Despite being based on an incredibly heartwarming real-life story, the Anirban Bose directorial boasts startling logic and shallow characterization.
Despite being based on an incredibly heartwarming real-life story, the Anirban Bose directorial boasts startling logic and shallow characterization.
For a film based on an incredibly heartwarming real-life story, oh life Leaves you freezing cold. The idea is noble, and the message laudable, but the treatment is clearly one-sided. The title is reminiscent of a provocative Suresh Wadkar number. trauma, But the gentle narrative rarely inspires you to embrace life.
Set in an era when liver transplants were extremely rare in India and the idea of organ donation was yet to gain traction, the story is about a survivor’s guilt. It is reminiscent of a saying, ‘be careful what you wish for’. When Vinay Chawla (Satyajit Dubey), a young software engineer from Lucknow, develops severe symptoms of cirrhosis, he heads to a hospital in Hyderabad, where he meets Revathi Rajan (Revati), a bereavement counselor whose job in the brain. Persuading the grieving families of – how their lives intertwine to donate organs to deceased patients makes up the rest of the story.
oh life
the director: Anirban Bose
Throw: Revathi, Satyajit Dubey, Shrikant Verma
Order: 104 minutes
Story: Based on a true story, oh life Follows the journey of a 26-year-old liver cirrhosis patient who shares an unlikely bond with a hospital grief counselor
The theme evokes a lot of hope, but writer-director Anirban Bose fails to draw us into the narrative. The demanding details and emotional weight of the story are sorely missing. The inconsistent script appears to be a work in progress. Despite being based on a true story, its internal logic is baffling, and the characterization feels painstaking. For an educated professional, Vinay is unaware of the complications of the disease and believes that he can continue his work with expensive treatment.
Even his brother (a doctor!) doesn’t stop him and actually puts his career on hold so that his brother can go to office. The decisions of Vinay’s mentors lack clarity and the support of his colleagues seems like an afterthought. When romance blossoms between Vinay and nurse Manju (appearing to be the part of Mrinmayi Godbole) at the hospital, the proceedings take some pulse, but it rarely breaks.
Part of the problem is Satyajit’s flat performance. The make-up artist makes sure that he is seen in the role but we hardly get to read the mind and heart of the complex character. However, there is no such issue with Revathi. Coming back to Hindi cinema after a while, the veteran actor delves deeply into the character from the very first frame. Anirban has not been kind to him either, as the writing hardly gives us an opportunity to see the warts and wounds caused by his challenging task on his soul. But the actor makes up for the lack of details with his heartfelt portrayal of a professional and a mother of two. When Revathi’s eyes betray the ruthless presence of the counsellor, a lump is felt in the throat. However, her presence makes everything around her feel more plastic.
Ae Zindagi is running in theaters these days