Aamis - I got to watch it late, which means I had to live for a rather long time with two things- one, the hype associated with it, primarily the hype about food and hunger being on a rise; and two, the spoilers about the story along with a mixture of varying emotions it generated to respective viewers.
To start off, I don't agree it's about food. Yes, it's a story where food is the primary metaphor, the icebreaker between the protagonists, the reference points of dividing the narrative in a three-act screenplay etc. But, if you've eaten more food after watching it or given up on eating after it, then you have watched it quite literally and not at all laterally. In a way, you watched it with your senses and not with your soul.
However, I do agree it's about love and I agree wholeheartedly.
Love - we've heard about so many kinds of it, have ourselves seen or been parts of so many kinds of it and yet I remember a lovely young friend of mine telling me a month or so ago that when we realize love has finally arrived we also realize that we knew nothing about love from before.
Aamis is a story that has its twists and turns, has its own narrative of mixing the Shringar Rasa with the Vibhatsa seamlessly and putting forth layers of the Adbhuta, Bhayanak, Raudra, Vira, Hasya, Karuna and even Shanta. An aesthetic delight with a soul, and beautiful because all great stories are painfully misunderstood as well as seemingly directionless or gone wrong!
From interest to love to cravings to obsession to going ashtray to realizing it's all about love and nothing else, albeit in a zone where there's no point of return- Aamis is all about one simple picture layered in complexity- holding a hand you believe would feed all your desires however bizarre or expensive that could be!
One question that lingered on my mind after the show was over was whether this is a writer's film or a director's film?
Writing wise, it's an intelligent screenplay. It's evident that a very fine student of world cinema with an immense understanding of storytelling to bring alive the mundane day to day affairs on screen in a rather hypnotic time and space. However, in my view, the story of Aamis is even stronger than the screenplay of Aamis. It's no short of a marvel as a story. Among the entire writing team, the masterstroke was delivered quite early on- by the story itself. The screenplay supported well. The dialogues are on two extremes- sharp, smart, witty, colloquial, contemporarily Assamese on one hand and a tad run-of-the-mill, classically dramatic overused television-like Assamese on the other hand in parts. Perhaps, three dialogue writers in one tight screenplay is an idea which is debatable. Just when I wondered this is the best example of dialogue writing I've seen in an Assamese film in last two decades, the next scene would question that back again with a piece of rather loose dialogue writing. The screenplay, as an effect is a few minutes loose as it seemed to me. Wondered if this was due to loose editing Shweta Rai Chamling and then realized editing was fine and it was a cause and effect of perhaps a tad indulgent writing by the dialogue writers in parts. Editing went almost unnoticed, which speaks volumes about the editing and editor being in a fine time and space with her work.
Visually, Aamis is written by the pen as well as the camera quite stunningly. Very economical in shot selection, no overindulgence of beautifying unnecessarily and quite to-the-point Riju Das, except on a few occasions when aesthetics of what we get to see on screen has taken over what we need to feel in a time and space. The music and sound teams have to be mentioned at the same time because they've cohesively created the ripple effects. Musically, it reminds a bit of the 'In the mood for love' zone, with the 'Moi Bujisu' track - which is not to question the originality but to appreciate the effect of the soundtrack @Quan Bay. 'Jajabori' is a few moments of sheer magnetic vocal baritone as well Rishi Bora. Rest of it, is all about the person behind sound working almost like another camera @Gautam Nair, creating visuals with sound.
Cast- Neetali Das and Sagar Saurabh - you were both outstanding in parts and very very decent in the other parts if not outstanding throughout. Supporting cast is called the supporting cast for a very valid reason and both of you were up to it.
Cameos by everyone else including Utkal Hazowari Sunayana Dutta @Manash Das, @Rakesh Medhi, D'com Bhuyan and in fact, all characters are well justified by their economic yet impactful delivery.
Which brings me to the conclusion that this indeed is a director's film. If almost everything in a feature is so well delivered, then there has to be a special person maneuvering everything from behind. Bhaskar HaZarika - many congratulations and thanks so much at the same time for Aamis. You wrote a story with such mixed layers of ambiguity and clarity on your mind, paper and the screen that you are the hero of this entire thing. Shyam Bora and Signum Poonam Deol - you both prove that producers can make or break it! There're no other ways about it.
And now, the Romeo and Juliet of Aamis-
Arghadeep Barua - Suman is so endearing, so full of innocence, so giving, so crazy yet so gullible, a PhD scholar yet so naive that you've created your own grave with your brilliant performance- you'll be always remembered and compared for this portrayal as a reference point. Every woman would want a lover as giving as Suman yet nobody would dare to be a Suman.
Lima Das - Nirmali is what Suman is not. Nirmali is the fork to Suman's hand but Nirmali is the one who would hold Suman's hand. Such contradictions, such complexity and then such natural adaptability to all that. An emotive and mobile face, fine voice modulation and that pair of eyes, a wonderful confusion between the sea and the sky- they love to love, kill and eat and no one would say 'no'.
