TRIKAL - PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE

FILM: TRIKAL

DIR: SHYAM BENEGAL

FEATURING: NASEERUDDIN SHAH, ANITA KANWAR, NEENA GUPTA, ILA ARUN, KK RAINA, AKASH KHURANA, LUCKY ALI AND MANY MORE

When the film opens you wonder....why is this Goan character Ruiz Pareria (Naseeruddin Shah) speaking fluent urdu...I mean it is a realistic film so...??? But a few scenes down the line we see a few characters conversing in Portugal then a line 'Ab se ye kirdaar hume samajh me aaye aisi bhasha me baat karenge'...MASTERSTROKE!!!!

MASTERSTROKE!!!! is maybe the best way to define this film. Complex characters! An old lady Dona Maria Souzasoares (Leela Naidu) cannot accept that her husband is dead. Her daughter (Anita Kanwar) wants to get Anna (her daughter) married to Erasmo (Lucky Ali) - an eligible bachelor who has come with his parents all the way from Poutugal to seek the bride. Milagrenia (Neena Gupta) - an illegitimate daughter whose standing is no more than a servant and who is now a means through which Dona Maria tries to communicate to the spirit of her husband failing everytime. Kulbhushan Kharbanda who is the face of the spirits of people who were massacred due to Dona Maria's husband. Aurora (Soni Razdan) who is in love with a drunkard Francis and so on. The good thing here is that the complexities never end. Sometimes make you laugh at the black humor (Anita Kanwar's hysterical cries to the stupid face of her husband KK Raina) sometimes horrifying you with Neena Gupta's intense act, sometimes thrilling you because of its Pre liberation set up. You just cannot take your eyes off.

Kudos to the director and this enitre team of cast and crew who effortlessly pull off such a complex script, such complex characters with ease and humour. Music of the film is another surprise! It sounds way ahead of its time with rendations and compositions not only taking you to Goa and Portugal but also give you a sense of belonging in 2013 (and all this was achieved in 1985...almost 30 years ago). From beautiful production design to luminous camera work to the razor sharp editing to the ear soothing noise free music to delightful performances to the powerful script and direction every thing works for the film. If at all there could have been any imperfection in the film it could probably be the ball room dance sequence in the second half which could have been shorter one would feel. 

This is the film of 2018 made way ahead of its time in 1985!