Nov 23, 1998
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CINEMA: SUCH A LONG
JOURNEY A Fine Balance The film version does justice to Rohinton Mistry's acclaimed novel. By Anand
When the film was screened at the Vancouver film festival in October, Mistry was relieved to see that Gunnarsson, whose work largely comprises documentary-style productions, had captured the chaotic soul of Mumbai in a way few Mumbaiites could fault. The film, as Gunnarsson says, was, like the novel, "simple, direct and naturalistic". The year is 1971. A dedicated bank clerk, Gustad Noble (played with sensitivity and, yes, nobility by Roshan Seth) does a favour to his old army pal Jimmy Bilimoria (Naseeruddin Shah) by agreeing to hide Rs 60 lakh to help in what seems like a heroic mission. Noble is unwittingly drawn into a network of intrigue when he comes into contact with Ghulam (Om Puri), Bilimoria's front man, who likes to operate out of Mumbai's red-light district and the chor bazaar. Noble's family life begins to unravel as well. His promising son Sohrab (Vrajesh Hirjee) leaves home after a row. His wife Dilnavaz (Soni Razdan) is driven to witchcraft with the help of the upstairs neighbour, the dotty, old Miss Kutpitia (Pearl Padamsee). Simultaneous events in Noble's world make him re-evaluate crucial relationships and he finds that life's big problems aren't always clearly defined. Although Mistry's novel is intricately layered and rich in detail, the film does not give much weight to the subtext of deceit and conspiracy, evidently to maintain a balance between plot and character. Lack of sufficient information about the period -- the political situation in India during 1971 and the scandal over the Rs 60 lakh drawn to aid Bangladeshi freedom fighters that was allegedly re-routed by Indira Gandhi into her personal account -- might confuse western audiences. But Seth is quick to point out that the film is more "about corruption and deceit in high places" than politics,. Did the role mean a special study of typical Parsi behaviour? "Not really," says Seth, "I had just finished playing a Parsi in Bombay Boys ... Communities might have a collective behaviour, not individuals." He adds that Mistry's book tells the actors so much about the details of the character that in a way all artistic choice is already made. "All you do is add your skill as a performer ... I also asked for three weeks of preparation ... during which I read the book and talked to Rohinton a great deal. The book was like a Bible to us," says Seth. Mistry's minutely detailed characters also result in stellar performances from Sam Dastor as Dinshawji, Noble's lecherous co-worker and friend, and Kurush Deboo, as Tehmul the neighbourhood idiot who becomes the sacrificial lamb in Dilnavaz's administration of black magic. The director has cast many Parsi actors in the hope that they will better communicate the subtleties of the community -- which they do to a great extent. The film has clearly benefited from the screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala (who wrote Salaam Bombay), a Parsi whose contacts opened doors to several otherwise inaccessible locations in Mumbai. Jonathan Goldsmith's title score mixes Indian classical music with Hindi pop songs against a background of jazz and a funky improvisation of the 1954 S.D. Burman hit Dil se mila ke dil pyar kijiye (film: Taxi Driver, lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi). Michael Caine loved to tell the tale of two goats who found cans of a film, and ate them up. "How'd you like it?" asked one. "Not bad," replied the other, "but the book was better." In the case of Such a Long Journey the second goat would be hard put to make a choice. |
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When director Sturla
Gunnarsson wanted to film Rohinton Mistry's novel, Such a Long Journey -- short-listed for
the Booker Prize in 1991 -- the Bombay-born Canadian writer remembered the "stories
of a book becoming unrecognisable as a film". He was also puzzled that a blonde
Iceland-born Canadian wanted to tell a story about Parsis, a community about which even
most Indians know very little. 
