15 Park Avenue

After a late evening meeting that ended at 8:30 pm and a phone call that ended at 9:30 pm - I was bushed. When I reached home - I was hungry, cranky, and tired. The Arien was watching Beowulf, again. Noting how tired I was, the Arien handed me the remote so I could channel surf. I was touched but not before I realized that the Arien knew that if I don't like anything - I will hand the remote back to him. Hmmm...

Thats how it happened, I was channel surfing and found myself watching 15 Park Avenue. It had jes started.

It is a very sensitive potrayal of a family and how it deals with Schizophrenia. The family consists of a mom, two sisters, and a brother. The person afflicted with the disorder, Meethi, is the younger of the two sisters, played by Konkana Sen. The older sister is played by Shabana Azmi (Anjali). The part of the mother, has been potrayed astonishingly well by Waheeda Rehman. The brother essentially separates himself from the entire scenario and the movie is actually 'bout the three women and how they cope or deal with each other, the circumstances, and how it impacts them.

The Arien remarked after a few minutes that the movie was likely to be depressing but we were unable to turn it off - it was very well shot, the actors played their part very well. Rahul Bose, plays the role of Meethi's boyfriend who is engaged to her and then backs out of the relationship, post a very scary experience that pushes Meethi over the edge.

It is also about the guilt that each member carries in their heart - the mother as she brings tanthriks to cure Meethali, Anjali, as she disbelieves Meethali when she says that a Tanthrik had come home, Rahul, as he goes on with his life, the father, who feels it is somehow his fault that his daughter is like this.

It is a serious movie, but the sensitive potrayal, the fantastic job done by all the main characters, Konkana's potrayal, has resulted in the movie being a must-watch.

The ending is one of the scariest bits of the movie - it is more symbolic and for a lot of ppl - that may be a lil difficult to handle or understand. I actually lowed the ending. The thin strand by which schizoprenics are attached to reality was clearly emphasised in the ending.

I think Aparna Sen (Writer and Director) did a fantastic job of this movie. You could also catch Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, and 36 Chowringhee Lane, also by Aparna. This is a serious movie, so mind it - a la Rajnikanth ishtyle :D