Chakra

The reason why I particularly want to write about this movie is that it sort of, in a weird way, resembles French style of cinema, fluid and extremely broad minded. Ironically, the story is set in Bombay's shanties. It essentially has three main protagonists: Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Ranjit Chowdhary.

One of the few scenes which really impressed me was when Smita Patil has a casual fling with Naseeruddin Shah, the local goon who is a regular at her house and is a role model to her teenage son and that same night she asks him to leave the house when her "lover" Kulbhushan Kharbanda is back. Its interesting that even though she is having a stable affair with Kharbanda who is a good potential husband for her, she doesnt even think twice before giving into the temptation of having casual flings with Lukka. The most amazing part is that its all woven as an absolutely normal part of life. No guilt. No remorse. Lovely.

The other scene which seemed almost psychedelic to me was the entire village (Including all the women) getting drunk after someone in the village has passed away. It is a custom there that the person whose kith or kin has died will treat the entire village to a round of drinks. The whole village is tripping, some are expressing sorrow, some are lost in their own world and some express lust and love. Its a really interesting scene.

I think its an extremely interesting movie made in early 80s. One of Smita Patil and Naseeruddin Shah's best!!! Must catch it if u can. It is directed by Rabindra Dharamraj.