Varanasi is an enigma. It is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is known to be the tip of Shiva’s trishul, a spot where a lot of dimensions meet. That’s why a lot of widows come here to die. Also, a huge number of cremations happen here every year . Tulsidas wrote the Ramayana here and his house still stands intact. Thus this place exudes tremendous energy .First things first , Benaras is a totally modern film and not serious cinema. It is not about religion; it takes a look at spirituality and speaks of the truth and a human’s search for it.
Urmila plays a Brahmin girl, born and brought up in Benaras. She is a very modern woman; a student of Physics and lover of classical music. Dimple Kapadia and Raj Babbar play her parents. In the film’s landscape, they represent orthodox convention.
She falls in love with a man who teaches music (Ashmit Patel), and goes through certain experiences that change her life .
Ashmit, like the saint Kabir, was found on the ghats of Benaras when he was a baby and is a deeply spiritual person .A sweeper has brought up Ashmit on the ghats.Naseer plays Ashmit’s spiritual guru, but he is a mythical character who doesn’t exist.
A defiant union that of Ashmit and Urmila breaks too many taboos in Banaras, and chaos surrounds the young couple. Urmila’s parents try to help them, but to no avail. Her parents are not able to ignore the social strictures, forcing town to leave the town she loves.
In despair and hopelessness she turns inwards to look for answers.Destiny seems against her. Devastated, the girl abandons her hometown. During the process, she goes beyond normal human levels. She is extremely empathetic towards the sorrows and the problems of the human faces. She is equally vulnerable to the sadness of the human life.
Time goes by and, after almost two decades, Urmila, now a teacher of philosophy, comes to a crossroads. Does she return to Banaras to meet her dying father?
Banaras scores in several respects, but it tends to have its loose ends. But first, the uppers –
Director Pankaj Parashar needs to be lauded for choosing a dufficult theme . He has opted for a plot that defies stereotype.Two, the narrative moves on a singular track throughout, without deviating into sub-plots. There’s no cheap comedy, or mindless action, nor have songs been incorporated for the heck of it. The subject is treated realistically.
Three, Urmila’s character has been developed beautifully. Her transition from Simple girl to that of extraorinary persona is shown with remarkable ease ....
But the film has its share of downers –One, the first half of the film moves at a lethargic pace. So slow-paced is the narrative that it tests the patience of the viewer at times. Two, the treatment of the story would suit the elite more than the hoi polloi. For the hardcore masses, the lethargic pace with which the drama unfolds and also the class-oriented treatment will prove a major deterrent .
The dramatic sequences have been handled deftly sending your chill down the spine .Urmila is first-rate. The gamut of emotions she displaysclearly proves the infinite range she possesses. But it is Ashmit who takes a giant leap.
Banaras is an honest attempt at meaningful, sensible cinema that’s slowly proving a healthy alternative for the discerning audiences of metros