And Once Again

Have you ever sat all alone in a theater and watched a movie? Exactly one person in a hall meant for maybe 300-400 people? Its quite an experience ... read more

Have you ever sat all alone in a theater and watched a movie? Exactly one person in a hall meant for maybe 300-400 people? Its quite an experience I can tell you and I have to thank the nice folks at Big Cinemas, R-City & Amol Palekar for allowing me this luxury. For 'And Once Again', being the only person in the huge theater was more of an experience than anything this movie had to offer.

The movie is a perfect example how well-intentioned ideas and themes can be sunk by lazy execution.

Rishi (Rajat Kapoor) and his wife Manu (Rituparna Sengupta) have come to the picturesque Sikkim. On one of their many sightseeing endeavors Rishi happens to see a Buddhist nun, Ani Maa, who looks exactly like his ex-wife. He finds the fact hard to digest simply because his ex-wife, Savitri (Antara Mali), has been dead for eighteen years now. Thanks to this chance encounter all of Rishi's repressed memories of a turbulent past start to unfurl causing him great emotional distress. Manu too feels helpless and her father (Gerson DeCunha), Rishi's former psychiatrist, also doesn't seem of much help. So will Rishi find out the true identity of the Buddhist Nun? Will he be ever bale to come to terms with his past? These are just a few questions the movie hopes to raise and answer but with such muddled handling you'll be left scratching your head wondering whats going on than appreciating the themes at play.

One of the biggest mistakes the movie makes is in choosing the language and some of the actors to speak it. Most of the movie is in English and the two ladies while maybe conversant in the language do not sound convincing. The unnecessarily convoluted dialogues do not help matters either; though Gerson DeCunha & Rajat Kapoor sound far more comfortable while speaking the language.

The movie's narrative isn't straightforward either and I see no reason for not keeping it in chronological order since the displacement of time zones doesn't really enhance the plot nor introduce any element of surprise. The central theme of letting go, be its one's past or love holds much potential however its only pretty late in the movie that the muddled narrative allows you to see it. The pacing of the movie is unbearably slow and with the broken narrative it creates a lot of confusion especially in the early parts of the movie.

The scenery of Sikkim is captured in its natural form and that's refreshing for once. The movie's dramatic quotient rises and falls periodically over the running length but adds little or no impact overall. The oddest bit about the movie was the circumstances of Savitri's death which happens in a bomb blast in Bosnia in 1992 during the Serb war while they are playing cricket and from what I could see she apparently picks up a bomb disguised as a cricket bomb! Now cricket isn't played over there, so did they design a special cricket-ball bomb for the Indian diplomat and his wife knowing the love Indians have for the game? Ridiculous to say the least and it could have been easily set elsewhere.

The performances overall from the entire cast are uniformly competent with language only being a hindrance for a few of them. Particular mention must be made of newcomer Yudene Zongtenpa as the bubbly young girl with Ani Maa.

Take my advice and skip this movie all together, though I feel a tinge of guilt saying this considering its directed by one of my all time favorites, Amol Palekar. Oh how the mighty fall, how the mighty fall!view less

In the film Rajat Kapoor talks about a bird that builds his nest so high that when it is finally finished and he sits on the nest it falls and he i... read more

In the film Rajat Kapoor talks about a bird that builds his nest so high that when it is finally finished and he sits on the nest it falls and he is crushed under his own nest. To me Amol Palekar is akin to that bird.

And Once Again is a film about Rajat Kapoor who along with his wife played by Rituparna Sengupta go on a working vacation to Sikkim. One day while strolling around the monastery Rajat Kapoor sees Antara Mali his ex-wife who he had thought was killed in an accident. This triggers a love triangle with actually no angle from Antara Mali. Rajat Kapoor has survived an accident that killed his father & sister, his mother was raped in the car while he was hiding in it & he has seen his wife & daughter being killed in a bomb Explosion. The film explores his coming to terms with the losses he has seen in life. The problem with the film is that the screenplay is so boring that you have to literally force yourself to stare at the screen and the actors dont help make the viewing bearable. Almost half an hour is spent in scene after scene of Rajat Kapoor following Antara Mali around the Monastery. The screenplay also goes back and forth in a gimmickry manner. Probably a devise invented by the writer to make the boring screenplay interesting. The actors speak in English probably to show that urban Indians use English as their first language of communication but the dialogues make the spoken English seem funny. There are lines like living with a loss is like slow motion death & how will I edit these details from my life. The only good things about the film are that it gives you a glimpse of Sikkim and Amol Palekar has extracted a respectable performance from Antara Mali.

Final few words: And Once Again Amol Palekar should come back as an actor not a director.

Rating: *

Ticket Rating : 250/- (not even worth a DVD watch)
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And once again I forced myself to see a movie that was peurile and insipid. The movie is a mixture of a documentary on Sikkim (And that too a bad ... read more

And once again I forced myself to see a movie that was peurile and insipid. The movie is a mixture of a documentary on Sikkim (And that too a bad Govt. documentary. I am sure Sikkim is far more beautiful than what the movie portrayed) and a story of a man and a woman with a common troubled past (in Bosnia Hergovinia! no less!)that catches up with them. To add to the misery is a simpering new wife (Rituparna Sengupta) who endlessly says sorry to whoever she is sharing the frame with. Or maybe she is saying it to us?

