Geethanjali...what a movie!! i dont know how many times i've seen it, yet the moment i start watching it, am glued again!! It redefines a lot of things in Indian Cinema, or should i say ,aptly defines many of the terms we use in common parlance! 'Masterpiece', 'Haunting melody', 'Sensitive potrayal', 'Maestro', the list goes on..
It shows how powerful a medium cinema can be, and given the right ingredients, how it can take you to a totally different plane. Maniratnam, to his credit, has a number of hits, and is already on the list of alltime greats of Indian Cinema. but i guess, even if he hadnt given the other films, he would have made it to the list solely on the basis of quality of this movie. As Audrey de Selincourt said, 'a man cannot know a thing unless he loves it, and poets are different in the sense that they love things more than us and approach more nearly to the heart of their mystery'. looking at the poetic feel he imparts to it, it is evident how close the movie was close to Maniratnam's heart. it is said that a particular true story moved him so much, that he chose to name the main protagonist and the movie after the individual. At the root of every masterpiece lies one such honest emotion.
My tryst with Geethanjali actually began as a 6 yr old who was haunted by the popular song aired now and then on TV. those were the days, when TV viewing was limited and you had to be at the right place at the right moment to catch a glimpse, and i hardly managed a few shots between the Nagarjuna (we knew Nag from his cult movie Shiva) and the heroine dressed as princess. it took me full 20years to actually figure out how the heroine actually looked!! and all along, that haunting melody continued its job aided by some screenshots imprinted in memory. if i can, i should consider it as my first love story...yeah at the age of 6yrs!!and it is only confirmed everytime i see the movie. The character of Geethanjali is just too lovable.
Tragedies, it is said are one of the easiest to make when compared to comedies (quality comedies ie, not the cheap ones for they cant be regarded as art). for a human to connect to tragedy is easier than it is for a director to create humor. Geethanjali, though gloomy in its feel, isnt a tragedy per se (people who have seen the movie would agree),and has its occasions where the viewer cant help but laugh. all that is on show is that innocent look on the heroine's face and that mischevious look from the hero. thats quality cinema for you, and thats subtle humor.
The soul of the cinema is its background music with the continuous rendition of the song 'o priya priya', and the effect all along is ethereal. Ilayaraja a master, and a legend when it comes to Indian film music, has ample opportunity to put his genius at display. i happened to see the Hindi version starring Aditya Pancholi first, before i could see the original version. i found the movie watchable. but it was only after watching the original that i realised what it is to be lucky to glimpse a masterpiece and what it is to just see an ordinary movie. that was the difference made by Maniratnam, Ilayaraja and the lead pair.
Nagarjuna's portrayal as a terminally ill youth, didnt need dialogues to spell it out. his expression and eyes said it all. his changeover from a dejected youngman to a prankster is flawless. Girija Shettar, a debutante , didnt have to mouth dialogues either. more often you feel your heart tugging when she manages to be speechless and probes you with her eyes. most often, she uses her innocent expressions to convey the whole situation and its gravity to you. the viewer doesnt need the aid of verbal media to be convinced. It is one character every emotional man would love to fall in love with. the scenes. esp the one where the actress is speechless on hearing the proposal and the scene wherein the protagonist asks for a hug is so subtlely picturised that it stays on with the viewer. the gloomy feel of the film is ablely lighted up by the freshness of Geethanjali's expressions. you see the mood lift. such subtle expressions i have only been able to see, to an extent, in the Korean movies.
The pervading effect of fog, the use of silhouette and background lighting when the characters present themselves, minimal utilisation of sunlight, impart the feel to the movie which creates the mood. any lovestory to be counted as one, requires challenges that at times question its continuity. only then it manages to involve the viewer. here love creates questions for life. an individual who has accepted death as fate and is at peace with it, finds her attainment waiver when love steps into her life. the nonchalance towards death is converted to the small greed of having more of life in the presence of love. and the director, in keeping with the sensibilities, gives a perfect ending to the movie, which teaches a lot about life; the take home lesson for the viewer. the subtlety and sensitive portrayal is of such high standards, that even after having one of the longest kissing sequence in Indian cinema, there's no occasion where you actually notice it. its a portrayal on the demand of the situation, and the blending is simply classical.
23 years on, the movie is as fresh as it was then and the music as haunting as it was to be. i wonder, if at all the movie is chosen to be remade, who would make it to the starcast. who are the actors of present day, who can do justice to the legend created by Mani's team. and if at all such an effort is taken up, it would be really exciting to see it happen before one's eyes. i also kind of feel sorry for the generation post 90s in India, which is left with so little time in day to day life, that appreciating a myriad variety of emotions seem to be long lost to them. we actually know what that particular emotion which presents itself is, when we watch a movie of Geethanjali's standard, i doubt if they are able to.
