"Being Cyrus" might be Homi Adajania's first call of duty on the director's chair but it isn't the youngster first tryst with Indian cinema. Adajania has been an assistant in such films as "Bhopal Express" and "Everybody Says I'm Fine". And although these films spew a mix of quality and mush, nothing will prepare for you the stunning brilliance Adajania displays in his maiden venture. Making its grand premiere in North America and Europe, I happened to catch "Being Cyrus" at a film festival. A sold-out crowd here witnessed the birth of a great young talent in Adajania.
Much before the release of the film, Adajania had repeatedly stated that "Being Cyrus" in no way, shape, or form reflected Parsi life. He had deemed it to be a thriller laced with black comedy at its core with the Parsi aspect only being relegated to its characters. Written by Kersi Khambatta and Adajania himself, "Being Cyrus" focuses on six major characters and how their lives interconnect during the course of the film. One fine day, Cyrus (Saif Ali Khan), after a disastrous childhood, comes as a drifter and settles upon residence with the Sethnas'. It doesn't take much conviction for Dinshaw Sethna (Nasseruddin Shah), a retired dope-smoking sculptor, and his immoral wife, Katy Sethna (Dimple Kapadia) to accept him in their house willfully. At first, as Cyrus narrates, life went on without much of a dilemma. The initial scenes involve Dinshaw growing close to Cyrus, depicting a father-son relation, and Katy growing close with Cyrus in a flirtatious manner. Chaos ensues when the younger brother of Dinshaw, Farrokh Sethna (Boman Irani) and his father Fardounjee Sethna (Honey Chhaya) come in the picture. The foundation, of what appeared to be a solid, close-knit family, starts to crack. As Cyrus reveals through his narration, a long-standing feud looms over Dinshaw, Farrokh, Katy and their father. Without having to delve into further spoilers, problems embark upon the family with Cyrus' arrival and as the film goes deeper into each character's psyche, Cyrus also comes off with a revolting baggage of history which brings out his true colors as the film progresses. Keeping in the somber tone and mood of the film, Adajania delivers a whopper of a climax sure to jolt the viewer in marvel of the entire product.
Adajania's final concoction isn't totally devoid of flaws. Some of the portions of the film which dredges the minds of these characters and projects their thoughts on screen (a particular dream sequence seems phenomenal and repulsive at the same time!) seem forced and out of context with the utter realism "Being Cyrus" exemplifies. Other than these shortcomings though, for a debut venture, this is a landmark for director Homi Adajania. Not only does he deliver a first-rate feature, but he extracts fantastic work from his entire cast. Not a single faulty performance here. A rarity in Bollywood! In a act that surpasses his sterling work in "Ek Hasina Thi", Saif Ali Khan gives a towering act here as the title character and moves with such fluidity and finesse, from the rakish stranger to the cold-blooded monster he becomes in the process of cohabiting with the Sethnas, that it will leave the viewer in complete awe of the actor's talent. Dimple Kapadia never ceases to amaze. The woman still has the chops of a Tabu or a Konkona Sen when quality is presented before her. Another achievement for the established actress. Ditto for Boman Irani who is fast becoming the best character actor Bollywood cinema hasn't seen since the heyday of Nasseruddin Shah and Om Puri. Honey Chhaya (a riot here), Manoj Pawha (wonderfully rendering a foolish inspector here) and Simone Singh (graceful as Farrokh's wife) are all given meaty roles here by Adajania and return the favor by putting forth excellent work. Comparing to the five actors aforementioned, Nasseruddin Shah is given little to do as the stoner but does it in such an exquisite fashion that it shouldn't even come as a surprise anymore as he is undoubtedly one of the greatest thespians Indian cinema has ever produced. The camera-work, here by National Award Winner Jehangir Chowdhury ("Holi") is impressive, without having to employ picture post-card quality, as Chowdhury primarily relies on steadicam to demonstrate the grittiness that the characters of "Being Cyrus" possess. Editing is first-class with London-based editor Jon Harris in fine form doing the snip-work here. The biggest revelation, however, is the background music (no songs here folks) by Salim-Sulaiman which is simply mellifluous here. Barring their work in "Teen Deewarein" and, to an extent, "Ab Tak Chappan", Salim-Sulaiman haven't composed anything worth of mention. In "Being Cyrus", though, they make a firm stand with their most outstanding score to date. The superb dialogues and the highly original and taut screenplay comes courtesy Kersi Khambatta and Homi Adajania. Running at a frantic pace of 90 minutes, the majority of "Being Cyrus" is in English though there are sporadic instances of Gujrati thrown in there for good measure.
