A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
By Murtaza Ali Khan
The
Spanish master filmmaker Luis Buñuel’s last directorial venture ‘That Obscure
Object of Desire’ is most notable for its use of two actresses, Carole Bouquet
and Ángela Molina, in the single role of the film’s female protagonist
Conchita. What’s most fascinating about it is that the actresses switch roles
in alternate scenes and sometimes even in the middle of scenes. Something very
similar takes place in Hitesh Bhatia’s directorial ‘Sharmaji Namkeen,’ wherein
the titular character of Brij Gopal Sharma— a 58-year-old widower with
two children, staying in West Delhi’s Subhash Nagar—is essayed by both Rishi Kapoor
and Paresh Rawal interchangeably across the film.
After Kapoor’s demise in
April 2020, Rawal stepped in to play the titular role in order to complete the
unfinished film. Bhatia, of course, had the option to reshoot all the scenes
with Rawal but he decided to keep all the scenes he had already shot with
Kapoor, perhaps because he wanted the film to be Kapoor’s swansong. After the
film’s opening credits (the films is currently streaming on Amazon Prime
Video), Ranbir Kapoor appears to explain the creative dilemma created by his
father’s demise. How does one complete the film? One option was for him to step
into his father’s shoes using prosthetics. It’s an idea they toyed with but it
decided against it. That’s when it was decided that Rawal would shoot the
remaining scenes, resulting in two actors playing the same character in a film—a
rarity in Indian cinema which Ranbir Kapoor also highlights while thanking
Rawal for completing the film. ‘Sharmaji Namkeen’ also stars Juhi Chawla,
Suhail Nayyar and Isha Talwar in pivotal roles.
In his autobiography, ‘My
Last Sigh,’ Buñuel, a leading figure of avant-garde surrealism, explains his
decision to cast two actresses for the same part: “In 1977, in Madrid, when I
was in despair after a tempestuous argument with an actress who'd brought the
shooting of ‘That Obscure Object of Desire’ to a halt, the producer, Serge
Silberman, decided to abandon the film altogether. The considerable financial
loss was depressing us both until one evening, when we were drowning our
sorrows in a bar; I suddenly had the idea (after two dry martinis) of using two
actresses in the same role, a tactic that had never been tried before. Although,
I made the suggestion as a joke, Silberman loved it, and the film was saved.” It
was later revealed that the actress who had caused the argument was actually Maria
Schneider.
Now, a lot of people who
don’t know the aforementioned reason would think that Buñuel, a master
surrealist, purposefully cast two actresses in the same role. But, of course,
we know better. It wasn’t something he wanted to do to begin with. In fact, it
wasn’t a natural choice. It was merely a joke that he had made and it was
actually the producer who pushed him to put it into action. Now, there is every
possibility that Hitesh Bhatia had Buñuel and ‘That Obscure Object of Desire’
in mind when he decided to go with two actors when a much easier option would
have been to simple reshoot all the scenes with Rawal. Or maybe someone
mentioned it to him. Here, it’s important to understand that unless the plot
demands it, like say in a film like ‘Face/Off,’ it is bound to be considered a
little overambitious to use two actors to play the same character in the same
timeline and space.
The performances of Rishi
Kapoor and Paresh Rawal have little in common. It’s actually an interesting way
of looking at two sides of the same person. In ‘That Obscure Object of Desire,’
Buñuel basically highlights Conchita’s changeable nature. He uses Carole
Bouquet when he wants us to see the coolly enigmatic Conchita and Angela Molina
when he wants us to see the earthy, flamenco-dancing Conchita. Similarly, we
see Rawal’s Sharma as someone who is confident and has self-control. Kapoor’s
Sharma, on the other hand, comes across as more vulnerable of the two. It’s
indeed very interesting to see the two actors’ interpretations of the same
character. Both are of course wonderful in their own right. And it’s an
absolute treat to watch Rishi Kapoor one last time and fall in love with him
all over again.
So, basically, ‘Sharmaji
Namkeen’ suddenly becomes an experimental film the moment two actors play the
same character. The average Indian viewer is still not ready to suspend his/her
disbelief so readily. And, perhaps, that’s the reason why it’s released on OTT
and not in the theaters. Imagine who wouldn’t want to watch Rishi Kapoor on the
big screen one last time? But, given the situation, the end product is clearly
more suited to OTT than theatres. Hopefully, this will give rise to more such
experiments in the Indian filmmaking space. After all, change is the only
constant.
A version of this review was first published at The Daily Guardian.
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated
People who liked this also liked...
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for sharing for valuable opinion. We would be delighted to have you back.