Il cinema indiano: non solo Hollywood

1 Nomination, Screen Weekly Awards: Screen Best Supporting Actor

Agni Varsha

2002, regia di Arjun Sajnani

Scheda: Nazione: India - Produzione: Sunny Films, iDream Productions - Distribuzione: Singa Home Entertainment, CMV Laservision, Cinebella Entertainment - Soggetto: basato sulla commedia The Fire and the Rain di Girish Karnad - Sceneggiatura: Arjun Sajnani, T. Jayashree, Anil Mehta - Dialoghi: Atul Tiwari - Fotografia: Anil Mehta - Montaggio: Jabeen Merchant - Art Direction: Shashi Adappa - Costumi: Rukmini Krishnan, Leena Singh - Musiche: Sandesh Shandilya, Taufiq Qureshi - Effetti speciali: Western Outdoor - Formato: Color, linguaggio Hindi - Durata: 130'.

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Kumar Lyengar, Raveena Tandon, Nagarjuna, Ashfaq Rauf, Milind Soman, Sonali Kulkarni, Gopal Piplani, Prabhu Deva, Tarun Kapoor, Raghuveer Yadav, Mohan Agashe, Veena Sajnani, B. G. Sandeep, Zul Vellani, Amog, Nikita, Dipti Bhatnagar, Khalid, Gopi Krishna, Sri Kumar, Gohul V B Nair, Pradeep, Pradeesh, Rajeev, Anil Ram, Sameem Rizvi, G Shankar Rao, Deepti Sudhendra.

Trama e commenti: screenweek.it - cinema.tipiace.it - screenweek.it: «Il film racconta la storia dell'incompreso Arvasu (Milind Soman) che è riuscito a diventare un attore. è innamorato di Nittilai (Sonali Kulkarni) che ricambia il suo amore ma cerca l'approvazione di suo padre e dei vecchi del villaggio prima di sposarlo...».

Plot Summary, Synopsis, Review: IMDb - allmovie.com - rottentomatoes.com - nytimes.com - rediff.com - bollywoodhungama.com - planetbollywood.com - apunkachoice.com - jaman.com - kaminey.net - moviemania.ws - uiowa.edu: «This strange, spectacular film returns to the mythological roots of Hindi cinema, via a tale from the epic Mahabharata that was subsequently dramatized by renowned playwright and actor-director Girish Karnad. Here it is again reworked into a film that stylistically positions itself between art and popular cinema; shot entirely outdoors in the magnificent ruins of the 15th century city of Vijayanagara in Karnataka and with subdued and (mostly) historically plausible props and costumes, yet incorporating mainstream stars and contemporary music and choreography. The result is visually interesting, but the complex and disturbing story may seem merely weird to viewers lacking prior exposure to the several cultural themes that the film invokes—indeed, even those who have had such exposure may (like me) find the film ultimately puzzling. The grim, transgressive tale of Yavakri and his associates is hardly the most accessible of Indian legends, though its resemblance to Greek and Shakespearean tragedy doubtless attracted Karnad and may also have encouraged the filmmakers to pitch it toward an international audience (Agni Varsha was India’s entry in the Commonwealth Film Festival in 2002). As the film opens, an ancient kingdom, afflicted by a decade of drought, is sponsoring a seven-year fire sacrifice or yagya to appease Indra, king of the Vedic gods and bringer of the monsoon. As the ritual, conducted by the stern royal priest Paravasu (Jackie Shroff), nears its end, the sutradhar or leader of a troupe of actors camped outside the city gates (Raghuvir Yadav), petitions the king and his priest for permission to enact a drama. The play is to depict the slaying by Indra of his arch enemy, the water-hoarding serpent Vritra—the most important Rig Vedic myth, which itself dramatizes the release of the heavenly waters that the demonic Vritra is restraining, though this can only be accomplished through a transgressive act, since Vritra is also a (sacred and inviolable) brahman. ...».

Approfondimenti: Movie Review

Conosciuto anche con i titoli: Agnivarsha: The Fire and the Rain; The Fire and the Rain.

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