Above all, a tremendous kudos is in order for Homi Adajania for having the guts to take on such a audacious, bold venture as this for a debut vehicle. This is the definition of an offbeat film folks, a distant contradiction to the so-called "offbeat" rubbish we have been subjugated to from the degrading likes of RGV. Seeing as how 90% of films today just seem to work the good ol' formula to death while the others just profess to be "different", Adajania deserves the highest form of adulation for his remarkable vision as a filmmaker with "Being Cyrus".
Much before the release of the film, Adajania had repeatedly stated that "Being Cyrus" in no way, shape, or form reflected Parsi life. He had deemed it to be a thriller laced with black comedy at its core with the Parsi aspect only being relegated to its characters. Written by Kersi Khambatta and Adajania himself, "Being Cyrus" focuses on six major characters and how their lives interconnect during the course of the film. One fine day, Cyrus (Saif Ali Khan), after a disastrous childhood, comes as a drifter and settles upon residence with the Sethnas'. It doesn't take much conviction for Dinshaw Sethna (Nasseruddin Shah), a retired dope-smoking sculptor, and his immoral wife, Katy Sethna (Dimple Kapadia) to accept him in their house willfully. At first, as Cyrus narrates, life went on without much of a dilemma. The initial scenes involve Dinshaw growing close to Cyrus, depicting a father-son relation, and Katy growing close with Cyrus in a flirtatious manner. Chaos ensues when the younger brother of Dinshaw, Farrokh Sethna (Boman Irani) and his father Fardounjee Sethna (Honey Chhaya) come in the picture. The foundation, of what appeared to be a solid, close-knit family, starts to crack. As Cyrus reveals through his narration, a long-standing feud looms over Dinshaw, Farrokh, Katy and their father. Without having to delve into further spoilers, problems embark upon the family with Cyrus' arrival and as the film goes deeper into each character's psyche, Cyrus also comes off with a revolting baggage of history which brings out his true colors as the film progresses. Keeping in the somber tone and mood of the film, Adajania delivers a whopper of a climax sure to jolt the viewer in marvel of the entire product.
Adajania's final concoction isn't totally devoid of flaws. Some of the portions of the film which dredges the minds of these characters and projects their thoughts on screen (a particular dream sequence seems phenomenal and repulsive at the same time!) seem forced and out of context with the utter realism "Being Cyrus" exemplifies. Other than these shortcomings though, for a debut venture, this is a landmark for director Homi Adajania. Not only does he deliver a first-rate feature, but he extracts fantastic work from his entire cast. Not a single faulty performance here. A rarity in Bollywood! In a act that surpasses his sterling work in "Ek Hasina Thi", Saif Ali Khan gives a towering act here as the title character and moves with such fluidity and finesse, from the rakish stranger to the cold-blooded monster he becomes in the process of cohabiting with the Sethnas, that it will leave the viewer in complete awe of the actor's talent. Dimple Kapadia never ceases to amaze. The woman still has the chops of a Tabu or a Konkona Sen when quality is presented before her. Another achievement for the established actress. Ditto for Boman Irani who is fast becoming the best character actor Bollywood cinema hasn't seen since the heyday of Nasseruddin Shah and Om Puri. Honey Chhaya (a riot here), Manoj Pawha (wonderfully rendering a foolish inspector here) and Simone Singh (graceful as Farrokh's wife) are all given meaty roles here by Adajania and return the favor by putting forth excellent work. Comparing to the five actors aforementioned, Nasseruddin Shah is given little to do as the stoner but does it in such an exquisite fashion that it shouldn't even come as a surprise anymore as he is undoubtedly one of the greatest thespians Indian cinema has ever produced. The camera-work, here by National Award Winner Jehangir Chowdhury ("Holi") is impressive, without having to employ picture post-card quality, as Chowdhury primarily relies on steadicam to demonstrate the grittiness that the characters of "Being Cyrus" possess. Editing is first-class with London-based editor Jon Harris in fine form doing the snip-work here. The biggest revelation, however, is the background music (no songs here folks) by Salim-Sulaiman which is simply mellifluous here. Barring their work in "Teen Deewarein" and, to an extent, "Ab Tak Chappan", Salim-Sulaiman haven't composed anything worth of mention. In "Being Cyrus", though, they make a firm stand with their most outstanding score to date. The superb dialogues and the highly original and taut screenplay comes courtesy Kersi Khambatta and Homi Adajania. Running at a frantic pace of 90 minutes, the majority of "Being Cyrus" is in English though there are sporadic instances of Gujrati thrown in there for good measure.
Above all, a tremendous kudos is in order for Homi Adajania for having the guts to take on such a audacious, bold venture as this for a debut vehicle. This is the definition of an offbeat film folks, a distant contradiction to the so-called "offbeat" rubbish we have been subjugated to from the degrading likes of RGV. Seeing as how 90% of films today just seem to work the good ol' formula to death while the others just profess to be "different", Adajania deserves the highest form of adulation for his remarkable vision as a filmmaker with "Being Cyrus".