User Reviews

The Gift Of Ghosh

William Sydney Porter aka O Henry, a master of surprise endings, is arguably the best short-story writer that has ever lived. But strangely, unlike the Kings and Grishams, his stories haven't been much accessible to the cinema-going audience. It probably takes a genius to recognize a genius. So enter Rituparno Ghosh- a nonconformist young director sans any apprehensions of clinging to established traditions. Mix this hot bundle of talent with the best work of the former, and what you get is a delectable piece of cinematic magic called 'Raincoat'.

'Raincoat' is a poignant story about the pretensions that we put on while affected with occasions that we prefer not to confront but want to. Manoj(Ajay Devgan) is in Calcutta in a desperate attempt to accumulate some funds from friends whose faces he doesn't remember- "It doesn't matter", says one of his close pal, "Even they must have forgotten what you look like". Manoj calmly replies that it does matter when he is the one asking for financial aid and they are the ones providing it! Such practical and nonchalant conversation between the characters is what separates this movie from the regular fare of Bollywood. Ghosh is a master at story-telling, and this movie is a similar exercise. The narrative thus smoothly takes Manoj to a visit at his childhood love and now married Neerja(Aishwarya Rai). On a rain-soaked afternoon of Calcutta, a meeting between two estranged lovers is the crux of this movie. Stagy? Yes. Tedious? Maybe, depending on your taste(don't come to see this after having watched 'Dhoom'). Uneventful? Definitely not! 'Raincoat' is anything but run-of-the-mill. Never in the history of Bollywood cinema(and it's a long one) has there been a story told with such serene meditation. The encounter between the two principal characters is a study in human nature. Both Manoj and Neerja are in a state of derelict. But both make attempts at concealing this from each other. Their façade is not so much a show of pomposity as much a sacrifice that they are willing to make just to ensure that the other person isn't bothered with their own condition of ruins. So while Manoj plays as a successful TV serial producer, Neerja makes stories of her grand lifestyle with servants, chauffeurs, an ever-touring husband et al. Ghosh succeeds at making their dialogues at once, both comedic and dramatic. The thin line between humour and pathos slowly begins to vanish until they absorb into one.

Credit goes to Ghosh for his ingenuous style and attention to detail. In my review of Swades, I had written that Gowariker managed to create a picture of India because of his attention to detail. Well, Ghosh does pretty much the same thing, albeit at a micro level. Whether it is Manoj's ignorance to using a cell-phone, Neerja's biting on her chain or the casual way in which her bra-strap shows- Ghosh splendidly achieves capturing mannerisms. Also note the credit titles which rechristen cinematography as image and editing as montage. Novel and a masterful stroke! 'Raincoat' is furthermore about wonderful performances. Ajay Devgan in the past three years has portrayed memorable characters(Company, Gangaajal and Raincoat) and with 'Raincoat' he emphasizes once more just how comfortable he has become with the camera. Here is an actor who essays roles without ever allowing the camera to catch him unawares. Aishwarya Rai has always been a director's actress. Like Bhansali, Ghosh manages to extract from her a perfect balance of poise and restlessness. The fact that her character basically plays out her part also helps. And finally this movie review will be incomplete without the mention of one Mr. Annu Kapoor. Kapoor plays his part of a landlord with such effortless ease that he reminds us of what a great talent he is and how we have wasted him. There was another Kapur this year that made us do the same thing- Pankaj Kapur in Maqbool. Due mention must be given to Bishwadeep Chatterjee's work on the sound and Shubha Mudgal's vocals in the background. One can argue that she could have been used with more discretion, but that will tantamount to nitpicking! 'Raincoat' is an elegiac tale told with earnestness- Ghosh's gift to an intelligent audience. Watch it and be overwhelmed.

