Raincoat

This was a brilliantly done movie, I am very pleased to see that the director and crew managed to make a well written story into a wonderful movie in under two hours, when most Hindi movies are close to 3 hours and yet still can't portray something of substance. They took a wonderful story by O Henry and gave it a very modern, yet still touching outlook. I enjoyed it very much. The story was told very simply and to the point without any ornate embellishments. This was probably an overlooked gem, but I would recommend this movie to anyone from anywhere. Aishwarya Rai shows once more how talented an actress she is, but she had a lot of help from Ajay Devgan with his brilliant performance as well.

I'll try my level best to portray a "NO SPOILER" review of this movie, although its hard to do so. THE REACTION : After watching this movie, one can easily differentiate two categories of viewers of current Hindi films. There would be the people who get into the theater to relax, eat pop corns and then watch performers in some colourful bands which, like all other pieces of modern art, fail to convey any meaning. Sadly this movie is not for them and if you fall under this category, abstain yourself from watching this movie, for this movie is made for the people who love to use their brains and senses while watching movies. THE "PLAYERS" : Both Ajay and Aishwarya did a very good job in their respective roles. The way that they added a touch of glory to the non-glamorous roles is worthy of praise. But the real "player" was the director who added so much significance to the two characters of the landlord(Annu Kapoor) and The Friend's Wife(Mouli Ganguli) who share a small fraction of screen time each. The short conversation with the landlord and the last dialogue of the male protagonist with his friend's wife is worth a thousand praises. THE TITLE : The rain, the darkness, the mystery all set the tone of the movie. And through the darkness the viewer can actually see the invisible raincoat both of them are wearing to protect themselves from each other discovering what they both want to hide. THE SUBTLENESS : Nothing in this movie has been explained by the director, nor is there an attempt to do so. The boasting dialogues between the two protagonists has loads of softer emotions packed underneath. The viewer has to actually pay attention to the details in order to appreciate the work of the director. Also, the viewer's expectation of a climax is gradually ruled out which eventually turns out to be a very positive thing about this movie, thus giving it what is called a "Repeat Value". THE DRAWBACKS : Apparently there is none. It is not a movie, but a piece of art and the director made it his way - No crappy songs, no running around the trees, no hypothetical and imaginary situations. I'll give this movie 9/10 for the sheer brilliance of the director.

The plot unfolds like that of a master story teller. At any minute you feel that the plot will blossom into a climax, but that is not to be. The tenderness between characters before they married is also played out wonderfully between Ashwariya and Ajay. The cameo of the guy who rings the bell is excellent.I can't reveal his ID can I. The background, not much to see though has been very well made up. What I did not swallow was the cleanliness and the complete lack of it in the two different parts of the same house. It is Ashwariya at ONE of her best roles. She is like putty in the hands of her director. In today's world it would help if the lead character are shown to keeps away from cigarettes and other worse tobacco products as movies influence kids for sure. The ending of the movie is a masterpiece and brought a lump into my throat.

The movie is inspired by O. Henry's (William Sidney Porter) "The Gift Of Magi" which Rituparno Ghosh duly acknowledges as the credits roll.

No giving away too much of the storyline, the movie picks up a day from the diary of Manoj (Ajay Devgan), lost and failed in life, now in Kolkatta to seek financial assistance from friends in order to start a business. Admist this, he decides to visit his lost-love Neerja (Aishwarya Rai). Ironically, its a rainy day and hence the Raincoat.

In terms of acting, its Annu Kapoor who stands tall, pity that his acting talent is confined to Antakshari. As a compassionate yet frustrated land-lord he gets into the skin of the character in terms of the accent and mannerism.

Ajay Devgan has matured to a dependable actor and once again proves that he can portray any role with ease.

Aishwarya Rai, not to mention director's favourite, "had" immense scope in this tailor-made role, sadly does meet the mark. Somehow it appears that she lacked conviction (or was she busy paying greater attention to Bride & Prejudice - a step to International fame?). On and off she used to mutter a few Hinglish words to convince the audience that Neerja hailed from a village. A bit of homework to watch Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi and Tabu would have been definite help. Or for that matter watching a newcomer Konkana Sen Sharma in Mrs & Mr. Iyer would have given an insight to the amount of conviction and hard-work needed to pull off a fantastic feat.

Surekha Sikri (Ajay Devgan's Mother) did not have enough screen-time.

Mouli Ganguli (Meena) played a modern yet sensitive and understanding friends wife. It is how-ever not explained the reason she was was over-hospitable?

Debajyoti Mishra's music is aptly used to compliment the richness of the visuals. Shuba Mudgal's song "Piya Tora Kaisa Abhimaan" lingers throughout the movie in the background and Gulzar's recital of the poetry give an additional depth to the dimension.

Having read so much about Rituparno Ghosh, I was curious myself to watch Raincoat. And boy, he does have substance. The essential emotion "covert" used by two lead protagonists forming the baseline of the story is portrayed effectively with utmost sensitivity. The control over portraying relationships, the finer nuances taken care of, speak for itself to deliver a product that is nothing short of perfection.

The movie sans commercial ingredients and hence sadly, would be confined to appreciation from a limited audience. And for those limited audience - a must watch.

Well, Now, I've heard about this film before, but, I didn't rent the movie all these days thinking that it would be a melodrama booh booh kinda stuff. But, really speaking, after I've finished up this film, I really can't help thinking about the movie for a long time, without sleeping. Easily, I can say this is one of the best ever romantic dramas I've ever seen.

Speaking about romance, this is not the kinda stuff we see in movies from Yash, Aditya chopra and karan johar. These movies have an artificial type of romance, unseen normally in real life (unless u r a millionaire or a business man and u have all Ur life to go to states and fall in love). But, the kinda romance shown in 'Raincoat' belongs to the other type. Just imagine, U had a love during college days, and it gets broken. She (or for that matter, he) gets married to someone else, and, after many years, u just happen to visit the house of your love on a rainy afternoon. What will you do? That is Raincoat. The romance here belongs to a more matured type. The respect and passion both lovers have towards each other, even after many long years, has been excellently portrayed here.

Also, there is a sudden twist to the story almost half way through the film. It is this twist that makes the film more interesting and passion-filled. From this moment on, the film takes a new form and fills the heart of the viewer with emotion.

Almost entirely, the film features only Devgan and Aishwarya. The background score supports the film very well and has been superbly composed.

If u find time for a good movie and if u want to see some good performance, take this film and see it. U won't regret . . .