Jan 21, 2014

26th Jan 2014; Anand Gandhi's SHIP OF THESEUS


The Ship of Theseus 
A film by Anand Ghandi
2013/India/Col / 139 minutes
26th Jan 2014; 5.15 pm
Perks Mini Theater

(Screening will start at 5.15 pm with a documentary of filmmaker Anand Gandhi’s interview on making of Ship of Theseus. Screening of interviews (documentaries) of cinematographer Pankaj Kumar, actor Neeraj Kabi and actor/producer Sohum Shah will follow the main film screening.)
The ship of Theseus is as old as conundrums go, harking back to the vessel in which the mythic Greek slayer of the Minotaur sailed. The poser as it was first recorded by Plutarch was: if the planks of the ship were replaced one after the other until nothing of the old timber was left on it, would the ship remain the same?
Ship of Theseus "tries to" ask if there is a beyond outside the body, the material world: if you were to create a man with different parts, would that still be a man (a life, rather, since the emphasis is not just on humans), or would something still be missing?
The narrative follows three separate characters: a young woman who has recently become blind as the result of a cornea infection and now remarkably spends her time as a borderline professional photographer, a monk with very strong core beliefs who is currently involved on the humanistic side of an animal rights court case and finally a young stock broker who seems oblivious to the world around him. We spend a lot of time with each of these characters, their stories presented in succession rather than interspersed throughout the film. 
 
At 139 minutes, Ship of Theseus is a handful once a moviegoer realizes the film is made up of three vignettes that will be connected by the time the credits roll.
Gandhi has done a remarkable job putting together a cast of characters who will openly challenge each other, even during crisis situations. The beliefs of the characters are never simply respected and tip-toed around – it would be nice to see more of this in the real world. If the characters in Theseus teach us anything it is that flexibility and self-doubt are modern day virtues which allow us make those important decisions that often need to be made.
 Only a few films provoke you to introspect and challenge your own convictions as Ship Of Theseus does. Ship of Theseus provokes us to question the beliefs we hold most dear, while at the same time humbling us, as our individual comprehension of the universe can never be more illuminating than a flashlight cutting through the darkness.
( Source : Internet)



 
ANAND GANDHI

Anand Gandhi was born on 26 September 1980 in Mumbai. He is an independent filmmaker and screenwriter based in Mumbai. He was initially involved in parallel theatre, where he wrote and directed several critically acclaimed plays.

His film directorial debut Right Here, Right Now (2003) achieved substantial critical acclaim. Right Here, Right Now is a 30-minute film that deals with the idea of cyclic causality. His second film Continuum (2006) was co-directed with Khushboo Ranka. Continuum is a montage of simple stories from everyday life, popular culture and folklore that explore "the continuum of life and death, of love and paranoia, of trade and value, of need and invention, of hunger and enlightenment".

Anand Gandhi's writing career began in 2000 with the emergence of the daily soap opera genre in India. He wrote dialogue for the first eighty-two episodes of a popular show called Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Kyunki... and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, for which he wrote screenplay, are the longest running TV shows in the history of Indian Television. He is often quoted for his disgust over the aesthetics of Indian television, including the shows he wrote for.

He moved away from his television career to write and direct highly acclaimed award-winning plays like Sugandhi, Pratyancha, Kshanotsav, Na and Janashtaru. Almost all his work has been produced for the alternative one-act theatre. He has written only one mainstream play, Chal Reverse Ma Jaiye. It achieved moderate success commercially and won the Transmedia Best Play award for 2005.

His first feature-length film, Ship of Theseus, premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was discovered as the "hidden gem of the year". It won the Best Film Award at the Transylvania International Film Festival, Best Cinematography Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Jury Prize for Technical Excellence at the Mumbai Film Festival, Best Actress Award at the Dubai International Film Festival.It was given a Special Mention by the Sutherland Jury "for tickling our intellect and showing us rarely-seen facets of Indian life".Critic Derek Malcolm put it on the list of "films that changed our lives", made to celebrate the centenary of The Critics' Circle.

In July 2013, the Philosophy Department of the Mumbai University honoured him with a "Contribution to Jain Philosophy" award.