Arth

Arth is a pleasantly surprising movie, a great cinematic experience. It's one of those few movies that makes us live the journey of the main character, and make us believe the decisions and path of the cast. It's a well acted, edited and directed movie with a powerful screenplay. It will be unfair to not appreciate the cast especially Sabhana Azmi. It's a philosophically satisfying conclusion. A strong ending and a feel good vibe. It's a must watch movie. Highly recommended.

Arth is a brilliantly made film. I guess no other director in Bollywood, other than Mahesh Bhatt, had the guts to portray their real life relations on screen. By deciding to portray his relationship with actress Parveen Babi on screen, Bhatt comes up with a timeless masterpiece that rests on the shoulders of two of its able performers: Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil.

Arth is the story of a woman (Shabana Azmi) who is trying to come to terms with her separation from her husband (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) who is having an affair with a schizophrenic actress (Smita Patil). Bhatt intelligently weaves a grand saga of emotions because he is aided by nothing other than his own life's story.

Talking about the performances, this is undoubtedly one of Azmi and Patil's best performances. Azmi leaves no stone unturned in trying to convey the turmoil within her as she is dealing with the separation from her husband. Patil, despite a shorter role compared to Azmi's, leaves a great impact as a depressed, disillusioned actress. She shows why she was one of the best actresses of the 80s. Kharbanda is equally competent as a weak man, torn between two women. Rohini Hattangadi lends ample support as a maid whose life mirrors the life of Azmi's character in the film. Raj Kiran is good too as Azmi's admirer in the film.

The editing is brilliant. Praveen Bhatt's cinematography is outstanding. The memorable soundtrack by the Ghazal duo, the magnificent Jagjit Singh and Chitra Singh leaves an everlasting impact on the hearts of the viewers.

Overall, Arth is a must watch!

My Rating : 9/10

I've seen this movie twice now and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. 'Arth' is one of Mahesh Bhatt's finest and captivated me from the start.

If you don't mind slow-burning drama, certainly seek this out, it is semi-autobiographical (about Mahesh Bhatt's extramarital relationship with Parveen Babi) and with great performances from everyone.

Moving, riveting and simply a classic of parallel Indian cinema. Absolute Must-See.

there are very few Indian films that confront real situations, without cheating the audience, treating them like children or giving them what they want instead of what they need. 'arth' is one of those few films.

the story is a simple and timeless one, yet one that is rarely explored in Indian film. what makes it so great is that each side of is represented, with two female points of view, another rarity in Indian film. but the performances are what bring this great story to life. the acting is superb, especially by shabana azmi and smita patil - two women with excellent performances in the same film, which is yet another rarity.

the film is well directed, and mahesh bhatt highlights the emotional impact of the situation very well. not a single shot is wasted and the story unfolds at a perfect pace.

at no point is 'arth' clichéd or predictable, and it tells the story as it should be told. the ending was one that would have made so many other films excellent, yet the storytellers were afraid to tell it. this is the thing i admire most about this film, it never cheats the audience and treats the situation as realistically as possible. most importantly, each of the main characters is three-dimensional, and the film examines each of these characters and their states of mind very well, rather than having them react to events.

the writing, directing, and acting in this film are absolutely perfect and this film is easily one of the best Indian films ever made.

Arth (1982) : Brief Review -

Arth explains real Meaning of Woman Empowerment and Inherence. Woman oriented films have always been special and important for Bollywood cinema and there have been at least one or two such films made in every decade since 50s. Bimal Roy's cinema was far ahead of time while others took right time to make such films and Mahesh Bhatt got his achievement in early 80s. Arth is a story of a married Woman whose husband leaves for other woman and the wife tries to find the meaning and cause of her existence. The topic is extremely important and worthy for Social change as it happens with so many women in real world but they endure such husbands for the sake of old school traditions of naive wife. Here, Arth teaches them a lesson to live thier life on thier own and maintain self-respect. What Arth lacks is excessive nature and poignant take on this issue. Every conflict in the film is small and that's how a realistic content should be so it works perfectly. The problem is, the motive comes into light too late, almost at the ending scene which was quite unfair from my point of view. Despite being so confident in married life, as she herself says to the lady servant about leaving such nasty husband, the wife takes soft stand when it comes to her life. She should have left him with confidence and then try to find her own path but she seems quite soft cause she's still hoping that her husband will be back one day. By the end she denies herself though, just like I said too late. It's effective for sure so don't make any opinion. The husband's character is perfectly written i don't see anything that can be improved and same goes the 2nd woman's role. She was looking little contradictory to her own views but it's okay to have at least one lose character so that the Main character will look effective. The climax is filled with intelligent sentiments which have rarely been seen in Bollywood cinema. Shabana Azmi is sublime in the film and deservingly won Filmfare and National Award. Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Raj Kiran are impressive whereas Smita Patil looks hot. Music is fulsomely situational so don't expect much. Dialogues are worthy and sharp, it lacks excessiveness though. Mahesh Bhatt's direction is fantastic. If am not wrong then Arth was First Ever Classic in his career and guess what? It lives forever. I don't care how many films were made on Woman Empowerment after Arth, it still works and it still feels special. So don't miss.

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest