When I went to see 15 Park Avenue I was totally smitten with Aparna Sen’s style of filmmaking, she was sensitive in her portrayal of the human spirit and at the same time she never minced words in bringing out harsh reality.She is an honest and original filmmaker which in today’s time and age is creditable in itself.So, I feel, coming from that stable somehow 15 Park Avenue just does not live up to all hype surrounding it or even the talent of the filmmaker.Sen’s 36... and Mr&Mrs Iyer were far less hyped and enjoyed perhaps not even a tenth of the airtime that 15..’s promos are receiving right now but these were far superior works and Ms Sen’s latest piece of work just does not work that kind of celluloid magic.
Getting to the plot, , the story revolves around mithi(played artfully by konkona sen sharma..a brilliant performance)who is schizophrenic.Mithi was always a quiet, preferring her solitude and silences more than childish games even when she was young but doctors are able to control her manic depressive nature and she even tries to integrate herself with the normal fabric of society..taking up a journalist’s job and working as a reporter.But a traumatic rape triggers off her schizophrenia again and mithi shifts to her delusional reality.one in which she is living happily with her husband jojo(her estranged fiance rahul bose) and her 5 kids.mithi is cared for by her older sister Anu(Shabana azmi delivers another perfetc 10 effortless performance) who stoically puts up with all her delusions.Waheeda Rehman is the mother of the two and also seen in the movie are Soumitra Chatterjee as her late father and Dhritimaya Chatterjee as her shrink.
Kanwaljit is in love with Shabana but she just cant abandon her ill sister and mother.Shabana’s frustration with her situation is shown only in a couple of occassions.Otherwise she just plods on uncomplaining.Anu Didi is strong willed and the pillar of the family.Shabana Azmi has played her role so effortlessly that it almost steals the thunder from konkona’s performance.Konkona on the other hand is convinced that her sister is treating her like a servant making her do the dishes and all.She just wants to find her white house with the black wrought iron gate on 15th Park Avenue because her children are crying out for her and her husband is away in baghdad working for saddam as prime minister of Shikakai.Waheeda Rehman is just so good as the pained mother unable to help her older daughter.She even tries black magic.And finally Rahul Bose makes a late entrance(which was quite a let down really because he had hardly anything to do in the film)He is now married to Shefali Shah and has 2 kids.Rahul Bose is stricken at having abandoned mithi when she was raped, he beautifuly shows the trauma of a man deeply angry with himself and laden with guilt that he readily agrees to help mithi in finding her house on 15.
What was disappointing about the movie was that it was all about performances.Every individual did their bit but whether it came together for making a beautlful movie-no.Shabana’s powerhouse towered over konkona’s.Finally we are left wondering whether it is story of mithi’s delusion or anu’s frustration.But the film makes us definitely think about the thin line that separates the real and the unreal.After all what is real for one might not be real for another.mithi shifts between reality and delusion.When she talks about Ayesha and nayan Tara, her kids, she is convinced that they are there and she is just as normal as the next person.She questions Shabana in the movie..what if everyone told you that you were not a professor and you were only imagining things.Even the end is an affirmation to that-what is real and what is not.Mithi finally finds her destination but does she?She escapes into her reality far from ours.The ending was not typical Bollywood but then again Sen has left it open to interpretation.Mithi is finally united with her family in her very real world.So in effect it was I guess a very happy ending.
This movie will probably be counted as one of the best movies of 2006, no doubt, but it does not do justice to Aparna Sen’s talent as a film maker.The movie is great but not a classic.