Rating- ****

* Poor ** Average *** Good **** Very Good ***** Excellent

I'll try my level best to portray a "NO SPOILER" review of this movie, although its hard to do so. THE REACTION : After watching this movie, one can easily differentiate two categories of viewers of current Hindi films. There would be the people who get into the theater to relax, eat pop corns and then watch performers in some colourful bands which, like all other pieces of modern art, fail to convey any meaning. Sadly this movie is not for them and if you fall under this category, abstain yourself from watching this movie, for this movie is made for the people who love to use their brains and senses while watching movies. THE "PLAYERS" : Both Ajay and Aishwarya did a very good job in their respective roles. The way that they added a touch of glory to the non-glamorous roles is worthy of praise. But the real "player" was the director who added so much significance to the two characters of the landlord(Annu Kapoor) and The Friend's Wife(Mouli Ganguli) who share a small fraction of screen time each. The short conversation with the landlord and the last dialogue of the male protagonist with his friend's wife is worth a thousand praises. THE TITLE : The rain, the darkness, the mystery all set the tone of the movie. And through the darkness the viewer can actually see the invisible raincoat both of them are wearing to protect themselves from each other discovering what they both want to hide. THE SUBTLENESS : Nothing in this movie has been explained by the director, nor is there an attempt to do so. The boasting dialogues between the two protagonists has loads of softer emotions packed underneath. The viewer has to actually pay attention to the details in order to appreciate the work of the director. Also, the viewer's expectation of a climax is gradually ruled out which eventually turns out to be a very positive thing about this movie, thus giving it what is called a "Repeat Value". THE DRAWBACKS : Apparently there is none. It is not a movie, but a piece of art and the director made it his way - No crappy songs, no running around the trees, no hypothetical and imaginary situations. I'll give this movie 9/10 for the sheer brilliance of the director.

The plot unfolds like that of a master story teller. At any minute you feel that the plot will blossom into a climax, but that is not to be. The tenderness between characters before they married is also played out wonderfully between Ashwariya and Ajay. The cameo of the guy who rings the bell is excellent.I can't reveal his ID can I. The background, not much to see though has been very well made up. What I did not swallow was the cleanliness and the complete lack of it in the two different parts of the same house. It is Ashwariya at ONE of her best roles. She is like putty in the hands of her director. In today's world it would help if the lead character are shown to keeps away from cigarettes and other worse tobacco products as movies influence kids for sure. The ending of the movie is a masterpiece and brought a lump into my throat.

Note: Review out of 4 Stars

Raincoat (2004)

Oh, what a wonderful wonderful film! This is why I love movies. Raincoat is undoubtedly the best film of 2004. Along with three brilliant performances by Aishwarya Rai, Ajay Devgan and Annu Kapoor this film excels in many other departments as well. Aishwarya looks divine. She has acted with magnificence, her best performance yet. Rituparno Ghosh directs this gem of a movie and also writes an excellent screenplay with intricacies and subtleties seldom found in Indian cinema. He is probably one of the best working directors in our country today who surely knows how to adapt a novel or a short story. He creates a dark and eerie world for the two characters a perfect setting for the both of them to … TALK.

Yes, talk.

Actually that is what happens in almost the entire movie which is its strong point, if nothing more. It's a story of forbidden love of Neeru (Aishwarya Rai) and Mannu (Ajay Devgan). Not a love story with all the mush-mush and bollywood style ridiculousness. They were in love but couldn't marry due to some reasons which are not told directly and that's where your brain has to do the working. Watch the film with patience and full attention and you'll notice everything.

So what does a Raincoat have to do with two people who couldn't marry and meet again after a few years? Well, I'm not gonna tell you that. Watch this film and be amazed. I was befuddled when it started, I couldn't believe it was happening. This was movie magic!

The cinematography is beautiful and the sets and the costumes are fabulous. The editing is fast paced and carefully handled. And I haven't gotten to the music yet. So wait. The music is fan-frickin-tastic. Shubha Mudgal lends her voice to create some very beautiful Radha-Krishna renditions which complement the film and further add to the greatness of the movie. 'Akele Hum Nadiya Kinare' 'Mathura Nagrapati' 'Raha Dekhe' and 'Piya Tora Kaisa Abhiman' (also sung by Hariharan) are all awesome. The ending is perfect. Spot on!

But I don't call this an ART FILM. In fact, I don't believe any movie can be categorized as an art film. Call it a sensible film and ill give you a pat on the back. There is either a good film or a bad film (plus the superlatives). And this is an excellent film. As I said, this is why I love movies.

Rating: **** (A modern cinematic masterpiece) (It would be criminal if I didn't add that)

P.S. Those who prefer to watch only mindless comedy or romantic flicks, ill just tell you this – STAY AWAY! (Cause you think that movies are only made to make you laugh which shows what an awful person you are, no offense)

The movie is inspired by O. Henry's (William Sidney Porter) "The Gift Of Magi" which Rituparno Ghosh duly acknowledges as the credits roll.

No giving away too much of the storyline, the movie picks up a day from the diary of Manoj (Ajay Devgan), lost and failed in life, now in Kolkatta to seek financial assistance from friends in order to start a business. Admist this, he decides to visit his lost-love Neerja (Aishwarya Rai). Ironically, its a rainy day and hence the Raincoat.

In terms of acting, its Annu Kapoor who stands tall, pity that his acting talent is confined to Antakshari. As a compassionate yet frustrated land-lord he gets into the skin of the character in terms of the accent and mannerism.

Ajay Devgan has matured to a dependable actor and once again proves that he can portray any role with ease.

Aishwarya Rai, not to mention director's favourite, "had" immense scope in this tailor-made role, sadly does meet the mark. Somehow it appears that she lacked conviction (or was she busy paying greater attention to Bride & Prejudice - a step to International fame?). On and off she used to mutter a few Hinglish words to convince the audience that Neerja hailed from a village. A bit of homework to watch Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi and Tabu would have been definite help. Or for that matter watching a newcomer Konkana Sen Sharma in Mrs & Mr. Iyer would have given an insight to the amount of conviction and hard-work needed to pull off a fantastic feat.

Surekha Sikri (Ajay Devgan's Mother) did not have enough screen-time.

Mouli Ganguli (Meena) played a modern yet sensitive and understanding friends wife. It is how-ever not explained the reason she was was over-hospitable?

Debajyoti Mishra's music is aptly used to compliment the richness of the visuals. Shuba Mudgal's song "Piya Tora Kaisa Abhimaan" lingers throughout the movie in the background and Gulzar's recital of the poetry give an additional depth to the dimension.

Having read so much about Rituparno Ghosh, I was curious myself to watch Raincoat. And boy, he does have substance. The essential emotion "covert" used by two lead protagonists forming the baseline of the story is portrayed effectively with utmost sensitivity. The control over portraying relationships, the finer nuances taken care of, speak for itself to deliver a product that is nothing short of perfection.

The movie sans commercial ingredients and hence sadly, would be confined to appreciation from a limited audience. And for those limited audience - a must watch.

Well, Now, I've heard about this film before, but, I didn't rent the movie all these days thinking that it would be a melodrama booh booh kinda stuff. But, really speaking, after I've finished up this film, I really can't help thinking about the movie for a long time, without sleeping. Easily, I can say this is one of the best ever romantic dramas I've ever seen.

Speaking about romance, this is not the kinda stuff we see in movies from Yash, Aditya chopra and karan johar. These movies have an artificial type of romance, unseen normally in real life (unless u r a millionaire or a business man and u have all Ur life to go to states and fall in love). But, the kinda romance shown in 'Raincoat' belongs to the other type. Just imagine, U had a love during college days, and it gets broken. She (or for that matter, he) gets married to someone else, and, after many years, u just happen to visit the house of your love on a rainy afternoon. What will you do? That is Raincoat. The romance here belongs to a more matured type. The respect and passion both lovers have towards each other, even after many long years, has been excellently portrayed here.

Also, there is a sudden twist to the story almost half way through the film. It is this twist that makes the film more interesting and passion-filled. From this moment on, the film takes a new form and fills the heart of the viewer with emotion.

Almost entirely, the film features only Devgan and Aishwarya. The background score supports the film very well and has been superbly composed.

If u find time for a good movie and if u want to see some good performance, take this film and see it. U won't regret . . .

I bought the soundtrack in India last month and fell in love with the music. And I finally saw the movie today........wow. I can't believe this is an Indian movie! Don't get me wrong, I love many Bollywood films, but let's face it, there's a formula. There's no formula in Raincoat. To explain in more detail: There's no dancing. Ashwarya looks pale and sullen not her usual drop-dead gorgeous. Most of the movie takes place in one room, so if feels like it was written as a play. And lastly, the pace and style seems very French in that the plot is deep and is revealed slowly.

Because an Indian film managed to do all this, I have to give it a 10. It's definitely in a league with great European films. But it's not better than great European films. The only weak point is Ajay Devgan's lack of expression in certain scenes. His dialogue reveals a man who is at times innocent and gullible, yet at other times he's an adroit liar. His facial expression only fit the latter. Annu Kapoor almost steals the movie away from him.

Ashwarya proves she can act in this film, and I applaud the director for giving her this role. Could any other young star have done any better? No. (But wouldn't Shabana Azmi have been magnificent?) See this movie if you love great films. Don't see it if you want to see a typical Bollywood film.

Raincoat was the opening gala movie at Filmfest DC (Wash. DC)last night. Filmfest DC is entirely foreign (non-US)movies--it goes on about 12 days. The theatre was almost filled, even at $40 a ticket, and the great majority of the audience were non-Indians (including me). The director, Ghosh, was there for a short introduction and a few questions at the end. I was able to ask him a question privately at the reception afterwards, but unfortunately nothing profound occurred to me at the time. Duh.

If you have read any of my posts on the Aishwarya section, you know I am enraptured by her. I am working my way through her movies, so of course I went to see this one. I read through all the previous posts here, and I think they're generally on the mark, but I have some additions.

Art as ambiguity--I think some of the comments about the movie being "art" or not are misleading. All movies are "art." But some art is better than others; great art needs several elements--one is that it's ambiguous enough so that each person feels it's directed to him/her personally, and each person sees something a little bit different in it, or interprets it in a slightly different way--and each way is backed up by evidence. Nor do the director/actors have to consciously intend each interpretation. You can see from previous posts that Raincoat certainly succeeds in this. Is Meena in love with her husband or not? Happy or not? Will Manu collect the money from his friends or not? Will the landlord keep his word or not? What is the significance of the rickshaw in the final scene? etc. The symbols in the movie (the raincoat, the rain, the shutters, the jewellery, the train, the wallet, etc.) all have various levels of meaning. And the themes--love, loss, truth, despair, failure--the movie has something to say about all of these. And even more, it makes you realize what YOU have to say about each. Say it together: It makes you think! Is the story consistent? One of the audience asked the question: "When Neeru went out to get lunch, why didn't she think Manu would look around her house?" Ghosh answered, correctly, that she expected Manu to act in character--he is reserved, not pushy, etc. Manu and Neeru spend the visit lying to each other--but that's what they did in their earlier lives, too, but in a different way. And, as we see Manu interact with his friend and his wife, he lies to them too. Everything is consistent.

Foreshadowing--actions, especially significant ones, shouldn't just pop out of nowhere. They need to be set up, so when you see them you think back and say, "Of course!" (back to consistency!) (Letter, doorbell, necklace, wallet, cell phone, sari....) Nothing extraneous--There shouldn't be anything stuck in that's not necessary. I think this is perhaps the chief virtue of the movie--I can't think of any item, any visual effect, any action, any piece of dialog, that could be taken out without detracting from the movie. Another post wanted more back story--longer flashbacks--No! We don't need to know more. Knowing more eliminates some of the ambiguity.

Atmosphere--everything very coherent. It reminded me of a first novel by an Indian woman who had just graduated from Princeton--I can't remember her name, but it came out in c. 1995, and I think the title was "Rain." It was about an Indian woman who married an Englishman, had a baby, and then decided to leave him--it was set in London. Different story than the movie, but the atmosphere was almost identical--same feeling of loss, regret, inevitability, etc.

Aishwarya--I have been comparing her other movies to my friends by saying they are like the Drew Barrymore/Meg Ryan movies. All these women are really playing versions of themselves--which is great! I like them all! But Aishwarya doesn't play Aishwarya here. Neeru is not Aishwarya at all. And the "flashback Neeru" is totally different than the Neeru in Calcutta--different look, different expressions, different voice, etc. I'll give the director all the credit he wants for this, but you know what? Aishwarya had to actually pull it off, and she did. Are there other actresses who could do this? Sure--Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron...hmmm, not too many others. If you can be grouped with people at the top of your profession, I'd say you were doing OK. Let's have no more talk about how she can't act--she can! Aishwarya #2--In the Aishwarya section of IMDb is a string of posts discussing plastic surgery, etc. Raincoat should have put an end to that nonsense--look at all the profile shots of her nose! This movie makes her look (I think) more "Indian." Fine with me. And she presents herself in scene after scene as less than attractive--whiny, superficial, too talkative, etc.--all part of the character, and certainly not the Aishwarya I've seen in other movies. A brave performance to put yourself out there like that--especially if your claim to fame is your beauty.

