The ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus's paradox, is a paradox that raises the question of whether an object which has had all its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object. If you dismantle a ship, plank by plank, and reassemble it, does it remain the same ship? Like all eternal questions which have remained tantalisingly out of our leaden reach, this one too doesn't lend itself to any easy answers. It could well be yes, no, and maybe, and that would pretty much encompass all of life. Anand Gandhi's film takes us through three strands featuring very different lives and situations, leaving us to taste and engage. And then he brings his planks together in a heartwarming, life-affirming manner. It feels so right that there is a click. On the screen, and in your head.
Ship of Theseus is a beautiful movie. It is one of it's kind and it shows that Bollywood is evolving. It's a sign of things to come. And I am shocked to see that Indian movie-goers are liking it very much. I can say that because before I watched it, I visited the theater twice and was amazed to be shunted out due to the show being house full.
The trailer struck to me, as soon as I watched it and I was of inquisitive mind what is this going to be about? It looks really good. And it is. The acting, the directing, the cinematography, the music [though used very less, but aptly] are all brilliant.
The movie, other than entertainment, and keeping you indulged for 2 hours 20 minutes, passes on a very sharp message. One, that was/is needed in our country. The topic of organ donation which is in a futile state.
The movie takes us through the lives of three people, a an experimental blind photographer, an ailing monk and an enterprising stockbroker. As we watch the film, we can not speculate how these three would eventually connect/a connection would build between them in the movie. That is, you can say, the suspense of the film.
In the first act, we get to know Aliya, a blind photographer, who has lost he eyesight to cataract, and takes eye-catching photos with the help of her other senses, hearing mostly. It shows us, how one can triumph with inferior capacity. She fits the proverb of every cloud has a silver lining. After her operation to regain her eyes, she suffers a bout of under - confidence and does not believe in her talent anymore. Her husband, is a good supporting character, and actually in the movie, he is portrayed as a highly supportive person. It is nice to see the couple engage in playful fighting. I felt that this act ended aburptly though.
We move on to the next act, where we meet the monk Maitreya, who is suffering from liver cirrhosis and will not take medicines for it as the medicines are being tested on animals before putting into use and he is strictly against any form of cruelty, to such an extent that he is fighting a case against several companies and their unethical testing methods on animals.The role of Charwaka gives an additional support to the character and also provides some comical relief in his arguments/debates with Maitreya, which was much needed. The scenes of the wilderness where Maitreya takes his solitude are well shot, with great visuals. I've got to admit, the story got a little boring in this act though. I wish, it could have been made a bit shorter.
The third act reveals us the character Navin, a stockbroker, who has just received a kidney transplant and is on his way to his normal life when his grandmother falls ill. While taking care of her, he finds a layman who's kidney has been taken illegally just some days prior to the day Navin received a new one. He, feels guilt and thus, makes it his cause to find justice for him. Even after he learns that it was not he, ho had received the illegal kidney, he remains resolute in his cause, to find justice for the man. This takes us to Stockholm, which I must add is again beautifully shot. In Stockholm, he finally finds the person who had availed the illegal kidney. He strikes the man's guilt and get's, though not justice, but a monetary gain, by which the layman is content.
We are still guessing what is the connection of the three films, then we see Navin being invited to a screening meant for those who were beneficiaries of the organs donated by a man. There, we also find Maitreya, who received a kidney and Aliya, who had received her eyes from the same person. We are amazed and in awe at how this beautiful puzzle [story] has been assembled and laud Anand Gandhi's film.
Definitely a watch, such films come rare in Bollywood.
My rating - 8.8/10
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