The Fire of Genius. Review on Gaja Gamini

It must have been in a streak of goodness that God made Maqbool Fida Husain make a movie. But, perhaps like Noah, Husain too will need a great flood to be valued by the common man.

Are you someone whose tastes in music don’t go much beyond the Westlife or All Saints? Does your definition of fashion change with that of MTV and Versace? Would you spend an evening carousing with your friends rather than reading something the world has hailed as a ’literary masterpiece’ ?

...or are you someone who likes Ravi Shankar and Bach as much as Ronan Keating, if not more? Are you someone whose fashion isn't all about copying VJs, someone who would love to spend an evening reading ‘Crime and Punishment’?

I have no problems at all with either of the types. It is your life, your style. Different strokes for different blokes. But you would indeed have one with Gaja Gamini if you belong to the first group. To be frank, you won’t understand it. However, if you have ever seen even a hint of the second type in yourself, read on.

The abstract film is bereft of a conventional story, it has no hero or heroine, no beginning or ending, all it has is an idea. Mobile modern art at its very best.An idea of the timeless beauty of woman which gave birth to one of the most resplendent and charming movies of our time.

The idea, however absurd it may sound, is canvassed in this spectacular piece of moving art in the form of various avatars of womankind. Mona Lisa – the lady with the mysterious smile, Phoolwanti- the flower seller who hides a gun beneath beautiful blossoms, Monika- the modern actress who searches for love, Shakuntala - the inspiration of poets, the leader of mankind into a new era, all brought to life in the most metaphoric manner ever seen on screen.

While Kamdev, with Leonardo daVinci as his companion travels through aeons of time on the trail of ‘Gaja Gamini’, science (represented by a scientist) and art (by Kalidas) bump into each other while on the same pursuit.

This is the sort of movie which will either keep you enthralled at each moment or send you to sleep in a jiffy. Music by Bhupen Hazarika complements the movie extremely well. Kavita Krishnamurthi in 'Hamra Hansa' is nothing short of heavenly. Anybody looking for a relief from the usual mumbo jumbo, grab this album. The visuals are mesmerizing, and very much like the movie, avant garde. All credit goes to a well conceived vision by the man himself – MF Husain.

They say that the greatest of artists get most of their appreciation and recognition after their death. Husain’s enigmatic experiment with creativity is above all appreciation, and it doesnt need any recognition, for it is a recognition itself, of the greatness of art.