Review of Utsav

Introduction

Utsav, which translates as `Festival`, is based around two classical Sanskrit plays: Charudatta by Bhasa and The Little Clay Cart by Sudraka. These plays date from 300AD and 400AD respectively.

The main narrative concerns the love affair between Vasantsena and Charudatta. Vasantsena is a stunningly beautiful courtesan who embarks on an affair with Charudatta, a lowly flute player who is gripped by the national obsession for music. Vasantsena, however, is also being stalked by the cruel Samsthanak, the King`s brother-in-law, whose unrequited lust has near tragic consequences.

Drifting in and out of this narrative are minor stories that interweave to flesh out the main story. Vatsayan is a writer who hangs around Vasantsena`s brothel looking for inspiration for his new book, the Kama Sutra. Also hanging around the same brothel is famous thief Sajjal, who carves animal shapes through the walls of places he breaks into (why not just uses the door?), who is love with courtesan slave Madhanka.

The city where this story takes place is ruled by an evil but unseen King (although you`d never guess he was evil based on what you see of his kingdom), and a serious looking anonymous revolutionary is plotting the King`s downfall.

Lastly, a famous masseur is sold into slavery after being ruined by gambling debt. Touched by the kindness shown to him by Vasantsena, this former masseur becomes a Holy man, searching for God and preaching his gospel to all and sundry (when he`s not trying to meditate in peace and quiet).

And that, in a nutshell, is what is going on…

Video

Picture quality is not that impressive, a lot of picture is grainy. This is more of a problem on the lit scenes rather than the daylight location scenes.

Audio

Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that is loud if uninspiring. All the actors speak a mix of theatrical and estuary English, and the whole thing is scripted as if for theatre. A lot of the dialogue is given to hysterics or hysterical laughter, and it just doesn`t sit right within the narrative (in my view, obviously). On top of that, the annoying screaming kid is really annoying and his screaming pierces your ears…

Features

Interview with Shasi Kapoor - 10 minutes with the director

Film Background - text based

Star Biographies - for Shashi Kapoor, Rekha and Amjad Khan

Principal Cast & Production Credit List

Weblinks - are people still doing those?

Conclusion

I found this film really confusing. It`s essentially compiled from two plays, and so the plots intermingle but don`t quite sit right. Whilst some of the narrative flows, I can`t quite comprehend the motivations of the characters or see how some of these situations could possibly have developed. On top of that, it appears that the narrative surrounding the writing of the Kama Sutra is there as a comedy aside, misleading the viewer to its importance at the start of the film as it later disappears from view.

There is some kind of morality involved in this film but I`m confused as to what it is. Maybe it`s a lack of cultural understanding, I can`t really put my finger on it. I`m okay with the fact that the wife of Charudatta would forgive his affair with Vasantsena and take him back. That happens every day. The confusing bit is Vasentsena`s forgiving of Samsthanak, whose lust drove him to almost kill her. It`s a strange ending, and one I can`t quite get my head around.

I found the film to be relatively entertaining but ultimately unsatisfying…