Movie Review: Such a Long Journey

This movie was made in 1998 by Sturla Gunnarsson based on the novel by Rohinton Mistry and a script by Sooni Taraporevala. Sooni does a good job at modifying the novel to a script which helps capture the essence of the Novel without losing too much of the realism that is Rohinton Mistry. This is one of my least liked works by Rohinton Mistry, while it was indeed a very well written and oddly captivating book.

The movie is set in the 1971 just prior to the 3rd India-Pakistan war and the creation of Bangladesh. Rohinton Mistry , who left Bombay (and India) in 1975 just around the 'Internal Emergency' is very openly critical of Indira Gandhi for her so called democratic 'rule'. Her secret police RAW and the Emergency and the Sterilization campaigns of Sanjay Gandhi form important variables in his stories. In this movie it is RAW which is featured to change the life of a Parsi Family living in a Parsi Colony. Roshan Seth plays Gustad Noble, a bank employee in the Central Bank of India. His wife is Dilnavaz played by Soni Razdan. They have a son who manages to get a seat in IIT, which is a very proud moment in the father's life. Also in the backdrop is Major Jimmy Bilimoria a friend of the family who was there all the time including in the time of need for Gustad and one fine day just disappears without a word. Gustad leads a usual Parsi family life and also the life of a father of three children, one being an obstinate and disrespectful adolescent son. Suddenly there is a letter from Jimmy Bilimoria asking the help of Gustad, which leads him into a suspenseful web of money, RAW, the life in Kamathipura. His son with whom he fights all the time leaves home due to the over the top expectations of the father, the daughter falls ill with malaria, the mother starts doing a few witchly rituals for the good of the children, a beautiful doll which the daughter won disappears, a mentally handicapped person who lives in the building is involved in everything, a building wall is to be broken down for road widening. None of the elements come through to culmination or culminate in cliched ways. This was my main gripe with the book as well. It appears more jarring in the movie. Then in the end there is a brief reunion of the two friends. The story can either be looked at as a glance at the Parsi life in Bombay or of a suspense (albeit weak) story involving governmental corruption and friendship and the unfortunate position of the hardworking middle class bank employee friend caught in this. There are a large number of interlinked stories involving all the characters , this is glanced at in the movie. Either way the movie is looked at, it fails in terms of a comprehensive story.

The book is definitely far better in terms of understanding Gustad Noble's character and the way it sucks you in. However the movie is Brilliant in the way it captures Bombay and the art of the pavement artist who is one of the characters in the movie. This is played by Ranjit Chowdhry who is an excellent actor. Some of the pieces of wall/pavement art portrayed in the movie are stupendous. Definitely one of those movies to watch when one might be feeling Bombaysick. Om Puri also plays a role in the movie as Ghulam Mohammed, a friend of Jimmy. Roshan Seth acts excellently in his role as Gustad, Soni Razdan is always charming to watch.