Faulkner was once asked what one of his novels was about, and he said "Christ." The questioner thought he was swearing, but he was answering the question. Star Wars, ET, and Lord of the Rings are about Christ too. It's hard NOT to reflect your own culture. To what extent does Raincoat reflect Hinduism? I think I can see some elements, but I'm not a Hindu. Resignation? Fatalism? A cycle of existence? The unreality of reality? Being trapped in life itself? Any thoughts?

This was a brilliantly done movie, I am very pleased to see that the director and crew managed to make a well written story into a wonderful movie in under two hours, when most Hindi movies are close to 3 hours and yet still can't portray something of substance. They took a wonderful story by O Henry and gave it a very modern, yet still touching outlook. I enjoyed it very much. The story was told very simply and to the point without any ornate embellishments. This was probably an overlooked gem, but I would recommend this movie to anyone from anywhere. Aishwarya Rai shows once more how talented an actress she is, but she had a lot of help from Ajay Devgan with his brilliant performance as well.

Mannu (Ajay Devgan) loses his job and goes to Calcutta to raise money for a business venture. There he stays with a friend and his wife. He is loaned a raincoat as he goes from acquaintance to acquaintance trying to get loans. He makes a planned stop to visit his old flame Niru (Aishwarya Rai), who ditched him to marry a rich man with a job. At that point the movie takes on a languid pace and a somber aura as the two former sweethearts catch up on each other's past and talk about their present. Knowing full well that Niru is married into a rich family, Mannu tells her of his bright and prosperous life, while she in turn boasts of her two servants, car and driver. As Niru borrows his raincoat and goes to shop for food, the landlord sneaks his way in and Niru's secrets are revealed. Mannu pays the landlord with his borrowed money and then eats and finally leaves, very saddened at Niru's life. He then discovers what Niru has bestowed upon him in the pocket of his raincoat. This retooling of O'Henry's saga is moody, sad and very sentimental.

Rituparno Ghosh's first Hindi venture, I found this to be a film that did draw me in but is actually quite full of flaws. First - story and character development flaws: Why is Niru so adamant to marry for money and leave Mannu despite his pleadings and their past love? And once she is shown to be a shallow person then why does she suddenly turn generous when she discovers his plea for loan money in the raincoat pocket? Was Niru supposed to be a character we are to be sympathetic towards? Why was she living like a complete slob in that house? Other women do find time to complete their daily chores when they do not have other occupation. Heck some women do that and hold a job! She did not come from a very affluent family, so why this distaste towards house work? When she tells Mannu that her husband is jealous and will beat her or lock her in the house, why does he accept that and then they move on to other topics? In fact the lesser characters like the friend, his wife, the landlord are much better developed than the protagonists.

Second - flaws in the lingo: Aishwarya does not do the 'village girl in town' lingo well at all. There are inconsistencies and the use of words like decent in their modern context does not help. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Iyer before this and Konkona's Tamilian English accent was flawless and always on for the whole film. Ajay's mother speaks a strange village lingo that is not authentic at all for Bhagalpur. Why did Mr. Ghosh not try for a decent language and accent in the film? Or let them speak Hindi.

The good: The movie is full of mood and beauty. The present is gray and rainy, the past bright and colorful. The music is divine and helps the setting up of the mood. The acting by Ajay is competent, though he is always a bit distant - un-engaged. Aishwarya does her best serious role, but it is still sub-par compared to other serious female protagonist roles. I like her best as a bubbly persona - she can do that well. The other folks are just about perfect. The film missed perfection by a fair bit, mostly due to a story and characters that were not quite right. O'Henry it ain't.

Worth a watch though.

