The Last Lear

Can you imagine anyone else in Hindi cinema8217;s A-list doing Shakespeare, seriously, on celluloid? Amitabh Bachchan8217;s lineage and leanings have always pointed to an actor who, like his character in The Last Lear, would count having brought to life the Bard8217;s greatest creations, as a professional peak.

Rituparno Ghosh could have given Bachchan the role of a lifetime in The Last Lear. But what we get is Bachchan declaiming Shakespeare, buoyed by a soundtrack which toplines thunder, lightning and rain, and spotlit by a bright beam. The actor that he plays in the film, Harish aka Harry, wouldn8217;t have needed the props. He would have done it all himself, not letting anything, not the least Bachchan8217;s starry persona, come between him and his part.

Ghosh8217;s latest, in English with a smattering of Bangla, is a film within a film. Sixty-five-year old Harry, an eccentric, vodka-swilling theatre actor, is inveigled into doing his first film by smart young director Sidharth Arjun. A terrible accident takes place on a hilly outdoor location, making everyone complicit. Including the film8217;s deeply conflicted lead actress Preity, leading her to the bedside of the comatose Harry, who is being looked after by two resentful women, a much younger partner Shefali, and an on-the-verge-of-quitting-nurse Divya.

The director8217;s skill in creating Kolkata lives, with the street outside Harry8217;s charming old apartment a strong participant, is evident in the initial interactions that take place between Sidharth and Harry. The former entices and cajoles, and the older man, who starts out reluctant, and dismissive, gives in 8212; perhaps to bury the ghosts of the past, perhaps to clear the cobwebs in his future 8212; and starts seeing the new medium as one with infinite possibilities.

If Ghosh had stuck to this mood, the film would have been a classic, contemplative study of a long-time actor doing an actor.nbsp;But The Last Lear never becomes the sum of its nicest parts 8212; Preity in a meaty role after a long gap, Bachchan in pure actorly moments. In which he is all art, not just craft.

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