Dhoom, Dil ne jise apna kaha, Spider-Man part II etc?. etc?there were all the current running movies when I landed up to Cine Wonder one fine Saturday. I thought I should watch something worthwhile, apart from the routine Dhisoom Dhisoom's.
So thought why not a Marathi movie just for a change, & had been observing this poster for days. The hoarding was intact pass 6 weeks. Watching a Marathi movie is really a rare thing for me and to ever go & see on the big screen.
I said to myself ''May be it must be good, lets give it a try!'' Just missed the starting bits of introductions hence could not get a hold on all the actors names.... then I came out with moist eye but felt as if I really had a breath of fresh air....................& here goes a wonderful & meaningful experience which all should watch at least once.
But may be everybody cannot follow the language, but I think any gesture when well performed does not require any language to prove its best...right! So guys read on.........
Shwaas.....Breath of Fresh air......Can you feel it! I could.....
After watching this beautiful movie by Sandeep Sawant, which is being skillfully weaved with sentiments, emotion, human relations & behavior which reacts to pains & find ways to cushion the inevitable pains and live precious life again....
The story line.....
It is a simple story of a little boy called Parshuram played by Ashwin Chitale, who stays in the villages located in the Konkan region. Who is suffering from Ocular Cancer in both the eyes? He gradually is suffering & is hindered from his normal activities of life, like he cannot see properly, hence cannot study his school books and is very fond of studying.
He loves playing, but cannot play because of loss in his vision. Many a times, he is being saved by his Grandfather from falling from the cliff edges, from getting hurt while playing etc. His grandfather, played by Arun Nalawade, who loves him dearly and could not bare the pains, takes him to the Mumbai city for his treatment on recommendation by the village doctor,Who gave up saying it can only be cured in the metro city. It?s the struggle of the grandfather who wants to save his grandson & return back his vision at every cost.
In Mumbai, they manage to meet the specialized Oncologist played by Sandeep Kulkarni with appointments. Sandeep Sawant the director has very well displayed the pains & problems the patients & their parents have to undergo, in the big ques of inquiries, paper formalities, acquiring dates for consultations, checkups, citi-scans, operations, & also face the barking counters of the hospitals. He has also given a universal appeal to the global audiences.
Amrita Subhash has performed a good job of a socio-medical volunteer who assists the doctor & provides help to the public & patients who are in tensions of not knowing the formalities of check-ups, MRI & Operational procedures.
In between the hustle bustles of the tests, checkups & tensions, the grandfather, the patient, Parshuram & his maternal uncle keep thinking about the happy-go-lucky days of the patient, when he had a good vision & how he used to enjoy his life, in FLASHBACKS like...The simple refreshing beauty of the nature, the beautiful mountainous terrains, the foggy mornings in the dawns, the sun rises gracefully spreading the golden lights all over the fields, breaks a beautiful, laborious day for the villagers in Konkan.
The cock-a-doodle-doo of the hens, twittering & chirping of the birds in the mornings. the river water gusting with force & hitting the rocks along the river beds. The coconut palms swaying with the winds, the clouds amongst the skies changing its colors dawn to dark. The fragrance of the flowers. The cattle in the fields? way back to their homes with their owners.
The children?s of the villages bathing in the pure perennial waters, going to school, playing & swinging around the trees, woman?s going to the rivers to wash cloths, fill their pitchers from the wells, prepare the dung cakes at their home yards, bringing hay for their cows & calves.... & many beautiful little things are exhibited by the director excellently.
The only way to save the child was....
It was very SHOCKING to discover that the doctor suggests, the only way to save the child was to operate him and remove both the eyes permanently!! ...But live life without eyesight would be really difficult. It was very difficult to prepare the child for the operation. Somehow the oncologist confides him to get operated and live life with out vision.
They have very well portrayed the conditions & hassles one has to undergo when dates of operations are acquired & it gets cancelled due to some urgent appointments of the surgeons. Somehow in this struggle the grandfather tries to do the best for what he could do for Parshurama.
The best part of the movie.....
The grandfather is so broken & disappointed with the fact that the grandson will not be able to see this beautiful world any more after the operation to be held the next day, He some how manages to take the kid, out of the hospital, without the consent of the doctor, nurses, ward in charge.
Which ultimately leads to a misunderstanding that the patient and his grandfather have ran away from the hospital wards. The doctors are very tensed as the conditions become so worst that the news spreads like fire and get flashed by the press drastically. That the search lands up to believe that must be they have met an accident.
But when it is discovered in the same evening that they are alive & both the grandfather & son are save and sound. The surgeon gets angry and fumed on the Grandfather saying he did?nt value the importance of time. For them every minute is important. And that just because of them he had you face so many allegations from the press.
In return the grandfather had only one reply, he said he was so disappointed with the fact that the kid cannot see anything from tomorrow, he took him to all the beautiful places near-by, gave him rides on the horses, merry-go-rounds, he tried to show & give him all the best things of the life in that short span, which could make the kid laugh and happy for the last time before he loses his eyesight completely.
Doctors could save his life but were unable to save the child from the lifetime?s darkness.
This shot was really very touching that I bet every audience must have had tears of joy in their eyes. I too loved it.
Shwaas is a beautiful, simple & a tender subject which gives contentment to the people who have watched the movie with interest, off course without the language as a barrier.
Otherwise the movie is a classic.... Arun Nalawade is being awarded the Best Actor award for Shwaas at the Marathi - Screen Awards 2004 already. Shwaas has a given a new horizon to Marathi cinema again.
* As it has been already been nominated for coveted Oscar awards in the foreign film category. We all can hope for the best to it. Hope we win the award and it is been distributed in various regional languages as well in English.
So friends, I wrote what my eyes experienced from this brilliant movie.... but you all can do justice to this review by reading it carefully with your open eyes. Wish you all see and feel the fresh breath after watching SHWAAS.
