Qissa

2013 "The Tale of Lonely Ghost"
6.7| 1h49m| en| More Info
Released: 08 September 2013 Released
Producted By: National Film Development Corporation of India
Country: Netherlands
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Set in post-colonial India, Qissa tells the story of Umber Singh, a Sikh who is forced to flee his village due to ethnic cleansing at the time of partition in 1947. Umber decides to fight fate and builds a new home for his family. When Umber marries his youngest child Kanwar to Neeli, a girl of lower caste, the family is faced with the truth of their identities; as individual ambitions and destinies collide in a struggle with eternity.

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Reviews

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!
Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
notofdisdimention A well-written script with an honest performance by the cast, the story telling has an Indian folk tale touch.Tillotama Shome is great with her performance, the scenes with the mother and father are perfect and heart touching, and it is because of her performance that this movie comes out as a subtle art film rather than a Yash raj melodrama.The movie talks about the how the desire of having a boy child was prevalent in the past and to what level the people can be obsessed with such pity things and destroy their and others happy peaceful life.Do watch and support the movie, the movie perfectly encapsulates the sense of an Indie classic(that is a new story line) and not an artificial work like "ship of Theseus".
sunny one Qissa is an Indo-European co-production in the language of Punjabi and it seems to be a movie made for film festivals. It is reminiscent of Matrobhoomi: a nation without women, partly because it is based on a similar theme of female foeticide, except here it is presented like a folk fantasy story where the female-child is not killed, but is just undesirable. In this movie the lead protagonist played by Irfan Khan is a Punjabi man who lost everything during the partition civil war, and becomes obsessed with having a male-child to continue his generation. But his wife has already given birth to three female children, so when she gives birth to the fourth one, he wants it to be a boy; want is perhaps a weak word, he NEEDS it, and will not accept a girl-child.The viewer is left rather puzzled because when his fourth child is born, the midwife says "Congrats" and the father is elated announcing "It's a boy, a boy has been born in my house" but the mother herself says in protest "Why don't you kill me already" On what should be a jubilant occasion, the mood is very sombre. The puzzlement continues to haunt the viewer as the boy grows up, that something is a bit amiss about this boy. This boy is looks like a girl a little, he is weak and his sexuality seems to be confused. Then when the boy is now an adolescent and is getting female attention, he does not seem to reciprocate, and at the same time he seems to be struggling to try to be a typical boy who does show interest. It is only when he is married to a girl and his father makes advances on the girl because he wants a boy, does it dawn on the viewer: the fourth child was a girl too. The movie is depressingly slow from start to finish, the best way to describe it would be by the movies tag line --lonely. It maintains its depressing, melancholic mood throughout, supported by a camera that is always moving, but always moving slowly. Also everybody seems to be so serious and the actors all emote very slowly, dragging out scene after scene. The tedium grows, but as the reality dawns on the viewer why it is so, it suddenly becomes hauntingly effective. Unfortunately, when the movie goes into magic realism mode towards the end with the father who is now a wandering lonely ghost, it loses its effectiveness, because the supernatural aspect was not required in this story at all. This movie could have been a brilliant meditation on the sexuality and the identity crisis of a girl who is made to live like a boy, but they shortchange this for a rather bewildering supernatural climax.This is a rather modest production, technical values are just adequate to tell its simple tale, most of it is shot on location and camera- work is pedestrian. The best part is the acting, Irfan Khan is in his elements here and is able to bring out the obsessive quality of the father. The background score is also effective and haunting.The movie is rather lonely to sit through, but it is worth it the end. I was bored for the first hour, but by the time I had realized, though I had a nagging suspicion that the boy is a girl, I was gripped in shock and could appreciate the vision of the director Anup Singh.
singhinder4 Its a story of one unfortunate irrational mind which produces a situation which destroys everyone. If the challenge the nature , it's bound to be a catastrophe and in this movie its a domino effect.The character played by Irrfan is undoubtedly cannot be played and executed by someone other than Irrfan himself. He is a true artist and words are less to describe the versatility he chooses in his film carrier. Kanwar played by Tilotima Shome is also well done. The character is living in self guilt and humility at the same time and its only theater artists that can wear this sheen to showcase their capability.Honestly I had this movie for a long time with me but did not happen to see and when I did - I was just silent for some time. It leaves with thoughts and admire the way this is being narrated. The climax could have been much better and a little pacey. It dragged a bit in the end but till the half time its an interesting , well paced, ready to fire kind of buildup is achieved. You will enjoy as long as you don't die for mainstream only.
momtazbh Part fairytale, part fantasy, part folklore; Qissa weaves together historical ties, family bonds, issues of identity, belonging and the supernatural, to create a film that takes you on a journey that's unlike any cinematic adventure you've embarked on before.Set in the Punjab and beginning at the start of Independence in 1947, the film is a metaphor for many of the experiences that Indians and Pakistani's faced during this bleak period, but rather than presenting the situation from a political perspective, it focuses on the tale of one family and the deep, dark secret that haunts them.The moment she is born Kanwar's father declares her to be a boy, bringing her up as his son. With such a lie there comes burden and over the years we see Kanwar develop and grow, trying to come to terms with his/her alternate gender while the father figure (played by Irrfan Khan) deals with the weight of his actions.From the moment Qissa begins, through to its conclusion, every part of your senses are engaged. Visually the production is stunning. The landscape of the Punjab is depicted as beautiful yet barren. The washed out colourisation adds an ethereal feel, giving the film its fairytale quality. The haunting soundtrack is the soul of the movie, melodic yet mystical, it alludes to the unearthly feelings that engulf each character. Emotionally this films entwines you physically and mentally - there's an urgency to reach out onto the screen and put your arms around Kanwar, knowing there is no one she can turn to, and morally it questions your beliefs about what is acceptable when it comes to upholding family values.To pick out an actor and praise them for their performance would make the others seem insignificant when in truth, every member of this ensemble cast is worthy of a mention. It's not as easy as saying 'the best performance of Irrfan's career' or 'Tillotama Shome masterfully plays a boy and a girl': these are actors who are defining the boundaries of acting itself, presenting to what is largely a conservative audience in Indian, new possibilities.The casting of Irrfan Khan, a Muslim actor who does not speak Punjabi into such a robust Sikh character while Tillotama who plays Kanwar is herself Bengali, again taking on a language that was unfamiliar to her, gives this film an additional layer of intelligence. The language used in the film alters in dialect to reflect different time periods, which itself brings another dimension to contemporary Punjabi filmmaking.One of the highlights of Qissa is the tender depiction of friendship and love between Kanwar and Neeli, the girl that he marries. The portrayal of the warmth, respect and desires the two women have for each other is both honest and sensitive.The folklore element of the movie is at times hard to spot because it feels so natural. Even though the subheading to the film is 'The Tale Of A Lonely Ghost', when you are watching it you don't always recognise the spectres and shadows that accompany each character. Dealing with the supernatural may seem far-fetched, yet because it's done so in context, at no point do you question the authenticity; it is engrained in the script.12 years in the making, Anup Singh's courageous production Qissa is part funded by Indian, German, French and Dutch investors and as a result it contains the essential ingredients that will make this a crossover success for Western and non-Western audiences. Pushing the boundaries of Indian and Punjabi pictures, it's an example of cinema that has the power to define modern filmmaking.