@Anurag Kashyap 2.0 - huge gesture to present it and let it bear your encouraging name.
Originally published on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157484443501488&set=a.10150501896041488
To start off, I don't agree it's about food. Yes, it's a story where food is the primary metaphor, the icebreaker between the protagonists, the reference points of dividing the narrative in a three-act screenplay etc. But, if you've eaten more food after watching it or given up on eating after it, then you have watched it quite literally and not at all laterally. In a way, you watched it with your senses and not with your soul.
However, I do agree it's about love and I agree wholeheartedly.
Love - we've heard about so many kinds of it, have ourselves seen or been parts of so many kinds of it and yet I remember a lovely young friend of mine telling me a month or so ago that when we realize love has finally arrived we also realize that we knew nothing about love from before.
Aamis is a story that has its twists and turns, has its own narrative of mixing the Shringar Rasa with the Vibhatsa seamlessly and putting forth layers of the Adbhuta, Bhayanak, Raudra, Vira, Hasya, Karuna and even Shanta. An aesthetic delight with a soul, and beautiful because all great stories are painfully misunderstood as well as seemingly directionless or gone wrong!
From interest to love to cravings to obsession to going ashtray to realizing it's all about love and nothing else, albeit in a zone where there's no point of return- Aamis is all about one simple picture layered in complexity- holding a hand you believe would feed all your desires however bizarre or expensive that could be!
One question that lingered on my mind after the show was over was whether this is a writer's film or a director's film?
Writing wise, it's an intelligent screenplay. It's evident that a very fine student of world cinema with an immense understanding of storytelling to bring alive the mundane day to day affairs on screen in a rather hypnotic time and space. However, in my view, the story of Aamis is even stronger than the screenplay of Aamis. It's no short of a marvel as a story. Among the entire writing team, the masterstroke was delivered quite early on- by the story itself. The screenplay supported well. The dialogues are on two extremes- sharp, smart, witty, colloquial, contemporarily Assamese on one hand and a tad run-of-the-mill, classically dramatic overused television-like Assamese on the other hand in parts. Perhaps, three dialogue writers in one tight screenplay is an idea which is debatable. Just when I wondered this is the best example of dialogue writing I've seen in an Assamese film in last two decades, the next scene would question that back again with a piece of rather loose dialogue writing. The screenplay, as an effect is a few minutes loose as it seemed to me. Wondered if this was due to loose editing Shweta Rai Chamling and then realized editing was fine and it was a cause and effect of perhaps a tad indulgent writing by the dialogue writers in parts. Editing went almost unnoticed, which speaks volumes about the editing and editor being in a fine time and space with her work.
Visually, Aamis is written by the pen as well as the camera quite stunningly. Very economical in shot selection, no overindulgence of beautifying unnecessarily and quite to-the-point Riju Das, except on a few occasions when aesthetics of what we get to see on screen has taken over what we need to feel in a time and space. The music and sound teams have to be mentioned at the same time because they've cohesively created the ripple effects. Musically, it reminds a bit of the 'In the mood for love' zone, with the 'Moi Bujisu' track - which is not to question the originality but to appreciate the effect of the soundtrack @Quan Bay. 'Jajabori' is a few moments of sheer magnetic vocal baritone as well Rishi Bora. Rest of it, is all about the person behind sound working almost like another camera @Gautam Nair, creating visuals with sound.
Cast- Neetali Das and Sagar Saurabh - you were both outstanding in parts and very very decent in the other parts if not outstanding throughout. Supporting cast is called the supporting cast for a very valid reason and both of you were up to it.
Cameos by everyone else including Utkal Hazowari Sunayana Dutta @Manash Das, @Rakesh Medhi, D'com Bhuyan and in fact, all characters are well justified by their economic yet impactful delivery.
Which brings me to the conclusion that this indeed is a director's film. If almost everything in a feature is so well delivered, then there has to be a special person maneuvering everything from behind. Bhaskar HaZarika - many congratulations and thanks so much at the same time for Aamis. You wrote a story with such mixed layers of ambiguity and clarity on your mind, paper and the screen that you are the hero of this entire thing. Shyam Bora and Signum Poonam Deol - you both prove that producers can make or break it! There're no other ways about it.
And now, the Romeo and Juliet of Aamis-
Arghadeep Barua - Suman is so endearing, so full of innocence, so giving, so crazy yet so gullible, a PhD scholar yet so naive that you've created your own grave with your brilliant performance- you'll be always remembered and compared for this portrayal as a reference point. Every woman would want a lover as giving as Suman yet nobody would dare to be a Suman.
Lima Das - Nirmali is what Suman is not. Nirmali is the fork to Suman's hand but Nirmali is the one who would hold Suman's hand. Such contradictions, such complexity and then such natural adaptability to all that. An emotive and mobile face, fine voice modulation and that pair of eyes, a wonderful confusion between the sea and the sky- they love to love, kill and eat and no one would say 'no'.
@Anurag Kashyap 2.0 - huge gesture to present it and let it bear your encouraging name.
Originally published on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157484443501488&set=a.10150501896041488
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