Being Cyrus - A Review

Saif Ali Khan in an English movie?? I had heard of Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia et al doing the odd English film, but Saif?? Now this was new. This curiosity took me to Sterling to watch Being Cyrus. What did I think? Read on.

Right from the beginning, it strikes you that this film is different from the rest of the pack. There is no grand entry of the hero, hardly any background score and no flashy credits. In fact, the credits are almost "Hollywoodesque" in nature. So, you now sit down to watch the movie, a packet of the famed caramel popcorn in hand.

We are slowly introduced to the Sethna family, spread out over Bombay and Panchgani. Slowly, we come to grips with the eccentricity of each member of the family - the dreamy elder son, his frustrated wife, the dominant younger son, his beautiful and, sadly, bullied wife, and the patriarch who is now forced to live the life of a recluse by his younger son. Adajania draws you in further and further into the plot while, at moments, giving us glimpses into Cyrus' troubled past. The story is well told through the eyes of Cyrus, who, helpfully, adds his own take on the various members of the Sethna family. The ending of the movie is also well-constructed with the suspense being maintained right till the very end. The narrative does tend to get disjointed at times, but it only adds to the suspense.

Performance-wise, everyone in the movie is good. Naseeruddin Shah, as the dreamy Parsi simpleton does a very good job. But then, we have now come to expect that from him, haven't we? Dimple Kapadia as the mentally and sexually frustrated wife, again turns in a brilliant performance. Boman Irani is the perfect cranky Bawa, one you may expect to find anywhere in Bombay. His performance is so eerily convincing that you just HATE him. Simone Singh, as his meek and demure wife who likes to secretly enjoy in her husband's absence is also the right choice for the role. But, the movie belongs to Saif. Everything he does is simply perfect. Just the right glint of menace for a fleeting moment before he is all charm again. He just seems to be unable to do anything wrong at the moment. I hope he continues in this vein for a long time to come. For, in him, we have one of India's finest actors, one who can show that you needn't be a hunk of beef to make a point. Saif, take a bow!!!

Urban India has grown up. No longer are the people content to just sit back and watch a certain actor (Cough!!! Cough!!!) wear loud clothes and amuse (sic!!!!) them with his antics. They want the real stuff. And they want it dished out to them as it is. No garnishing, no embellishments.

Director Homi Adajania doesn't disappoint in this respect. The fare that he doles out here is pretty grim. But, the moot point is that he manages to make an impact. And that, friends, should be enough for us to sit up and take him seriously as a filmmaker and not just another also ran!!!