Pushpaka Vimana

This is pure cinema at its best. For a popular mainstream director to do a silent project as recently as the 80s is in itself staggering, but to pull it off with elan as Singeetham Sreenivasa Rao has done in Pushpak is commendable.

"Pushpak" is the name of the aircraft upon which all human dreams come true in Indian mythology. ("Pushpaka Vimaana"), and we get to see in these two hours how one's dreams can indeed come true, and makes us wonder if this life is in itself a dream.

To go into this theme so fluidly and to still entertain us wholeheartedly, there is something at work here that may not be quite easily understood, but Pushpak is here to entertain, and I would highly encourage you to delve right in!

A poor and unemployed youth, played by Kamal Hasan enjoys the good life by stealing the identity of a rich middle-aged drunkard. Pushpak is the name of the apartment-hotel the rich man resides in. While an imposter, Kamal gets to experience a life normally not granted men of his station and meets a beautiful girl and falls in love with her. But, like all good things, this brief excursion into paradise must end.

The movie is set against the backdrop of vast urban unemployment among educated youth in the India of the Eighties. While peppered with numerous comic incidents, the movie is quite serious in adressing its central theme. The glaring contrast between the lifestyles of the rich and the rest is evocative of Indian society. A rich beggar, whose possessions the public tries to scavenge after his death and a bungling killer who gets electrocuted are interesting diversions that do not detract from the depth of the storyline. But, what makes this film a cinematic masterpiece in my opinion is that such a powerful portrait of the times is created without resort to dialogue. This is a silent movie !! It is truly difficult not to be atleast a little moved by the ending.

S.S. Rao's "Pushpak" is a humorous yet suspenseful movie about a man's (Kamal) journey into greed and lust and finally his return to an honest and humble life. Amazingly no dialog here, just a great musical score and the sights, sounds and sighs of a people-packed city. Nothing is as it appears in Kamal's world: a street Beggar who sits on a bed of money; a Magician who smokes invisible cigarettes and drinks invisible booze in the presence of his doting wife, and finally Kamal himself who assumes the false identity of a wealthy man to woo the Magician's daughter. The sight gags and physical comedy (especially of the icicle-toting hit-man and the Magician) are great entertainment. Despite Kamal's deceit he is a sympathetic character who in the end pays a price for his misdeeds. Like Woody Allen and Roberto Benigni films, "Pushpak" requires patience (2 hours), but improves itself in the retelling! Great cocktail party fodder.

Well, the movie might belong to the genre of silent movies, but the movie speaks for itself. Instant Classic, Amazing direction truly flawless acting make this a memorable experience.

Kamal has shown in this movie, what skill set someone requires to reach high standards. The movie has comedy, nice drama and an exceptional ending to wind it all.

This movie was rightly honored by the Cannes Jury in 1988 and I would say it deserves much more. It can be appreciated by everyone. If you are not an Indian maybe you will take 20-25 Min's to start appreciating the movie, but take my words, after that you'll love it.

It is a redefining piece of work in Indian Cinema. A silent movie itself has its own charm, but this one is a silent movie with a great story and a marvelous crew to support that. This is more than perfect.

First of all, if you did not know that this is a silent movie, you will never realize it unless somebody tell you. Such is the brilliant direction, background music and acting. This movie was shot in Bangalore (mostly in Windsor Manor Hotel).

Brief Story: An unemployed young man who lives frugally bumps into a rich unconscious drunkard. He takes the drunkard to his house and gags him and ties him to his cot. He than assumes the drunkard's identity and lives in the drunkard's suite in a luxurious hotel.

Most memorable moments: 1) The way he feeds the drunkard and takes care of his morning chores. 2) The ending