Being cyrus lives up to its promise. Its not breezy, romantic or fluffy. Yes it has a few funny moments but it is basically a dark movie, with complex emotions and where nothing is what it seems.
Saif Ali Khan , (narrating the movie) lands up at the Setna farmhouse in Panchgani to work as an assistant potter to the once famous-now recluse Nasseruddin Shah. Dimple Kapadia (Katy) is his frustrated wife, with neither domestic help nor any nightlife. Through Saifs mind we get glimpses of the Setna family.. Boman Irani (Farooq) is Nassers younger brother, married to Simone Singh and staying in Mumbai. The Setnas own the entire building but have confined the patriarch, their father into a backroom.
This movie , for most part, seems as a documentary into the life of a typical parsi family. But the sucker punch towards the end leaves you out cold. Pay attention to every frame in this movie, and every dialogue. Nothing is meaningless, everything here has a purpose. The brilliance of well written script is lulling the audience into a false sense of detachment and then making all the jigsaw puzzles fit together in the end.
Homi Adajania takes the cake.
-The concise diction of Saifs charachter
-Dimple Kapadia giving just the right vibes as she adjusts her cleavage (to show more)
Nasseruddins Shahs dreamy mannerisms and care a damn attitude
Boman Iranis telephonic conversations
The patriarch enjoying chocolates and gulping down Chivas Regal neat while talking about the Prohibition days to Saif
Simone Singh smoking a cigarette and letting her hair down as soon as her husband Boman leaves for office
Saifs macabre nightmare sequence
All these will stay with you for a long long time after the movie is over.
With expletives galore, leave the children out of this one. Being Cyrus also stands true to its stand of being an English movie, although there were so many places where a hindi phrase or two could have been slipped in.
And thankfully, its songless.
Saif Ali Khan has shown spunk to take up this role, which is in stark contrast against his popular ’’Salaam Namaste’’ image.
Being Cyrus is as much an actors movie as it is the directors. Great camerawork and editing too !
An unexpected ending, marvellous performances , a compelling and unique screenplay and cracking sound bytes ( eg. After the game is over , the king and the pawn go back into the same box ! ) make Being Cyrus both enjoyable and stimulating .
Wow.