Pankuj Parashar takes a truly mystic, sensitive and deeply inward-looking subject and treads the fine line between feeling and reason, and tug-of-war between internal and external entities on relationships. Banaras - A Mystic Love Story is just that: a multiple-layered look at the way love can at the same time be all-possessing and liberating.
In subject and treatment poles apart from say a Jalwa or a Chaalbaaz, Pankaj Parashur underliens his versatility as a sensitive director with Banaras, for which he takes a difficult story of relationships, and with the help of exquisite camera work and top-notch performances in well-etched roles, ends up telling a story that is as memorable and thought provoking as it is commercially unviable.
Urmila Matondkar plays one of her best roles to date in Banaras, as Shweta, the gifted and only child of cultured and class-conscious Brahmins (played superbly by Raj Babbar and Dimple Kapadia) in beautiful Banaras. On the other hand, or rather, at the other end of the social spectrum is the young lad Sohan, who, as a newborn infant, was abandoned at the steps of the Ganga in Banaras. Since he was rescued and brought up by a sweeper woman, Sohan also inherits the lower caste tag of "kamjaat" in the class conscious Banaras. The young Sohan has only one guiding light in his life, and that is the saffron-robed babaji, who is shown as keeping a benign eye on the youngster ever since he was abandoned at the ghat steps.
Caste and social position don't come in the way of young Sohan's heart which is always drawn by Shweta's mellifluous voice as a ten-year-old. He keeps listening to her songs, rapt, from a distance, as she practices. Himself a keen and devoted student of music, Sohan one day draws Shweta to him by his voice, unaware of her attention as he sings in an interview of sorts for the position of professor of music at Shweta's college. Drawn to him by his beautiful voice and his utter simplicity and openness, Shweta soon falls in love with Sohan, who too reciprocates.
Of course, there is pandemonium. And although initially opposed to their marriage, Shweta's parents relent to the marriage when they learn that Sohan is actually a Hindu by birth, and not a lowcaste. There is much celebration and rejoicing, Shweta is on top of the world, flitting about happily, but her happiness is shortlived. On the day of the marriage, Sohan is found murdered! Shweta, distraught, shattered, recoils and leaves the city to become a renowned teacher of spiritualism. It is only when her father is on his death bed that she decides to go back to Banaras, to her parents. And to trace her way back to the city where she first experienced the beautiful feeling of love for Sohan.
Shweta returns to Banaras, and with her return, a lot of the layers in the film's first half unfold to reveal the immense depth and patience of her own personality, and the real meaning of life, of longings, and of the truth behind pre-conceived notions.
Banaras is a treat for movie lovers. Pankaj Parashar displays a profound panache for sensitive handling of relationships. To work on such a difficult, multi-layered story of relationships, and to give it such creative and technical beauty is a rare achievement indeed. Content is king, and leaving debates about the mass appeal of the story of this film, Parashar tells the story with great control. The script has the characters beautifully etched, and every character is defined well, cast better, and played superbly. Raj Babbar as Shweta's doting father and Dimple Kapadia as her mother perform extremely well, especially in the last scene, where she learns what a big heart her daughter Shweta (Urmila) possesses, and literally crumbles before her.
 Ashmit Patel looks good as Sohan. While one would have expected a simmering kind of intensity from him, it is actually his cleancut boyish innocence that really defines the pure soul character that he plays, and he does it pretty well. The only place he is badly let down is by the playback voice that sings for him when he performs at his vocal music interview in Shweta's college. The voice stick out like a sore thumb. In fact, Himesh Reshammiya's music is rather pedestrian and leaves quite a lot to be desired. He does well with commercial club kind of songs, but with pure classical based compositions, much more was expected.
Nirav Shah gives this beautiful film a truly spectacular look with the rich colors of his cinematography, giving it a painted feeling.
But the biggest hero of Banaras is the performance by Urmila. This is her coming of age as a truly sensitive, refined and accomplished actor. Dancing like a dervish and emoting like a natural-born, she has given the all-important central character of Shwetambari several dimensions with a brilliant performance. Definitely meriting a Best Actress nomination, her performance adds a great deal to Banaras - A Mystic Love Story, which, although an excellent love story, is a bit too mystic for the masses. One hopes one's wrong about that. But full marks to Pankaj Parashar. Great work with a difficult subject.
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