I Am

I had been listening to I Am's OST for a few months and finally i found the movie, it was one movie i was looking forward to watching...!! The movie is about 4 individuals, it is 4 stories, it is 4 lives, ... it is all about PEOPLE!! Though the people involved in the plot are from different corners of the country- Kolkata, Bangalore, Srinagar and Mumbai, with the stories ranging from artificial insemination, child abuse and gay prostitution, they're connected by a common thread of disenchantment.

Onir's I AM opens with a Rabindranath Tagore's quote from Gitanjali, 'Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high...'
 

Meet the ‘I’s:


I am Afia

The 1st story opens with Afia [Nandita Das] looking for a sperm donor to fulfill her wish of getting artificial insemination done. She meets her doctor, and insists on meeting the man before taking a call, which is how she meets Purab Kohli. They spend time getting to know each other, breaking barriers before going ahead with the procedure. Their relationship goes through a transformation at the fertility clinic while waiting for the doctor to come in.

I Am Megha

Megha [Juhi Chawla] is a Kashmiri Pundit battling with life and emotions after having been chased out of Jammu & Kashmir when the military took over the land. She goes back, meets their Muslim family friends Manisha Koirala but interacts with them quite curt and to the point. There is a lot of anger and resentment in her voice during the one day she spends in town. 

I Am Abhimanyu

This is a story on Child abuse..the victim is Abhimanyu [Sanjay Suri] who grew up abused by his step-father on a day to day basis... He grows up bitter, severing all ties with his family, quite unsure of his sexual preferences..  The entire movie flows through the stories, while showing the different phases in Abhimanyu’s life, as the abused child going on to a manipulative adolescent and thence to whining adulthood, in a very short share of the total running time. It is only when his mom calls to announce his step father's death that he finally confronts his demons and lets it all out to her...

I am Omar

This is probably the most devastating story in the movie, the one that will shake you up. It is about Gay relationships and this plot is about  Jai (Rahul Bose) and Omar (Arjun Mathur)... Jai, who is obviously doing well in life meets Omar at a coffee shop one lazy evening. He is drawn to Omar, takes him out and giving into his strong feelings, wants to go all the way. Omar convinces him to just get naughty in his car, only to get accosted by a vulgar homophobic cop, who scares Jai beyond repair. It is later than Jai comes to know Omar is a con and was playing him all along... Abhimanyu Singh as the cop was so ruthless and brutal with his foul language and crude behaviour, quite revealing how people react when they come across a Gay guy...

I AM is more than a movie, it is not exactly a documentary either. It tells the tales of people we meet on a daily basis, but whose lives are so deep, and go beyond what we see on the surface.  Each and every story has its own unique rhythm. The emotions and feelings, the experiences that each of the actors portray is quite surreal, making us think while the credits roll on the screen at the end of the movie... 

Cast : Sanjay Suri, Radhika Apte, Shernaz Patel, Anurag Kashyap, Rahul Bose, Arjun Mathur, Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh, Nandita Das, Juhi Chawla, Manisha Koirala, Purab Kohli & Anurag Basu
Music : Amit Trivedi, Vivek Philip & Rajiv Bhalla
Director : Onir
Producer : Onir & Sanjay Suri

[Theater] Love in a Tub

My high school friend V called me fri night asking if i wanted to come for a play[Supper theater, yes, you read it right, they give you a performance and feed you afterwards...], it was one of their client's who was organising it.. asked her for the time, since on sat i had a meeting from 3pm... she said "its called Love in a tub, directed by Aamir Raza Husain & Virat Husain, and is only at 7.30, at Park Sheraton, shall sms the details".. i said "vokay, cool... i'll be there"...

Sat dawned, i was a bit nervous about the meeting, but must say it went off quite well! was interesting to see big wigs discuss issues, and how the meeting went!! We wound up around 6.30, and since i was in Adyar, made my way to Anokhi (a lovely quaint place, perfect for a quiet cuppa).. reviewed the notes i had taken during the meeting, sipped on a glass of cold coffee and spent a bit of time by myself!! Around 7.10, got out, made my way towards Park sheraton, which was just a hop skip jump away, and waited for S and V...


Though the play which was to start at 7.30, began only around 8.20.. There were plenty of cocktails, juices, and bites to grab before the show.. we chit chatted, while scanning through the room for familar faces.. i did catch a few, went and said hi... :)

Finally, we were shown to the hall [Mowbray's] where the play happened and must say, it was one hellova stress buster.. had quite a few laughs, it was one of those plays where you dont look for logic, just enjoy it for what it is....

Here is a summary of the play....

Its all about a couple Mr Richard Willey n his wife Pamela Willey[Virat Husain], who book into a room at the Westminister Hotel... Caught in the scam is Richard's colleague/secretary/or whatever they are called in the Brit Parliament, George aka Pigeon[ played superbly by Aamir Raza husain] !!! The plot is all about Richard wanting to meet with Jennifer Brissto for a secret rendezvous, and what happens after wards... How George becomes Dr Santa Christmas and Richard is Sir Charles Easter/Dickie/ and what not... hehehe... one of those mindless comedies, the play had us all in splits everytime there was a goof up.... not to forget the antics of the wacko Japanese waiter who keeps bringing in 6pots of coffee everytime someone orders 1 pot of coffee..
A whole bunch of people, zillions of names, crazy wacko stuff had us going ballistic through the evening....

The surprising thing about this group is that they dont play their stuff to the general public, most of it is for the corporates, their clients and if you know someone in that loop, you get to watch it, like i did!! Aparently they are in town for 5days, a show on each day!!!

After the play, dinner buffet opened.. and the entire 10000 people [okay, i'll admit, am exaggerating, it was probably 100...but sure seemed like a zillion people]... made our way through the queue... ate a bit and wound up for the evening!! :)

Now, am looking fwd to The Hindu Metro Plus Theater Fest beginning Aug 1st!!