'Ship of Theseus' has finally arrived in Indian cinemas, in a wide-yet-limited release, nothing short of a mean feat because it is cinema at its very best, in its purest, a celebration of cinema from the land of escapist romances. Its being backed by Kiran Rao, more widely known as the better half of Aamir Khan, has made its sailing somewhat smooth, as it is not just a film without compromises of the basest kind, but is also what can be labelled niche cinema, one that uses multiple languages (and hence, mandatorily, subtitles), represents multiple ethnicities, weaves hard-core issues in a somewhat loosely-structured narrative, is bereft of saleable names in its list of cast-members, and explores a philosophical paradox.
This multi-layered film energizes and challenges the viewer like few other films have done in the recent past. There are so many ideas (in fact, too many to be honest) that have been packed in, that it may baffle and bewilder the complacent viewer. But look deep, or stay patient, and the film starts to converse with its use of cinematic idioms. It stimulates intellectually, and positively, and it does that even to the ones in whom the appreciative spirit for all good things (like good cinema or good music) may have apparently been hibernating for long.
It is difficult for me not to wax eloquent about a film like 'Ship of Theseus', however hard I may try. Suffice to say that if this happens to be cinema, then what we keep going gaga about most of the times are nothing but cinema of a lesser kind. Superlatives have been showered on the film and all its major aspects at many a forum, national and international, so I am not going to go on and on, I just ask all cinema-lovers to embrace it in their own way.
Let the film engage you in a conversation, maybe with just your own self, after you have experienced it. Fractured lives, segmented narratives have rarely seemed so whole, so harmonious. Watch 'Ship of Theseus' and join me in thanking writer-director Anand Gandhi, producer Sohum Shah, and presenter Kiran Rao (these three most of all) for making us truly proud about our cinema.
This multi-layered film energizes and challenges the viewer like few other films have done in the recent past. There are so many ideas (in fact, too many to be honest) that have been packed in, that it may baffle and bewilder the complacent viewer. But look deep, or stay patient, and the film starts to converse with its use of cinematic idioms. It stimulates intellectually, and positively, and it does that even to the ones in whom the appreciative spirit for all good things (like good cinema or good music) may have apparently been hibernating for long.
It is difficult for me not to wax eloquent about a film like 'Ship of Theseus', however hard I may try. Suffice to say that if this happens to be cinema, then what we keep going gaga about most of the times are nothing but cinema of a lesser kind. Superlatives have been showered on the film and all its major aspects at many a forum, national and international, so I am not going to go on and on, I just ask all cinema-lovers to embrace it in their own way.
Let the film engage you in a conversation, maybe with just your own self, after you have experienced it. Fractured lives, segmented narratives have rarely seemed so whole, so harmonious. Watch 'Ship of Theseus' and join me in thanking writer-director Anand Gandhi, producer Sohum Shah, and presenter Kiran Rao (these three most of all) for making us truly proud about our cinema.
