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)
( 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.
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