THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Right from the time Amol Palekar made ‘Dhoosar’, a film on the different and evolving shades of a relationship between a daughter and her dementia-affected mother, the city chapter of Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) had been trying to get the film screened here. Finally it is happening, on Thursday at the Soorya Film Festival. What’s more, Amol Palekar is coming in person for the screening. The film ‘Dhoosar’, that has got rave reviews, even had executive director of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) Marc Watman recommending it for its strong emotional appeal and the scientific, yet humanitarian, approach. In an e-mail interview, Palekar said that ‘Dhoosar’ deals with Alzheimer’s realistically, intensely, but in a humanitarian way. Precisely, but would this portrayal of pain drive the audience away? We asked him that question generally put to makers of films that are sometimes uncomfortably close to reality - would the people watch something on screen that they would not like to deal with in real life? ‘’Viewers do feel alarmed that it may happen to anyone, including themselves, hence they realise their duty to care for the sufferers. People don’t become paranoid and stop living. Human beings are strong and sustain pain, calamities and grief,’’ he replied. And he added: ‘’Generally any theme that will make the audience ‘think’ and which goes beyond the two hours spent in a cinema hall, is looked down upon as ‘less entertaining’. My experience is very different - my films have a sure audience, certainly it cannot pull crowds, but the themes become a talk of the town wherever it gets released. Fortunately, my films get released in all metro cities with English subtitles and can create impact.’’ Palekar’s wife Sandhya Gokhale, who had written seven scripts for his films, including ‘Paheli’, wrote the script for ‘Dhoosar’ too. ‘’It was so intense, but at the same time so lyrical and tender that its superlative artistic quotient compelled me to make the film,’’ revealed Amol Palekar. People in Northern India, Maharashtra and Kolkata loved the film. They were moved especially by the characters performed by ace actors like Upendra Limaye and Reema Lagoo. ‘’Upendra Limaye is a National Award-winning artiste. Reema is magnificent. I challenge anyone to perform as brilliantly as she has done. Smita Tambe, who has played the role of a daughter, is also a very sensitive actress,’’ said Palekar. Amol Palekar has no doubts that Keralites would love ‘Dhoosar’. ‘’Kerala’s audience is a hardcore film-loving one; they have seen many sensitive national and international films for so many years. The God’s Land has created so many great film-makers who have laid down a solid aesthetic foundation,’’ he said. Amol Palekar said as a film-maker he was doing his share of making people alert about this silently creeping toll and how the patients should be treated with dignity, love and respect. But he also seems quite clear that the Malayalam movie ‘Thanmathra’ is not his kind. ‘’I would say that the treatment of the film is too melodramatic for my aesthetic. Mohanlal is such a superb actor that I have been his fan for years. His performance is effective; but I usually shy away from that kind of treatment of the film. I prefer that the audiences react to the scene than the actors in the scene themselves emoting in a louder manner,’’ he explained. The basic strength of ‘Dhoosar’, Amol Palekar said, is its sensitive, layered script and dialogue. ‘’The characters and situations are so well-etched out that the viewers get completely absorbed in the characters’ experience. Though the subtitles dilute the original texture of language, the impact is equally powerful. The cinematography and the music is also another strength of ‘Dhoosar’’’, said Palekar. The film will be screened at the Municipal Auditorium, near Chinmaya School, at Vazhuthacaud. The time of screening is 6.30 pm.
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