Rajat Kapoor is totally wasted, Antara Mali sports some artisitic burn make up, monk clothes and a shaved head. She has to look alternately serene and anguished and she manages quite well. Think a better script would have helped her in this role. Gerson Da Cunha with his impeccable accent as Rituparna's dad and Rajat Kapoor's shrink gives us a good lesson in English diction.

I guess director Amol Palekar takes the audience to be low life intelligence since he insists on telling us the story first and then showing what he has just told us word for word. THe movie could have been cut to half its length if we had been spared this endless show and tell which also moves the move back and forth confusingly.

The one thing that stands out is Rituparna's enormous thali sized neckpiece. Wow and wierd!

And once again I have wasted my popcorn and Coke money. Sigh.. view less

Knock Knock.Whos There? Woh.Woh Who? The PatniBut but, isnt that me? Surprise, me too!Whatever version of the story youve formed so far: Forget it.... read more

Knock Knock.
Whos There? Woh.
Woh Who? The Patni
But but, isnt that me? Surprise, me too!

Whatever version of the story youve formed so far: Forget it.
And move on- which is the film's message too.

'And Once Again' is a fresh, new story that bites Bollywoods glitzy behind. 'Nothing like Anything', as Micromax tells you.

Rishikesh Nag(Rajat Kapoor) is the leading man who wears a moustache.
Hes this self-pitying guy whos been through hell in life.
He is now on a guilt trip. In gorgeous Sikkim.
His wife's name is Savitri.
Antara Mali plays Savitri.
Savitri is bald.Because shes a Buddhist monk in Sikkim.
Rishikesh Nag:I'll call him Rishi, and his wife-Manuvela(Rituparna Sengupta)live a happily married life.
But all hell breaks loose in gorgeous Sikkim where he runs into Savitri.
Because Rishi and Savitri also used to be happily married once. But that was before Savitri died.
(Now read the Knock Knock joke again.)

Whatever version of the story youve formed so far: Don't Forget It.

Wait for Amol Palekar's genius amidst some breathtaking cinematography to reveal it fully. The Pati and the two Patnis are just pawns in this story of survivorship, a painful past, a happy present and the painful past threatening the happy present. There are always choices to be made, but they arent made without restless internal struggle. These characters go through a lot of it, suffer a lot,and make some of the best choices ever. Buddhism and its 'non-attachment' has a major role to play(with rotating flags, prayer bells- the works).

Its a beautiful film, set to soulful background music in enchanting Sikkim.

Its not a fun film. In the way that Akon is and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan isnt.

The dialogues are profound. Sample: "Dying is so much worse than Death"

But it has a happy ending. Not because everybody gets what they want, but because they accept what they cant get and move on.

The performances are superb, including the guy who plays Rishi's Father-in-law(Aplogies- didnt wait till the credits) and excluding the girl who plays Geeta- Rituparnas friend(Insert similar apology here). She talks like a school girl in an English play at the Annual Function

If a gripping story defines a good cinematic experience for you, Watch it.




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And once again it rained in delhi, and once again people could not make it to cinema halls in time, but trust me they havent missed much in life. N... read more

And once again it rained in delhi, and once again people could not make it to cinema halls in time, but trust me they havent missed much in life. Nevertheless, and once again" cannot be degraded as a movie that one would "not go and watch it even for free". Maybe an empty hall, would kill excitement of the movie in the beginning, but as the story rolls ahead, it does capture some attention for sometime atleast.

The story goes back and forth in Rishikesh Nag's life (Rajat Kapoor), who currently is married to Manu (Rituparna Sengupta). On their tour de Sikkim, Rishi comes across a female monk Savitri (Antara Mali) who closely resembles his ex-wife who had died in a bomb blast in Yugoslavia. Savitri is a Buddhist monk now who spends most of her time in meditation and raising a cute little orphan Priya (Yuden Zongtenpa). Savitri's presence shakes the perfect married life of Rishi and Manu. The movie further opens up more in flash backs and quickly wraps up in the end. With so many loose ends, the movie becomes humdrum.

Rajat Kapoor justifies his character, but Rituparna Sengupta fails to do the basic job that she was required to do : "dialogue delivery". I also wonder what happened to her make up artist? Probably a local artist was hired. The wow factor is undoubtedly the chemistry between the bald Antara Mali and the cute Priya (Yuden Zongtenpa).

Well those who are interested only in serious cinema can definitely go and watch this movie as not even once you would smile or laugh, others can go and watch it for Sikkim tourism. The place is heavenly beautiful. To conclude, it is not a commercial movie, so box office success is not expected at all and lastly the rating goes 2 stars for Sikkim's beauty, Antra Mali and Yuden of course.
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