Antaheen – Longing For Love

http://passionforcinema.com/antaheen-%E2%80%93-the-longs-for-love/

‘Antaheen’ is a collage of love stories, without saying the most abused phrase in Hindi (or Indian) cinema ‘I love you’ even once. Perhaps that is why I identified with it so much. The love shown here seems real, one that can happen in our lives and change them forever. Love comes in many different ways at various points of the lives of the characters in ‘Antaheen’. Love is watching Kolkata in the rains, a de-familiarized landscape. Love is Persian poet Rumi’s love poem written on the glass divider and rain drops falling on it. Love is talking about a kite trapped in an antenna. Love is also patiently waiting for the phone to ring so that one can hear the voice of the unknown caller. Love is also a phone call to one’s separated wife and requesting her if he can come over and stay with her for a few days just to feel that emotional attachment and the sense of belonging. Love is also a nod from a busy and indifferent businessman to his servant to give his wife medicine, when she suffers from migraine.

Moments like these make ‘Antaheen’. It is in all these fragments that we understand the totality of love in this film.

I enjoy discussing the craft of the movie more than the story line or the entertainment quotient. ‘Antaheen’ gives ample opportunity to do that. Let’s start with cinematography. Abhik Mukhopadhyay, I believe, is currently the best cinematographer in India. His work in ‘Bhalo Theko’ is a testament to that statement. I think he outperforms himself in ‘Antaheen’. Kolkata has never looked so up-market, chic and romantic. The sky scrapers, view of the city from the high rises, roads and traffic jam amidst rain, clouds, indoors all add up to give Kolkata a new look for viewers. The songs are wonderfully shot and for once the lyrics and the shots merge perfectly.

The editing compliments the cinematography perfectly. There are frames where the camera lingers on for couple of seconds more before its transition to the next scene which makes them extra special. The pace is slow. But that is ideal for a movie like this. It is almost a contrast to the fast paced urban life in the movie. I think the slow pacing is deliberate to bring out the pathos of loneliness in the middle of urbanity.

The soundtrack of ‘Antaheen’ is the best Bengali soundtrack I have heard this entire decade (or more). The songs with their picturization are special, especially ‘Jao Pakhi’. Also, the songs merge into the narrative very smoothly.

Aniruddha Roychowdhury’s direction deserves merit. He previously made ‘Anuranan’ (Resonance), a film that dealt with urban relationships. Although I liked that film, somewhere down the line I felt it was a little hurried, especially at the end. In ‘Antaheen’ he gets it right. It ends hitting the perfect note. There are many sub-plots in the movie and he handles most of them brilliantly. ‘Antaheen’ is very emotional movie and to sustain the emotional quotient till the very end is commendable. He also extracts great performances from the cast especially the newcomers.

Talking about performances, Antaheen has a stellar star cast with performers like Aparna Sen, Sharmila Tagore and Rahul Bose. There are also two debutants, Radhika Apte and Kalyan Roy. Let’s talk about the debutants first. Both Radhika Apte and Kalyan Roy are phenomenal. They are so good that one forgets about Aparna Sen and Rahul Bose although they have similar screen time as the debutants. Radhika Apte’s eyes speak a thousand words. Her performance is one of the most spontaneous performances in recent times. Kalyan Roy as the laidback, separated husband who loves books, foreign wines and Sensex is equally brilliant. It is the star performers who falter to an extent. Rahul Bose is his usual self. Also, his one dimensional character didn’t help. Aparna Sen on the other hand has an interesting role. I don’t think she played a corporate lady before. It's a new look for her too. Yet, she looks a tad tired with her performance. Sharmila Tagore is wasted in a small role. Except one scene where she talks about her story, all she does is bring Jasmine tea.

The biggest flaw of the movie is the endorsements which keep coming in almost every frame of the movie like a pop-up. It becomes an irritant and makes some scenes a laughing stock. Also certain scenes went a little overboard and became melodramatic. Rahul Bose quoting Jim Morrison in a hostage situation is hard to digest.

The movie becomes the journey of all the characters on a self discovery trip and long for love. Some end alone, some together. But the longing remains.