The Last Lear
Encyclopedia
The Last Lear is an Indian
film, in the English language
, directed by Rituparno Ghosh
. The film won the National Award of India for Best Feature Film in English in 2007. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan
, Preity Zinta
, Arjun Rampal
, Divya Dutta
, Shefali Shah
and Jisshu Sengupta. Shefali Shah won the 2007 Best Supporting Actress National Award for her role in the movie. It was produced by Arindam Chaudhuri of Planman Motion Pictures.
's play Aajker Shahjahan, Rituparno Ghosh
penned it in 2006, and turned to the actors in February 2007, all of whom accepted the offer. The film began shooting from 28 February 2007 to 10 April 2007; principal shooting took place in Kolkata
and some shooting took place in Mussoorie
, Uttaranchal. Dubbing for the film ended on 31 August 2007.
The Last Lear premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
on 9 September and received a significant reception, earning many accolades after being showcased at a Gala Presentation.
The film was later showcased at the London Film Festival
, and the International Film Festival of India
in Goa
. The film was received positively by critics with many saying that Bachchan has given a career best performance.
The story revolves around Harish Mishra (Amitabh Bachchan
), a retired Shakespearean theatre actor who spent precisely thirty years and nine months on stage and then suddenly quit, and his first and last act as a cinema artist. He is immensely passionate about Shakespeare, believes that nothing even comparable can ever be written, knows all his plays by heart, lives in those stories, condemns modern cinema and considers theatre as a much higher artform for directors and actors to convey their message to an audience.
It is Diwali, a time when box offices are flooded with new releases and Shabnam (Preity Zinta
) has to attend the premiere of her latest movie: The Mask. However, she decides to visit her co-star Harish and heads to a cubbyhole of old Kolkata where Harish is bedridden in a coma. He is being taken care by Vandana (Shefali Shah
) and a nurse, Ivy (Divya Dutta
). Vandana treats Shabnam with spite as she blames her and the entire cast and crew for Harish's condition. But soon they are seen bonding over tea and are involved in a conversation about Harish. In flashbacks, their story and equation with Harish emerges.
The movie sees parallel narration from Goutam (Jishu Sengupta
), a journalist who recalls his encounters with the veteran actor. He had suggested Harish for the lead role to his elder brother Siddharth (Arjun Rampal
) who happens to be an ambitious perfectionist director. After a casual meeting with Harish, Siddharth realizes that to convince Harish to act in his film, he has to win his trust and establish a relationship with him. And, hence, the impatient young auteur attempts to win the trust and collaboration of the aged performer, who sits raging against the modern world from the sanctuary of his study. Sporting a silver mane, Bachchan is irresistible — vain, forceful and impetuous. He trumpets the superiority of Shakespeare over anything modern cinema can ever create.
Harish finally agrees to act in the film. Shooting happens on the stunning Himalayan foothills of Mussoorie
. On the sets he befriends Shabnam and teaches her lessons on acting, life and Shakespeare. As the story unfolds one gets to know his relationship with Vandana, the reason behind his quitting theatre and last but not the least the reason for his illness. The Last Lear becomes a captivating reflection on the comparative artifices of stagecraft and cinema.
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
film, in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, directed by Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh is a Bengali film director. He has won 8 National Film Awards in India and several awards at international film festivals abroad.- Early life and background :...
. The film won the National Award of India for Best Feature Film in English in 2007. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
, Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
, Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
, Divya Dutta
Divya Dutta
Divya Dutta is an Indian actress from Ludhiana, Punjab, India who appears in Hindi and Punjabi films.- Career :She did her schooling from Sacred Heart Convent, Ludhiana...
, Shefali Shah
Shefali Shah
- Biography :Shefali Shah was born in July 1974 and is the only child of Sudhakar Shetty and Shobha Shetty...
and Jisshu Sengupta. Shefali Shah won the 2007 Best Supporting Actress National Award for her role in the movie. It was produced by Arindam Chaudhuri of Planman Motion Pictures.
Production
Basing the script on Utpal DuttUtpal Dutt
Utpal Dutt was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali Theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the 'Little Theater Group' in 1947, which enacted many English, Shakespearean and Brecht plays, in a period...
's play Aajker Shahjahan, Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh is a Bengali film director. He has won 8 National Film Awards in India and several awards at international film festivals abroad.- Early life and background :...
penned it in 2006, and turned to the actors in February 2007, all of whom accepted the offer. The film began shooting from 28 February 2007 to 10 April 2007; principal shooting took place in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
and some shooting took place in Mussoorie
Mussoorie
Mussoorie is a city and a municipal board in the Dehradun District of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is located about 35 km from the state capital of Dehradun and 290 km north from the national capital of New Delhi...
, Uttaranchal. Dubbing for the film ended on 31 August 2007.