Raincoat (2004) : Brief Review :

A Classic Heart-breaker. A pure underrated gem with that rare Mic Drop Burn in the Climax. Bollywood has probably given more number of Romantic dramas than any other film industry in world cinema hence this genre remains the most popular and successful genre in Bollywood. One can easily pick top Romantic classics from 40s to 90s and we can say that the quantity of quality films went down after 2000s. There are hardly few classics in romance genre made after 2000s, as much as we can count on fingers and Rituparno Ghosh's Raincoat is definitely one of those few films. I don't know why this film has remained underrated for years, i mean to hell with the dumb audience and critics who didn't give it the high status it deserves. It doesn't appear in any critic's list nor in IMDb top rated films then what the hell does those lists include? Raincoat is intense, thoroughly gripping and pure and a heart-breaker that can even break stone hearted fellas. Manu and Neeru, once love birds who had to part meet each other after some years and tries to make things looks good when they are not. Ajay Devgn as Mannu gives whatever needed for the character keeping his stardom and heroic image aside. He was the perfect guy to play the role from physics to looks to intensity (needed) and loads of love for the the great actor for fulfilling all the requirements of the character. Aishwarya Rai too didn't hesitate while keeping the glamour away and bringing more of naturalistic touch and believe me you are gonna remember her for this film. Ghosh's direction is pure class. He brings the regional touch of that Bengali loacalism in everything to make things looks classier. He even uses the lyrics and music with Bengali tones. In one line, Raincoat is one of those rare Classic Love Story with pin-drop silence and hidden heat in the Climax.

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Director/writer Rituparno Ghosh scored over O. Henry in placing the spotlight on the raincoat by choosing to call the film by the name of the attire.

For O. Henry, the spotlight were the on gifts and what leads to the gifting (i.e., instead of the Magi's gifts--read the lovers' gifts). Note: The sari offered by a third character in good faith in the film is not used as a gift.

For Ghosh, the raincoat is almost a character, requiring a woman's perfume, worn by both the main characters, playing a major role to close the story and finally to be worn by the servant (unseen at the beginning and the end). The main character even states that he might lose an umbrella but not a raincoat.

Ghosh's film switches often from the present to the past and then to the present with a felicity that is seamless. I congratulate the editor/director team. Ghosh also did a commendable job restraining his Bollywood actors. Aishwarya Rai and Annu Kapoor gave notable performances. And full marks for the art direction--the film captured the claustrophobia and the urban poverty that is always present in lower-middle class Kolkotta.

Ghosh has proved that good Bengali cinema is alive and well. It reminded me of Mrinal Sen's "Khandahar" also made with good Hindi film actors in a Bengal setting. Ghosh, Aparna ("36, Chowringhee Lane"} Sen, and Gautam ("Paar") Ghose are the only three that could take Bengali cinema forward the way Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak did decades ago.

Before I start I would like to state that I loathe conventional Bollywood cinema. I hate the fact that any tension or drama that has(in some very exceptional circumstances) been built up over the course of a scene, can be destroyed by wholly unnecessary dance number. I hate the fact that Indian cinema uses the same formula for all its films and plagiarizes western cinema when it wants to try something new, because its writers are so inherently lacking any form of creativity or originality.

My wife begged me to take her to this movie, and I have to say that it's the best Indian film that I have ever had to watch. I liked the colour (subtle green hues), I liked the background music (classical understated), I liked the mood (subdued),I liked the dialogue (believable) and I loved the ending. Its good that a film can just end and leave you to reflect about what you have seen and draw you own conclusions, rather than spoon feed you at the end.

So I say, watch this film if you want to see something a little more involving than the usual mix of singing, dancing, violence and overacting.

Though I've seen lots of Hindi movies, never been a big fan of them. Mainly because of their similar themes, very obvious ending, bad acting, overacting, useless songs, unrelated characters and jokes, twisting historic facts and famous novels beyond recognition, etc.

But this movie is a piece of art. I've enjoyed other movies by Mr. Rituparno Ghosh, but this is different. The only thing I can say is I've felt and been moved this way only after watching very few movies in my entire life.

To me this movie is essentially a love story but a very pragmatic one. The scripts, directing and acting are absolutely top class. I'd say Mr. Ghosh is the best director in India after Satyajit Ray.

This movie is easily in my top 5 movies. Hopefully it'll get nominated for Oscar and I'm confident it has a superb chance of winning it.

If you don't know about indian cinema and just starting to watch i highly recommend you this this is masterpiece this is the movie i would like to make but never would Some films attempt to showcase a series of wonderful moments and tend to go overboard. Raincoat captures just one poignant moment and tells it as simply it can, leaving you with a 'wow!'

