English, August, une histoire indienne

English speaking Bong Agastya Sen is transplanted to a small town in AP and discovers to his shock that he is very much like a foreigner in his own country when taken out of his social mileu. The director has done a brilliant job of cutting out the self-indulgent, boring introspective prose present in the novel. He has cleverly disguised the fact that nothing much really happens plot-wise with the aid of some very nifty editing and I guess a 'slice of life' narrative structure. The soundbites (and pretty insightful ones at that) found throughout the movie really make the movie something special. All the actors are extremely competent and have been perfectly casted. Much, much better than the "Bombay Boys" , the "Hyderabad Blues", the "Rockfords" of this world. Hope "Split Wide Open" is just as good.

english, august released in 1994 was one of the first indian movies in english. this brave effort and its relative success paved the way for many such movies later in the 90s. this movie which is based on the brilliant book by upamanyu chatterjee is very well made and is enjoyable.

the movie captures well the dichotomy and the vast gap between rural india and its urban youth. rahul bose is very good as the lost young IAS officer unable to come to terms with the slow-paced rural life.

the movie is rather a faithful adaptation of the book, but nowhere as brilliant as the book itself. see the movie after reading the brilliant book.

a competent 8!!

Hi. I was looking for a copy of DVD of English August. But on some digging I realized that its not available in the stores at Pune and Mumbai. I have read the book and have heard a lot about the movie. The book is too good. Its subtle yet sharp. I think its one of the best works on dismal state of grass root bureaucracy in India. Apparently there was a disaster (fire or something) before the commercial launch of the movie. It looks like the movie was never released in theaters, at least not in India. I tried to search a few online movie stores in India and US, but could not get an online DVD store I can buy from. Can somebody point me to a place where I can place an order for a copy of DVD. Stores in US or India are preferable. Thanks.

The vision of Rahul Bose laying purposeless on that dilapidated cot, the curtains in the dark room fluttering to give a fleeting evidence of the raging heat outside, the fan on the ceiling turning with a reassuring repetitive noise, as the smoke slowly fills the screen. The rubber hits the spaced out road. I just had to light up, taken in by the movie hook-line-and-sinker. If you have liked fear and loathing in Las Vegas, if you have been riveted when Spud went Sputnik in Trainspotting, if you have split yourself during the round tables in That 70s show, then bet your bottom dollar on this one. Even if the names above sound Greek to you but you are a male who at least once in his life has felt you are somewhere you don't belong, have touched alcohol as a student and continued the virtue into adult life or if you have crossed teen and don't live with your folks - then do yourself a favor and watch this work of art. And if you dope, I am assuming you have watched this film one time too many already. Agastya brings into life the hidden snob in us, who is afraid to belong. H goes through the film meeting and rejecting people, creating an impenetrable social and cultural divide between himself and the people around him. As he resigns into his solitude, surrounded by colleagues and acquaintances, we are drawn into a trip of lethargy. The humor is silent and splitting. Contextual, self derogatory as well as condescending. One after the other characters from our everyday life enter the movie, your neighbour, the salesman, the loud guy who had sat at the table next to you at the café, the grocery store owner who wont give you credit. They are all there, and you are Agastya wading through them, one among them and yet far far away. It is a classic.

It is a superb rendition of Upamanyu Chatterjee's novel. I would suggest that you read the novel as well to get full flavor of this movie. Englist August is not for the weak at heart though. English August presents a bold humor for the unaffected at heart. The dry acerbic humor is truly infectious. One of the smartest and wittiest movies Ihave ever watched. It has a crisp cinematography and perfectly proportioned dialog. It's truly a unique and refreshing movie. Rahul Bose manifests his multifaceted promising career in English August. He is an amazing actor and he is supported by some of the best that the Indian movie industry has to offer. You would want to be Agastya Sen and share his experience in the middle of no-where called Madna. Would crack apart yet identify with Agastya's random thoughts and his unique spur of the moment lies and empathize with educated urban individual's existential angst. There is a little bit of Agastya Sen in all of us which becomes evident only when bare our souls, even if only to ourselves in our most vulnerable moments. The true connoisseur would want to watch it over and over again.