15 Park Avenue (2005)

Name: 15 Park Avenue

Starring: Shabana Azmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rahul Bose & Waheeda Rehman

Directed By: Aparna Sen

Language: Hindi

Did I watch this recently? No

Brief Synopsis:

The movie focuses around two aspects, one is viewing the relationship of sisters Meethi (Konkona Sen Sharma) and Anjali (Shabana Azmi). The other aspect is discovering flashback by flashback Meethi’s past and her gradual path to schizophrenia. While Meethi is schizorphrenic and disorderly, Anjali is a professor of physics who is intellectual and practical. The movie spends most of the time outlining Meethi’s psychological traits and life story from a young child to her turning point as an adult. What is present? What is past? What is real? What is fake? This slow paced psychologically involving film blurs the line of reality for the viewer.

Good Points

• The movie is thought provoking. Not only about the psychological disorder but makes you constantly ponder about what is real and what is fake. Not knowing what is real and what is fake helps to give the perspective of what Konkona feels with the disease, she never knows if what is happening is in her mind or if its real.
• Konkona & Rahul as always play their characters and their interactions effortlessly against each other. Konkona is so young yet can pull off this kind of psychologically disturbed character. You fall in love with her character and you just want her to get better. I think its hard not to feel for her character. Rahul is more restrained in his performance then usual, but this can be attributed to his character.
• The movie is interwoven with flashback and present which keeps the suspense and interest for the length of the film. So despite being long it is involving. So if your curious and attached to the characters you will care about their back story and future keeping you tuned in.

Bad Points

• Ending is a bit disappointing and ambiguous – which i guess is intended to be so. But there was a definite sense of let down when watching the ending, i expected bigger from the film.
• Shabana hardly ever disappoints, but i feel it wasn’t her finest hour – character or performance wise i’m unsure. But its not really a bad point I guess cause she is still very good in the role. But i did feel Konkona & Rahul performed their characters better.
• Running time is not long enough to delve deeper into other story interests with Rahul character’s family, Shabana’s character and Shabana & Kokona’s characters family history more. But i guess it was more time constraints, but considering its a psychology based movie the viewer really does crave psychological answers to alot of things.

Overall Score 3/5 Hairy Anil Kapoors – It’s worth the watch but expect a feeling of let down with the potential mixed in.