I have almost missed this movie shown in national TV.. I missed the credits except the last potion "direction by Rituparba Ghosh." I saw his film Chokr Bali and I was not impressed because it looked like a film which confuses even an off beat viewer. .But this film RAINCOAT is very good. Many have commented on this film in Internet Movie Database (there are 5 pages of comments) and consistently everybody praised the movie.

This movie is more like a play. The ambiance was a room in Neeraja's middle class house and couple of scenes in richer friend's house. This story is supposed to be adaptation of "The Gift of the Magi" by O'Henry. In the short story of O'Henry it is much more poignant where each really sacrifices something they perceive as precious to them.

RAINCOAT is a simple story of a man from a upcountry town trying to meet his girl friend whom he loved for sometime in his younger days. No great guilty expectations are shown by Manoj in visiting his ex love. Perhaps he was more interested to get some credit form the "rich" husband. But the reality was not rosy and each tried to give a dream like description of their lives. Manoj comes to know of the miserable life Neeru is having . Neeru also comes to know of his poser from the letter in the packet of the raincoat. In a small way each tried to help each other by losing some valuable things.

I always believed Ishwara Rai, in spite of her glamour and beauty, can act very well under an able direction and in this film she fulfilled that promise. She even shed her glamour and designer dresses and of course she still looked middle class attractive woman. Devgan as Manoj underplayed his role to the extent sometimes he mumbles his words.

An interesting film. I felt that I am seeing a good play by Harold Pinter. It is refreshing from the garish overacting commercial Indian films or TV serials. I wonder why TV serial writers do not think of such stories though such serials cannot be mega serials with plots and subplots and inner plots.

The movie is very slow, but the audience is thrilled in the end. the audience gets annoyed when both the main characters of the movie pretend to be well off for a very long time.

Here's my 2 cents:-

Sadly - These kind of movies are an instant 'flop' in Indian cinema, because these movies are [ as someone rightly put here ] a gift to an intelligent audience. This jargon,does not exist in the majority. So movies like these have only one way to go , the cemetery. Even after knowing this, Ghosh makes this movie, hats off to him.

about...Annu Kapoor. I too agree that he reminds me of what a great talent he is and how he's been wasted in shows like "sa-re-ga-ma" and suit.....

Final note:- and I've to admit that the story's been inspired [ copied as some may say ] from "The Gift Of The Magi" written by "William Sydney Porter aka O Henry", but has the complete Indian touch given to it, which was shamelessly missing in "black".The streets in the sets of "black" were 19th century English cobbled streets with victorian backdrops. I mean what point was bhansaali trying to depict?

I'm glad that Ghosh has taken the guts to show

some torch in the otherwise Bollywood rut.

'Black' is just a shoddy 'wannabee' in front of

this.

But like all things, at the end, good sense prevails...Black will go down in history as a mega

huge multi million dollar money spinner making bhansaali a mega tycoon, while Raincoat may just scrape a few cents in for Ghosh. Very sad, but that's the way it goes today and who am I to disagree.In This world today, glorified c*#p has immense value than rock hard quality.

Sorry guyz/gals...nothing personal, just a point of view of worth 2 cents.

This Rituparno Ghosh mis-directed debacle of an attempt has got the worst of every possible thing you can put together in a movie. But then, it's not so bad that you can laugh at it (ala Hello Brother) - it is just a short notch above; where it has not fallen from torture to joke.

Premise: Ajay Devgan is a village-boy who comes to Calcutta to borrow some money from friends to start a new business. During his stay there, he pays a visit to Aishwarya Rai, an old flame, now married off to some rich travelling guy. That's it.

Acting is pathetic - now that's normal for Aishwarya Rai, but surprisingly true even for Ajay Devgan in this movie. All characters speak in installments, as if it'll make the performance credible for an off-stream movie. It's shot without a lighting technician. Story is a joke. Direction (as in, where is it going?) is non-existent. Sad... really, Sad. If there was a saving grace in the movie, it could have been the teeny bit by Annu Kapoor. But his part is also let out of the movie like the belch after over-eating.

Avoid at all costs.

My Rating ---> 0.5 of 5