Akash Gadiya

A Dog's Purpose is a story about a dog who seeks the meaning of his life. The film takes us through five reincarnations of the dog. The movie is also a reflection on what role dogs have in our society. In each of his five reincarnations, the dog is treated differently. In his first life, he is euthanized when he is young. In the second, he finds his best friend and soulmate in Ethan, a young boy who then grows up to leave for college. The dog (named Bailey in this life) misses Ethan dearly in his absence and finally dies. In his third life she (yes) is born as a police dog. She helps her owner in search operations and eventually gets killed in one such operation. In her fourth life, she is adopted by a college student Maya who names her Tino. In her fifth life, she is adopted by an abusive and careless couple who name her Waffles. They abandon him one day and finds her old bestie, Ethan, who is now a grown-up man in his fifties. He makes Ethan realise that he is Bailey and he helps Ethan find his high-school girlfriend Hannah. In the end, Bailey says that life is about having fun, saving others, not getting caught up in the past and regrets, finding someone to be with and to "be here now".

The Theseus paradox questions the idea of authenticity and identity. If all original parts of an object are replaced with similar parts, does the object retain its identity or does it attain a new identity? All cells of a human body regenerate entirely in 7 years. Statistics suggest that globally over 1,00,000 organs are transplanted every year. Our ideologies, principles, beliefs, all change with time and our current level of maturity. Extending the Theseus paradox, which is originally based on a ship to human beings, can we then say we are the same person after all the replacements? I recently watched a beautiful film ‘Ship of Theseus’, which as the name suggests, is inspired by the Theseus paradox. There is a wealth of thought-provoking little nuggets scattered in this film. The film was released in July 2013 but it is not very well-known. It did not gain mass popularity because it is not for the audience seeking entertainment. Everyone may not appreciate this film because it is a different kind of cinema which is not for the wider audience. The film tells three stories, one after the other. The first story is about a young independent woman who takes up photography after she loses her sight to cornea infection. She gets a transplant and regains her sight. Instead of becoming a better photographer, being able to see overwhelms her and she is unable to focus on her subject. The second story is about a monk who fights a case against cruel treatment of animals by the pharmaceutical industry. The monk learns that he has liver cirrhosis. He now faces the dilemma of whether or not to take the medicine manufactured by the very pharmaceutical companies against whom he fighting for animal rights. The monk appears as a Jain monk on various counts, however, it is a fictitious religion that he follows, inspired from Jainism and Buddhism. There is a meaningful prayer that he recites, which was written in Prakrit specifically for the film. The third story is about a young stockbroker, who undergoes a kidney transplant and is touched by the incident of a poor labourer whose kidney was stolen. He traces the recipient back to Stockholm and tries to find a solution for him. All the three stories have one thing in common – organ transplant. The movie ends with a small video showing the interior of a cave. It is inspired by Plato’s The Cave, in his best-known work, The Republic. In the allegory, he likens people to prisoners chained in a cave watching shadows and believing them to be real. The man seen in the cave in the video seems transfixed by the wall and his own shadow cast upon it. He doesn’t make his way out. The film received strongly positive critical response. If you are inclined towards philosophy and want to do some soul-searching, I would strongly recommend you to watch this movie.

Masaan (2015) is arguably one of the finest Bollywood films. Belonging to the cadre of The Lunchbox (2013) and Ship of Theseus (2012), the film bestows upon its viewers the varied joys that meaningful cinema has to offer. I was completely overwhelmed and flabbergasted by the bold story line that ventures into unexplored social stigma and couldn’t quiet get over the natural, original, thought-provoking dialogues and the sheer innocence of the characters. The film was received with much critical acclaim and was honored with a standing ovation during its screening at Cannes. A big achievement for a film with a cast that has no big stars and was directed by a debutant Director, Neeraj Ghaywan. Not only that, it also swept two awards at the august Cannes Film Festival and a Filmfare back home. The film revolves around the lives of two characters, Devi and Deepak. The injustice meted out to Devi is especially poignant. The beautifully natural depiction of Deepak’s love story is so endearing and how they overcome setbacks in their lives and reconstruct their lives is particularly moving. Accolades to Varun Grover who stirred such genius script, dialogues and lyrics for the equally good songs in the cauldrons of his mind. A stanza from the Ghazal ‘Main Jise Odhta Bichhata Hoon’ by Dushyant Kumar is also artistically woven into the script. I instantly fell in love with these lines: तू किसी रेल सी गुज़रती है (Tu kisi rail si guzarti hai) मैं किसी पुल्ल सा थरथराता हूँ (Mein kisi pul sa thartharata hoon) एक जंगल है तेरी आँखों में (Ek jungle hai teri aankhon mein) मैं जहाँ राह भूल जाता हूँ (Mein jahan rah bhool jata hoon) English translation: You walk past like a train, I quiver like a bridge, Your eyes contain the depths of a forest, In them I forget my path There’s another stanza from a poem by Bashir Badr recited in the film which I liked: Sitaron ko aankhon mein mehfooz rakhna Badi der tak raat hi raat hogi Musafir hai hum bhi Musafir ho tum bhi Kisi mod par phir mulakat hogi The music by Indian Ocean is both soulful and powerful. There are three songs and all of them are gems. If you’re a part of that small group of discerning audience who can appreciate meaningful cinema, please give two hours of your life to this film at my insistence, I’m sure you will not regret it. It is truly a beguiling experience. Something everyone should experience.

A beautiful movie based on the adaption of the homonymous novel. I liked how it begins end first and the lead character Count Laszlo Almasy recounts and narrates his story. I've learnt that although this story is purely fictional, his character is infact based on the Hungarian desert explorer Laszlo Almasy, who had a role to play in the WWII. I admire this character particularly because he appears to be a genius - An avid reader, appreciates good music, is "rusty at social graces" and keeps his word. I love Hana's character as well for the selfless service she offers to him and how she heals herself while trying to heal him. Might sound odd but the desert scenes sometimes reminded me of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. PS: Will never forget what its called - the suprasternal notch.