Arthouse Days | Naseeruddin Shah, Farooque Shaikh and Deepti Naval’s Katha

Here, the two drivers of the film’s story are Rajaram and Vasudev. Rajaram, played by Naseeruddin Shah, is the ideal man who aims to be a head clerk in a footwear company. He is the kind soul who will travel miles because he has heard a radio announcement asking for a blood donor. He lives a disciplined life as a regular working-class man but when all’s going well, he encounters Vasudev who now goes by the name Bashu.

Naseeruddin Shah plays Rajaram Purushottam Joshi and his character is as ideal as his name.

Bashu, played by Farooque Shaikh, is a trickster who shows off at every given opportunity. He is the kind who will eat at a fancy restaurant and fool the owner so he can get out of paying the bill. He wants to live life king size but doesn’t want to work for it. With his flamboyant nature on display at all times, Bashu knows the art of impressing people and has the ability to lie with a straight face. He steals, cheats and manipulates with such ease that poor Rajaram can’t even hold him accountable.

As soon as you see Rajaram, you know he is the underdog and your heart goes out to him. Yet, Bashu is the one who catches your attention. His lies make you laugh and his tricks are so obvious that you feel bad for his targets.

Vasudev, who now goes by Bashu, lies about everything, even his name.

The film repeatedly tells you that this is the story of simple people who live a simple life and Rajaram fits right in. Sandhya. played by Deepti Naval, has a sweet friendship with Rajaram but she too can’t resist the charm of Bashu. For Bashu though, Sandhya is just one of many.

Sandhya, played by Deepti Naval, wishes to marry a man who is impressive and boldly enough, her parents are not opposed to the idea of love marriage.

Katha’s plot revolves around these three characters but the film has much more to say with every character that appears on screen. Newlyweds can’t spend a minute apart while older married couples have found a way to ‘listen’ to each other. The chawl (housing society) secretary is the only one with a television and refrigerator in his house and while he doesn’t mind sharing the cold water, he makes sure that everyone knows about his son who is settled in Canada. The chawl is less of a society and more of a family and they welcome with Bashu with open arms but for him, this is just a step until something better comes along.

Katha is a slice of life film that isn’t about good over evil, or truth over lies. It is, in fact, about how everyone finds a way to survive. Rajaram succeeds in his endeavours and Bashu too heads another way where he’ll con others.

Katha is a chapter in these characters’ lives. Bashu will surely gloss over his time spent at the chawl one day and Rajaram will always remember the man who conned him but being the simple person he is, he would still be just as trusting.

Arthouse Days | Ek Doctor Ki Maut 

Katha is streaming on YouTube and Hotstar.