Though most of them are not practical, love stories are always nice to listen. And when the story-teller is someone like Mr. Mani Ratnam, how can one fall short of understanding the beauty of those love stories?
Yesterday, as I was surfing the channels, I came across the film that holds the most simple love story on Indian silver-screen: Geetanjali. The Beauty in Simplicity is Everlasting.
Boy Meets Girl: This is the simple story of Prakash, who enjoyed the Pleasure of being close to everything: his Mother, his Friends, his Mischievousness, his Charm and the Melody of Life. But when he came to know about his closeness to Death, he could not accept its Muteness. Depressed, he decides to stay alone and lands up in Ooty, where he gets acquainted to Geeta.
This is the simple story of Geetanjali, who enjoys the pleasure of being close to everything: her Father, her Friends, her Childishness and the Sound of the Dripping Rain Drops. And she is also close to???. the Silent Symphony of Death. She keeps all the misery deep within her, and enjoys all the Turns and Tunes of Life. One fine day, she comes across Prakash.
And They Fall in Love: In this simple story, Prakash learns from Geeta that misery of Death should not take away the Happiness in Life. He realizes the importance of being Happy and his Happiness goes multifold when he falls in Love with Geeta. And it doesn?t take long for Geeta to fall for his charms.
In this simple story, Geeta slips into every emotion of Love.
She relishes the moments of snuggling like a kid in Prakash?s embrace. She expresses every edge of her feelings for him. And for the first time in her life, she fears the Muteness of Death. The Silent Symphony she used to listen sounds illusive. She doesn?t want to die. Her proximity to Death begins to trouble her.
And all the while, she doesn?t know the distance Prakash is from Death. Imagine what would happen when she knows.
And yet, I say, this is a simple story. Good language can make a complex story look simple. But the story-teller?s maturity can make a simple story look brilliant.
The Director?s Touch: Prakash stood near the window staring at the chilling air outside. The warm air inside spread across the hall up to the door. And when the door opened, Geeta stood outside. The cold vapors (fog) seep inside, travel across the hall and touch Prakash?s back. And he turns back to look at his beloved.
I don?t know how successful I was in narrating the moment, but in the film it was simply amazing. The film is a succession of such brilliant moments. And every moment has The Director?s Touch in it. Yah! Every moment has the Mani Ratnam touch in it.
The Melodies of Love: No matter how many composers come and go, no matter how many compositions get successful, there is always one man whose Melody remains Evergreen in the heart of the listener: IlayaRaja. His compositions in this film can be simply defined as Melodies of Love.
To Cut The Long Review Short: The photography, editing and other technical aspects of the film are awesome. And the actors delivered natural performances.
Staring: Nagarjuna (as Prakash), Girija (as Geetanjali), Vijay Chander (as Prakesh?s father), and so on.
Photography: PC Sriram
Music: Ilaya Raja
Written and Directed by: ManiRatnam