Ship of Theseus

Review #2.

Ship of Theseus is a very different cinematic experience. It moves you, it makes you think about life in a different way. The characters, the narrative don't ever leave you. Anand Gandhi is definitely a talent to look out for.

There are three different stories. Each with a different plot but same destination. The first one brings you in life of a girl who had lost her eyesight due to cornea and does photography. The second one is about a monk who should have an organ transplant. And the third one is about a stockbroker who just had a kidney transplant.

The stories instantaneously connect with you. It's hard to decide which one of the three is the best. I would say the three altogether make one of the finest movies ever made in India. And it would not be wrong to say that it is the best Indian movie of the year.

The performances are very real. Specially Neeraj Sir. The direction and cinematography are exceptional.

At last, I would like to say that It is not a usual Indian movie. Go with your brains and you'll experience something you've never experienced before.

"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".

If one has got his/her basics in the right place, whatever is churned out (even if art) automatically scores good while transition from good to great is left to the creativity and imagination involved."Ship of Theseus" does exactly so and not only gets the basics right but also excels in each of them.With mind-blowing cinematography (How cud that be a DSLR?!!!!!), super-crisp editing,superb screenplay,superlative acting (Neeraj Kabi & Sohum Seth take a bow!!!!),music (that song in the monk story was simply amazing) and even comic reliefs there's not much room left for complaints. Now, coming to the gray area of creativity or whatever you call it, "Ship of Theseus" also scores (high enough) but may be not as seamless as its basics (off course IMO).The biggest positive that it has is not being either emotionally or intellectually manipulative.Its a treat to watch a film which is straight enough, with not much hidden in layers and yet so very subtle.Its left for the viewers to perceive once the film ends and continue the journey within.With so many chances that the director could have taken to succumb to push emotional epiphany he never compromises,not even in last reel.And once you know that the same man was involved behind "Kyunki Saas Bhi..." you understand what transformation/compromise(?) means as depicted in the film itself.To talk about drawbacks I found the film lacking in its background score.Not that the realtime sounds as in docu-feature style or absence of constant music is a problem.But more than often it doesn't do justice to the exemplary visuals or images that we see on screen.Those lash green grasses,the centipede movement,the array of photographs,the monk in white walking in rain or through huge sewage lines on both sides with black water flowing below-all of these scenes demanded some musical piece behind.The piece that would bind the film together.Also,of the three stories rather storeys only the first justifies the title while the other two are deeper and close.Yes,though it meets all regular and expected requirements, "Ship of Theseus" could have had a few more exciting requirements to its name.You can't complain,you can only wish and also wish more films like this gets a theatrical release and get the required backing (Thanks Kiran Rao).I am not sure whether this will be a life-changing film for all as selected by the Critics Circle,UK But as inspite of Neeraj Kabi,Aida El-Kashef,Vinay shukla,Sohum Seth and almost everyone else giving of Mr.Mehta (don't know the actor's name) that will stay with me for all as did the father in "A Separation", "Ship Of Theseus" also has every chance to stay with you for long.

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!

I went for the movie with nil expectations though i was aware of the genre. But it impressed me beyond excellence at the end. The movie presents three stories seemingly different from one another but the way the different threads of the stories get intertwined at the end into one beautiful fabric is an absolute pleasure to the senses. As per me I perceived there were multiple layers to the story each layer contributing as an example in some way to the ship of theseus paradox. The way in which it subtly presents the fact that if something changes in us, we do not remain the same person from thereon. This change may be a change in the way we perceive the world, or a change in our belief system , or a change in our attitude towards other people. The next layer of the story is what amazed me most , which consists of bringing the three stories together to show how a human being is not just flesh and bones but comprises of ideas, emotions, beliefs etc. What makes each one of us different is our thought process, our ideas, our choices and many other things. A very simple example to state such theory could be a case of twins who share the same progeny, the some womb, the same features but end up completely different. I guess i have already said a lot, if your brain has a good appetite for thought this is the movie for you.