First of all – this film is a
musical. A musical, in this case a Rock-Musical has the strange
phenomen, that the songs have a presence in the spectator´s memory,
sometimes connected and sometimes independent from the story the film
is telling.
As it is the third film I saw by Anjan
Dutt, I can resume that his films I saw so far are full of different
actions all happening at the same time. And from time to time it
happens that these different actions are clashing with each other.
The plot is finally only one element,
sometimes paraphrased through the music, sometimes opposed.
Abani Sen (Anjan Dutt) is an aging
Rock-star. He has ruined his body already with alcohol and drugs. During a concert at the beginning of the film he has a physical
breakdown. Even though already a living legend as a musician and song
writer, he is also a destructive character hardly able to communicate
with the few people really close to him.
After dismissed from the hospital and
already preparing for his next concert, a young woman, Ranjana (Parno
Mitra) gets the chance to sing a song before he and his band will
enter the stage. Ranjana´s beautiful ballad, accompanied onlyby her acoustic guitar is nearly destroyed by an impatient audience who
just wants to see their stars. This is one of the many scenes of
disillusionment which oppose not only the wonderful music but as well some engrossing moments. Between the fiction which captivate us, sometimes
even make us dream, there are often these moment like ice cold
showers.
Abani invites the girl to sing a song
on his next album and promptly - a few days later - she knocks at his
door. But Abani´s intention is just to seduce this girl. And Anjan
Dutt performs the attempt of seducing the girl in an almost
Stroheim-like naturalism. There is only the sexual greed of a male
who is aware of his power. Ranjana is just saved because she faints
from the drugs hidden in her soft drink.
Later, Abani tells her about his true
intentions and what he really thinks about her talent. When she
finally decides to leave, Abani gets another breakdown caused by his
excessive use of alcohol and drugs. Wit the help from
her aunt (a nurse) via telephone, she saves Abani´s life. She is disillusioned by
the character of her idol. Finally, Abani promises to help her start a career
as a singer. The human relation between an aging cynical Pop star and
the young singer with dreamy eyes seems nearly impossible. The
communication they build, they do just through music.
Ranjana learns from Abani´s house
keeper that Abani killed some years ago his wife and child while
driving a car in a drunken condition. Abani´s obvious human failure is in contrast to his music and whenever
the film switches into a musical scene, it turnsinto another dimension.
Unforgettable is the performance
of Suman Kabir as Abani´s brother in low, who is also a musician (and Abani´s idol) but
has given up public concerts after his sister´s death. Suman Kabir, who is in reality a living legend in Bengali contemporary music
has a presence which is hard to describe. Impossible for me to say if
he just is or if he performs. When Abani visits him, he plays his
guitar in his living room and sings with a voice which seems to me
from another world, every word which is sung seems to me has lived by
him. It has the fervency of the Blues. And Kabir´s character Stanley
Bose lives not anymore for concerts and records but for the
underprivileged villagers whom he teaches music. It is a magical
scene and probably one key for the understanding of the film´s often abrupt
change between the harsh story of a destructive and destructed Pop
star and the story of the wonderful songs. The use of Neel Dutt´s music
beside the songs and mostly in moments when we see Abani drinking and
alone, is mostly disharmonious, emphasizing the emptiness
of Abani. Outside of his music, Abani is always on the edge to a
breakdown.
One remarkable scene: Abani suggests to
Ranjana to sing a Tagore-song. The whole performance leads to a spontaneous
session between Ranjana, Abani, Stanley Bose and Abani´s band and
this song bridges playfully different locations. Only in his music,
everything works, Abani´s difficult relation with his friends and
with Ranjana is like as his last energy of life mobilized only for
the music.
The irony of this film is that Anjan Dutt as a director managed to attract attention to these different
characters, while the fictive character Abani performed by him is almost blind for all
the people around him.
Abani is going to die gradually. For a
few moments he is able to see in Ranjana a mirrror of his enthusiasm
as a young man and not the object of his desire. But as soon as the
shy young woman becomes more self assured, he considers her as a
competitor.
Like in Bow Barracks forever, the film
tells not just a story but several stories simultaneously. Sometimes
it is visible in a single shot. While Abani lets Ranjana play a
simple accord, he ignores her and talks with some members of his
band. Ranjana is always present in the background, her accords became
enraged. As ignored by the aging men who drink and talk, we are the
ones who can´t ignore her. She claims her presence and we have to
choose where to focus our attention in the foreground or in the depth
of the frame.
When I saw this film the first time, I
found it partly disturbing, rather a demontage of the myth of a
fictive pop star. Like so often – this films as well became richer
during the second time I watched it. It is quite impressing how the
director Anjan Dutt undercuts the enormous nearly narcissistic screen
presence of the character he performs. The presence of such wonderful
characters like Suman Kabir´s Stanley and Parno Mitra´s Ranjana for
example are more and more evident as Anjan Dutt´s strange strategy
to tell several stories simultaneously. Just the changes in the face
of Parno Mitra which shows during the film all facets of emotion is
worth to see the film alone three times.
And there are quite a lot of reasons to
watch this film several time.
And well, I am quite tired in these
discussions with Indians and Non-Indians about how bad Indian films
are. Even though in my own limitations to have access or an overview
as well of the films recently made in India - this country became one of my favorites in contemporary cinema. I have
no problem to mention just from the last 12 years around 30 films
which would have been worth to show abroad on big international
festivals.
Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbo Na by Anjan Dutta
belongs to these discoveries.
Rüdiger Tomczak
Read also on Anjan Dutt´s Bow Barracks Forever.
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