Raincoat (2004)

Raincoat – I went for the movie with more than a slight trepidation. The reason being Ms.Rai and her ability to set my nerves on the edge with her hysterical, over-the-top ‘acting’. I am glad I didn’t allow myself to fall prey to my prejudice against her. Inspired by O Henry's classic short story The Gift of Magi, the film narrates the tale of two estranged lovers who meet on a rainy afternoon in a dingy room of a house in South Calcutta. Poetic, subtle, intelligent, sensitive, heart-touchingly romantic, depressing and witty – the movie is all that and more. I have to hand it to Rituparno Ghosh for penning such a brilliant script and producing such fine acting from his cast compromising of Ajay Devgan and Annu Kapoor, apart from the ubiquitous Ms. Rai. What I loved the most about the film was the moments of dark humour and the nasty, yet poignant little exchanges between the character of Manoj and his wife’s friend.

The art design, the cinematography, the dialogues, the acting – it all compiled to make a must-watch movie. Shubha Mudgal’s soulful rendering of the theme song ensures that you’re choked up at the poignant moments of the film – the film leaves you’re eyes damp without resorting to any clichés or melodrama. Simply told, it is perhaps one of the most beautiful movies I’ve seen, on par with Mr and Mrs Iyer.

I’m going to go grab a copy of the soundtrack ASAP – you go watch the movie!