Cast: Aida El Kashaf, Neeraj Kabi, Sohum Shah
Rating: ****1/2
The first thought that came to me when I heard what this film was about was 'pretentious'. The scepticism actually began with its title, derived from a classic conundrum posited by an ancient Greek. An Indian film, made by a first-time filmmaker who started off writing syrupy saas-bahu serials, called The Ship Of Theseus? But my fears were unfounded. The Ship Of Theseus is neither pretentious nor precious. It is by far the most original, the most poignantly realised, the most thought-provoking film that I have seen in longer than I care to remember.
If you dismantle a ship, plank by plank, and reassemble it, does it remain the same ship? Like all eternal questions which have remained tantalisingly out of our leaden reach, this one too doesn't lend itself to any easy answers. It could well be yes, no, and maybe, and that would pretty much encompass all of life. Anand Gandhi's film takes us through three strands featuring very different lives and situations, leaving us to taste and engage. And then he brings his planks together in a heartwarming, life-affirming manner. It feels so right that there is a click. On the screen, and in your head.
A visually impaired photographer (Kashef ) goes out with her camera, and finds images which she makes her own. An ailing monk ( Kabi) refuses the sort of medication that may go against his beliefs, and finds faith. And a stockbroker (Shah), nursing a sick relative, makes a long journey to a land far away in order to provide justice.
Each segment is shot as a self-contained unit. And each leads you to a place where you are left asking questions. If your eyes have failed you, does that mean you cannot really see? Or is it that physical sight can actually impede the real, insightful vision? The actress who plays this part does it with such openness and candour that you end up watching her world the way she does, filled with shadow and sound. When she does regain her faculty, does she lose her way of seeing?
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