What do we do with our questions about human relations? Run away? Confront? Smile at them? Destroy them? Look at them as if they are an alien entity? Or let them destroy us? And what happens to our relation? Existing and impending? What?
Absurd? Or true? Boring or curiously interesting?
'Drishti' tries hard. I would not say that it leaves you totally contented with the answers, but certainly, it tries very hard. For a long, I have been waiting to watch Govind Nihalani's Drishti, but could not get the CD. Recently a CD got out in the market and a friend bought it for himself. I got hold on it the next day after he finished watching it.
Govind Nihalani's movies are never 'common'. And the reason is his characters do not TALK average. They talk substance. Nihalani wins half the battle because of his writers. And Drishti is no exception. Shashi Deshpande pens power. Totally.
So, its about Sandhya (Dimple Kapadia) and Nikhil (Shekhar Kapur) who are happily married with a daughter. Leading a comfortable life in Mumbai. Rahul (Irfan Khan), accompanying his uncle who is Sandhya-Nikhil's friend, comes for their wedding anniversary celebrations. Eventually, Sandhya and Rahul have an affair. But Sandhya is clear about her love towards her family and does a 'balancing' act. Time trails and one day Nikhil tells Sandhya about his love for his colleague Vrinda. He leaves Sandhya and the movie henceforth is a continuous dialogue between Sandhya and Nikhil, which is interesting, revealing and at times little confusing too.
'Drishti' packs a lot. Ahead of its time, it shows a man and a woman as they are. I was in total disagreement with Nikhil's character because of his idiotic behaviour and was in total agreement with Sandhya because of her certainty in thoughts (which generally is woman's attribute and seldom is man's), but still I was eager to listen to Nikhil.
Fundamentally, why both of them got attracted to different people even though married happily with each other is something that I would not understand being a single man. But I could really 'experience' it through their dialogues. (This is where Nishabd failed to let us 'feel' the simmering sensation.) The way Sandhya 'explains' her feeling for Rahul and Nikhil to her friend Prabha (Meeta Vasishtha) is the highlight scene. Her claims might seem little tall to some people, but if your claim is honest then probably appearing tall to others is the inherent feature of such claim.
Nikhil's stand does seem ridiculous when he leaves Sandhya, then wants divorce from her, then changes his mind and wishes to be with her again. Vrinda also leaves him, gets married and goes to the US. This is ridiculous because it is typical of a man. Men are polygamous and social conditioning applies strong restrictions to it. I feel that marriage system has benefited women more then men. I do not mean that woman is bound to be happy with any rogue, but women, unlike men, are more focused. Whereas a man turns frantic and seems idiot if he starts being true to himself, a woman is sane enough to handle her emotions and not to run after 'sought after' men. Man is purely an artist of emotions and woman is a good manager of emotions. The same figures while you watch Sandhya and Nikhil. You find that Sandhya is also vulnerable, she also emotes heavily but the roots are totally feminine. Nikhil, on the other hand, is intelligent but comes as a fickle minded individual.
The movie is to be watched 'closely' to be interpreted. There are lots of good dialogues that make you stop and think. For me, it was really interesting to interpret Nikhil and Sandhya in the light of their own deeds.
Of the cast, Dimple Kapadia excels. She is THE one! Little, just a little dramatic at times, but she delivers a powerhouse performance. Shakher Kapur on the other hand, falls really short on acting. He is in total dissonance with Dimple's lyrical portrayal. I guess, Govind Nihalani could have thought about Naseerudin Shah. Meeta Vasishtha is superb, remains with you although she disappears in the second half. Ramesh (Vijay Ksahyap), as Prabha's cynic husband does a good job.
Drishti belongs to the writer, Shashi Deshpande. Majority of all the claps and cheers go to her. The film drags a bit in second half. Mainly because you continuously watch Nikhil and Sandhya on the screen giving it a stage feel.
Towards the end, you see Sandhya and Nikhil enjoying the raindrops on a beach. They know each and everything about each other now. I do not know, but while I was watching them, I did not consider Nikhil as an idiot, which I did initially. Or I did not have questions about Sandhya’s affair with Rahul. They were just looking at each other, smiling and I too smiled.
That was my affection towards the child in Sandhya and Nikhil. Yes, the child. That child made me overcome my disturbance, which they had caused to the adult in me.
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