Mokssh, Hindi Bollywood film Movie Review, Johnson Thomas, Rating: * * 1/2
Hindi Film Review
Johnson Thomas
Well short of Enlightenment
Film: Mokssh
Cast: Chinmay
Mandlekar, Sukhada Yash, Edward Sonnenblick, Suhas Shirsat, Umesh Jagtap
Director: Ajit Bhairavkar
Rating: * * ½
Mokssh is built around a
unique cinematic experience -the story of self-discovery and transformation of
Parth during his 18 days Journey of pilgrimage (Waari). The genesis of this
idea originated from the teachings in the Bhagwad Gita and the legend behind
this particular enactment comes from the Warkari(Pilgrim) belief that non-stop
chanting and musical celebration in the name of God Mauli(Mother Goddess) leads
one to Mokssh -liberation or
release. In eschatological sense, moksha is liberation from the cycle of death
and rebirth. Moksha is also liberation from ignorance to a state of
enlightenment and self-realization.
Ajit Bhairavkar’s film
does try to represent that challenging aspiration with humble integrity and
faith. His story is located around the pilgrim town of Pandharpur where the
eleventh day (Ashadi Ekadishi)of the lunar month, Ashadi. has a special significance.
Mokssh , is in fact a Hindi remake of his own celebrated(winner of 32 awards)
Marathi film, ‘Gajaar- the journey of the soul’
and has retained the flavor and color of the original but the change in
language does come across as alienating even though it was legitimately done to
garner a wider audience.
Mokssh( as in Gajaar) tells the story of a budding film-maker, Parth who
rediscovers himself during the pilgrimage. Parth’s transformation from an urban,
egoistic adult to a more spiritual and responsible person is captured with
easily identifiable goal posts. Bhairavkar in fact incorporates several of the
Pilgrims’ real-life anecdotes. A large part of the film was shot live with 50
members of the unit following the warkaris along the 240-km pilgrimage. The
director even conducted a month-long workshop with the cast to explain the
concept, the history of warkari and dialogue delivery. For Mokssh too, the same principle
was employed and the cast and crew had to follow the warkaris for nine days. The hindi dialogues and
the incantations do not have the heart-touching effect that the Marathi ones
did. Also, the performances veer towards the theatrical( possibly deliberate)
and this makes the ensuing drama a little less affecting.
The concept and depth of the story and
content is unimpeachable. It’s the treatment that draws a yawn from time to
time. The narrative does tend to sag midway through the runtime because of the sedentary
pace and unviable indulgences in narration. The focus of the narrative is also
off. As a result Parth’s journey to salvation
does not appear as acceptable to an audience that is lulled into
lethargy by the slow, un-livening, in-effectual plotting and the resultant
experience is much closer to exasperation than Mokssh!
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