Memories in March: Avant-garde and beautiful

By
Bhawani Cheerath Rajagopalan

 
Producer: Shrikant Mohta
Director: Sanjoy Nag
Screenplay:  Rituparno Ghosh
Cinematography: Soumik Haldar
Editor: Mainak Bhaumik
Music: Debjyoti Mishra
Main cast:  Rituparno Ghosh, Deepti Naval, Raima Sen

When debut films become successful one does not just enjoy the film per se, but one also starts appreciating the filmmaker for the manner of handling the subject. Gentle persuasion was the method that Sanjoy Nag used to take us through the personality of a young man who never for a moment appears on the screen. Here, one was introduced to a person who could be like any young man of present times. The catch in the film was that the mother, Arati Mishra (Deepti Naval) was seeing a totally new facet of her son, Siddharth.

An Art Curator from New Delhi, the film begins with Arati being received at Kolkata airport by Siddharth’s colleague Sahana Choudhury (Raima Sen). A single parent, she is in the city to receive the ashes of her son who died in a car crash. The son was a copywriter in an ad agency and had a wonderful relationship with Sahana and Ornob Mitra, the creative director. The mother lives in the son’s flat. The time spent in the flat and at his work place is demanding on the mother, more so when she is trying to pack up the belongings. She is told that Sahana was madly in love with him, but the fondness remained unreciprocated because Siddharth’s attention fell on someone else. While the mother looks perplexed about her son’s lack of interest in Sahana, she is totally unready to receive the name of her son’s lover. It is Ornob, the boss. 

Amidst the grief, there is the frustration that builds up in connection with the son’s relationship. The tug-o-war between Ornob and Arati manifests in each trying to stake a claim to his belongings because each one feels the he belonged to him/her alone.  After the initial strain there is a calm that settles in, between Arati and Ornob. It’s an understanding that grows because the object of affection is common.

The film shot mostly indoors, or, in a car, has most scenes with just two characters present in the frame, but that does not create monotony. The poignant moments in the film are the shared moments of memories of Arati, Shahana and Ornob. The film is sad in parts but not grim. Rituparno Ghosh as the boss-partner fits well into the character, thus making the possibly uneasy points in the film very smooth, with no awkwardness in the delineation of the characters.

The single parent’s anxiety to inform the father who now resides in the US with his new wife, is met with the, ‘Leave your message, I’m on a holiday. Will get in touch on return,’ message on the answering machine! The pain of the loss of a child can only be shared between the couple, and what does one do if it has to be done single-handedly. The mother nearly lives some moments of impish mischief of the son when she is reminded of him through little things he has done in the flat. One such was the egg tray in the refrigerator – the last egg in the groove had ‘Caution-Last egg’ written on it! A fond smile that appears on the mother’s face gradually becomes a wistful one. The voice of the son in the soundtrack reading the letters is in marked contrast to the pensive moments of the three people who miss him. 

Dipti Naval has essayed her role of the mother very well. Rituparno Ghosh as Ornob has executed the awkward and possessive lover’s role well. So has Raima as Sahana. There is maturity and sensitivity the three characters bring to Memories in March and in etching Siddharth’s character. Each one misses him in so many ways.

As a first film and as a film handling the subject of homosexuality Sanjoy Nag has done a good job without revealing any awkwardness in points where the truth is out and it has to sink in for the mother. By using a mix of English – Hindi, instead of a film in Bengali, he has increased the possibility of it reaching more viewers.

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