounding them who are looking for only one thing...something they can never find. Konkona Sen Sharma is without any doubt the most talented actress of today's generation. Her portrayal of the schizophrenic Meethi is so realistic (more so than that of Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind). Shabana Azmi is always dependable and here too she is fantastic, as is Waheeda Rehman who plays the helpless mother, Rahul Bose and Shefali Shah. The film takes place in India and Bhutan and the cinematography adds more to the mysteriousness of the world these characters live in. The film is open to interpretation and I have my own but I won't mention it as you should have your own view. I strongly recommend all to watch this wonderful movie.

i went to watch this film with my family who were expecting a neatly conclusive story like ''mr.& mrs.iyer''.and they returned home thoroughly disappointed.so,this is a warning to all ''conclusive story lovers'' to stay away.15 park avenue does not seek to answer questions or provide moral solutions on how to treat the mentally challenged.rather its intention is loud and clear.it questions every human being's,sane or not,sense of reality.in fact for me it even arouses doubts about my taken-for-granted sense of sanity.the security,bondage,satisfaction that i find in my present,is it really what i am or does it really create an illusion that all of us desperately and sometimes ignorantly cling on to just to falsely console the neglected 'meethi' which exists in all of us in some way or the other? so,why does anjali so maniacally makes it a point to show off her strength of mind when she is really harrowed by the realization that she is becoming a monster?aren't we all who think we are ''normal'' ,really monstrous and helplessly vulnerable about it deep down inside? is it not better to be happy even insanely,than to create the impression of 'normalcy' while suppressing one's fragility? meethi bravely,madly,sincerely does that.and society labels her as ''schizophrenic''.the ending did confound me at first,but then you realise that meethi bravery and sincere belief took her where she wanted to go.she found what she was searching for,not caring what society had to comment upon her search. and it is the seemingly 'real' people - anjali,the psychiatrist,and jojo- who never reach anywhere.my family thinks that i am schizophrenic too in trying to make sense of a film that is largely 'insane' to the rest of the world.anyone else willing to believe in my sense of reality...........?

After Mrs and Mr. Iyer this is yet another very good film by Aparna sen(mostly in English). In the earlier film she treated a contemporary political environment and its effect on individuals. In this film it is the impact of mentally disabled member of the family and its impact on the family. As a parallel sub theme she treats a philosophical concept on "reality". It is a film which leads to thinking after seeing the film.

Mithee the younger sister (Konkana Sen Sharma, the daughter of Aparna Sen) is suffering from Schizophrenia being taken care of by the dominant elder sister Anjali (Shabana Azmi) . Mithee after her marriage with Jojo and separation from him believes that she is still with JOJO and her five children in 15 Park avenue in Kolkotta.(there is no such address in Kolkotta-it seems there is one in New York) and she is intense in her belief. It is almost like an intense religious belief. Ultimately what is reality? In one scene she tells Anjali "if I tell you that you are not a professor but only imagine that you are a professor". The open ending reflects this reality. In a supposedly search for her home in park avenue, Mithee is lost. The penultimate scene is Mithee looking at a group of five children playing and her looking at them with joy of returning to her family and then she is lost. About this concept of reality I am reminded of another film of fifties called HARRY with James Stewart. The protagonist believes that a big sized rabbit (?), called Harry is always with him and he is always conversing with him. At the end even the doctor believes perhaps there is Harry. What is reality, is it what the protagonist believes or what other believe Shabhna Azmi dominates the film with her sterling performance as the strong elder sister with undercurrent of frustration. Konkana Sen Sharma gives equally befitting performance as the schizophrenic.

Yet the film is not as tight as Mrs and Mr. Iyer. There appear to be some loose ends. And perhaps there are too many characters. Those who want a closed ending may not appreciate the open ending here. But the ending befits the theme of the film.

Yet another good film by Aparana sen.

A movie about Schizophrenia, an educational effort on the part of the director at times when most movie seem to be just about skin show. Konkana Sen is a Schizophrenia patient who lives with her sister and mother. The movie is about how the family tries to cope with this disease, while Konkana continues to live in her delusional world. I would have given a 10 to this movie if not for the ending which seemed pretty pointless. Without letting in on the ending, I must say that I do not see the point of having an ending which forces the viewers to try and understand what actually happened in a movie..15 park avenue ended up being a movie like that. I would not call such an ending intellectual, just plain lack of insight on the part of the director, or whoever was responsible for the ending, to realize that the audience would like to know everything when seeing with a movie that deals with such a sensitive topic. That said, Shabana Aazmi,Rahul Bose, Konkana Sen and Wahida Rehman are a delight to watch in the movie. Acting can never be an issue in a movie with Shabana Aazmi and Rahul Bose. I just wish that the end was different. It was the ending that let the movie down a bit. However, still a movie with such an excellent director and wonderful actors should be seen.

15 PARK AVENUE is the address "Mithi/Mithali" (Konkona) is in search for from the movies beginning. "Prof.Anu" (Shabhana Azmi)is Mithi's extremely caring and loving half sister from Mithi's mom's earlier marriage. The movie revolves around these characters and looks into the life of a schizophrenic patient (Mithi). The director tries to explain to the viewer the imaginary world of Mithi, through her continuous blabbering to Anu and others.

Konkona deserves not one but thousands of awards (which I am sure, she will be getting)for this rendition of Mithi in this movie. You can see the look of a patient written on her face, by the drooping lips and sleepy eyes, from the first scene itself. Rahul Bose has done a good job, but has been reduced to one half of the movie in spite of his importance in their life.

Watch out for the intense relationships shown between the characters of the movie, Mithi & Anu, Anu & Anu's Mom and between Anu & Sanjiv (Kanwaljit Singh). Shabhana Azmi, as usual has done a riveting performance to be remembered as the sister, who sacrificed her life for Mithi.

The movie might not be your usual Hindi potboiler, but can certainly make people look at the schizophrenic patients in a different light altogether.

As usual, Aparna Sen brings the movie to a different ending rather than any clichéd ones, we might think off. Hats off to her, for this great movie!!!