The Last Lear premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
2007 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2007 Toronto International Film Festival was a 32nd annual film festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It ran from September 6, 2007 to September 15, 2007. The lineup consisted of 349 films from 55 countries, selected from 4156 submissions...
on 9 September and received a significant reception, earning many accolades after being showcased at a Gala Presentation.
The film was later showcased at the London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
, and the International Film Festival of India
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India , founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually in the beach town of Goa, in the Western Coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of...
in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. The film was received positively by critics with many saying that Bachchan has given a career best performance.
Plot
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
), a retired Shakespearean theatre actor who spent precisely thirty years and nine months on stage and then suddenly quit, and his first and last act as a cinema artist. He is immensely passionate about Shakespeare, believes that nothing even comparable can ever be written, knows all his plays by heart, lives in those stories, condemns modern cinema and considers theatre as a much higher artform for directors and actors to convey their message to an audience.
It is Diwali, a time when box offices are flooded with new releases and Shabnam (Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
) has to attend the premiere of her latest movie: The Mask. However, she decides to visit her co-star Harish and heads to a cubbyhole of old Kolkata where Harish is bedridden in a coma. He is being taken care by Vandana (Shefali Shah
Shefali Shah
- Biography :Shefali Shah was born in July 1974 and is the only child of Sudhakar Shetty and Shobha Shetty...
) and a nurse, Ivy (Divya Dutta
Divya Dutta
Divya Dutta is an Indian actress from Ludhiana, Punjab, India who appears in Hindi and Punjabi films.- Career :She did her schooling from Sacred Heart Convent, Ludhiana...
). Vandana treats Shabnam with spite as she blames her and the entire cast and crew for Harish's condition. But soon they are seen bonding over tea and are involved in a conversation about Harish. In flashbacks, their story and equation with Harish emerges.
The movie sees parallel narration from Goutam (Jishu Sengupta
Jishu Sengupta
Jishu Sengupta , popularly known as Jisshu, is a popular Bengali film actor. Though, his real name is Biswaroop Sengupta, he is more famous as Jishu, his pet name. He is the son of Ujjwal Sengupta, also an actor of Bengali films. His mother, Mukta Sengupta, was a homemaker and a wedding planner...
), a journalist who recalls his encounters with the veteran actor. He had suggested Harish for the lead role to his elder brother Siddharth (Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
) who happens to be an ambitious perfectionist director. After a casual meeting with Harish, Siddharth realizes that to convince Harish to act in his film, he has to win his trust and establish a relationship with him. And, hence, the impatient young auteur attempts to win the trust and collaboration of the aged performer, who sits raging against the modern world from the sanctuary of his study. Sporting a silver mane, Bachchan is irresistible — vain, forceful and impetuous. He trumpets the superiority of Shakespeare over anything modern cinema can ever create.
Harish finally agrees to act in the film. Shooting happens on the stunning Himalayan foothills of Mussoorie
Mussoorie
Mussoorie is a city and a municipal board in the Dehradun District of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is located about 35 km from the state capital of Dehradun and 290 km north from the national capital of New Delhi...
. On the sets he befriends Shabnam and teaches her lessons on acting, life and Shakespeare. As the story unfolds one gets to know his relationship with Vandana, the reason behind his quitting theatre and last but not the least the reason for his illness. The Last Lear becomes a captivating reflection on the comparative artifices of stagecraft and cinema.
Cast
- Amitabh BachchanAmitabh BachchanAmitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
as Harish Mishra - Preity ZintaPreity ZintaPreity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
as Shabnam - Arjun RampalArjun RampalArjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
as Siddharth - Divya DuttaDivya DuttaDivya Dutta is an Indian actress from Ludhiana, Punjab, India who appears in Hindi and Punjabi films.- Career :She did her schooling from Sacred Heart Convent, Ludhiana...
as Ivy - Shefali ShahShefali Shah- Biography :Shefali Shah was born in July 1974 and is the only child of Sudhakar Shetty and Shobha Shetty...
as Vandana - Jishu SenguptaJishu SenguptaJishu Sengupta , popularly known as Jisshu, is a popular Bengali film actor. Though, his real name is Biswaroop Sengupta, he is more famous as Jishu, his pet name. He is the son of Ujjwal Sengupta, also an actor of Bengali films. His mother, Mukta Sengupta, was a homemaker and a wedding planner...
as Goutam - Prosenjit Chatterjee as Cameo
Awards
- 2009: Star Screen AwardStar Screen AwardsThe Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
for Best Film in English - 2009: National Film Award for Best Feature Film in EnglishNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in EnglishThe National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English winners:-References:*...
- 2009: National Film Award for Best Supporting ActressNational Film Award for Best Supporting ActressThe National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress winners:...
- Shefali Shah