Before I start talking about the film, I find it necessary to mention that I deem myself intellectually, culturally and philosophically incompetent to state my views about ‘Ship Of Theseus’. However, I would like to say a few words (Of mostly praise) for Anand Gandhi’s directorial debut. From the past one year, every seminar, every post-film talk, every lecture has been incomplete without atleast one of the panellists or the speaker on the dias saying “The day ‘Ship of Theseus’ gets a theatrical release, Indian Cinema will have arrived” (Yes, It’s that old and was screened at the MAMI film festival 2012). This got the wheels churning in my mind as to what is all the hype surrounding this film and it’s film maker all about? Then, around 6 months ago I happened to attend another seminar, where mentioning ‘Ship Of Theseus’ was imperative because one of the panellists was Anand Gandhi himself. What I thought of him then, makes me feel ashamed of myself now after looking at his work. And perhaps the only bug in my mind stopping me from wanting to see ‘SOT’ was the fear of the phrase that “A film is a reflection of its film maker”. But I feel lucky that all that has changed, and how! In keeping with the philosophical temperament of the film, It was perhaps my fate or the returns of my good Karma that after 2 weeks of various hurdles, keeping me from viewing it, I was finally able to see the last show on the last day of the film.
On 19th July Indian Cinema ‘finally’ did arrive, with ‘SOT’ getting a theatrical release. Kudos to Kiran Rao/Aamir Khan and the people at UTV for being able to discover the gem and being able to present it to the world in a magnificent way on the big screen. This studio backed release of an independent film must definitely prove to be a trendsetter, and such films should be made more viable to the audience wanting to see more of them. I believe SOT has set the ball rolling with Dharma Productions presenting Ritesh Batra’s ‘The Lunchbox / Dabba’, which is also co-produced by Anurag Kashyap. If this trend sets in completely I think we can do away with a farce like ‘PVR Director’s Rare’.
Talking about the film, I am firstly happy that it did not let me down in keeping with the overall hype it has garnered for all these months. After a long time, I felt complete after watching a film in the theatre, with every single element in the film – be it the breathtaking visuals or the true to life and soulful performances or the humanist touch to the genuine storytelling, Or just how the name of the film itself has such a deep meaning from which it is derived, you name it – making me feel so calm and serene. It’s difficult to pin point how an audio visual medium makes you feel so good at the end of 2 and a half hours. With beautiful analogies that explain life, SOT makes you introspect about so much that you might have been oblivious to and considered as a negligible part of your life. Perhaps the only thing I felt as unnecessary in the film was the Interval, but then again the audience needs the popcorn and samosa for every mood. The end of the film literally gave me Goosebumps and it’s a big deal for me that this was the FOURTH TIME in all the years of me wanting to pursue a career in films, that I’ve felt envious of a film maker and felt that “I wish, this film was made by me”. When I say all this, I am also unashamed and unabashed to state that, Yes, I did not comprehend each and every thing in the film and perhaps a few more views will help me do that as well.
I look at Ship Of Theseus as a ray of hope. Hope for all the independent filmmakers with such great work, to find their presenting saint, Hope for the Indian cinema to keep evolving with the pace as it is now and to maintain it, Hope for Anand Gandhi to keep up his good work and shoulder the responsibility he’s been bestowed upon by his first film itself and A final hope that SOT releases on DVD, because It’s a must keep, must BUY (Not downloaded) and must watch.
A final note, If you are oblivious to cinema as ‘Art’ and tag every film that is not mainstream as ‘Film festival material’, you might want to refrain from boarding the Ship Of Theseus and go see a ‘Ramaiya Vastavaiya’ which also released on the same date.
The Seventh Sense 