This writer has a habit (don’t know whether it is good or bad) of forcefully convincing his close friends and relatives not to miss something which he feels compelled to say. When he was trying to do this over the phone to a former student cum close friend, he shot back,’ Why don’t you write a Blog on this?’ Hence, here it is. The writer has dedicated readers numbering about 1000 and is yet to succumb to the temptation of putting these blogs through YouTube for broader and more intense viewership, which has its own ups and downs. The second reason for him to get triggered is on commercial lines. That a movie that was produced for one crore rupees fetched a hundred times the profit, even a hardcore saint would be curious to know what is in store of such a movie.
One can see all of us in this movie. Nothing to do with religion, but yes, the Bhagavad-Gita comes into play. This writer’s commercial curiosity ended with spiritual awakening. Now at 70, what else can we expect in a writer than this, critics may contend. No, this movie is not simply a spiritual storytelling but rather a survival drama that everyone undergoes knowingly or unknowingly in their lives, all ages included.
A Gujarati movie may not be as popular as all Woods like Molly, Tolly, Bolly and one wonders if Gujarati movies are dubbed as Gujju or Gollywood but when this writer watched this movie, he was wondering why so much of talent was left unattended all these years. He has put the entire laurel on the OTT, which enabled this lotus to bloom all over the world. With these words in bold, don’t mistake them with the political leanings of this writer. He prefers to be neutral and has no problem as being dubbed as transgender by the politically polarised segments.
For a change, as the title beckons to the omnipresence of Krishna, don’t jump to conclusions.
It reflects two things. The hero’s (Karan Joshi’s – not Karan Thapar or Karan Johar) acting talent. The touching narrative is what draws you to the reality of what every human being goes through, irrespective of demography, geography or time. This is because of the all-pervasive presence of Krishna Whom you cannot see because He is within us, while we struggle for His physical darshan outside us. Now this may tempt Periyarians to disagree, but the belief remains that He is inside them too. Bhagavad-Gita, in a way, prepares us to not only introspect on one’s suffering but rather get used to it and start enjoying as much as not getting buoyed with happiness. Both go as and when the situation and circumstance demand.
Since decades, our watching mythological movies has endeared us to see Lord Krishna in our film stars like NTR, Pavan Kalyan, Shobhan Babu, Krishna, and now in this movie, we get an equally pleasant, calm, and handsome Sruhad Goswami in physical form. It is only our perception that perhaps Lord Krishna looks like them, but surely not them. Our mind is tuned to visualise the invisible Krishna physically in all the forms of any human being like you and me, including all the film stars mentioned above.
The movie is not resplendent with big screen spectacles but visuals of Junagadh and Girnar have been well captured. What we get to see in this movie is an emotional connection. Perhaps those in need of finding peace and spiritual healing can also bank on this movie. This movie convinces everyone that God’s role is limited to showing a path, but it is our duty to perform, prove, and see the light at the end of the tunnel. At places, it may seem slow and sentimental, but still worth watching for the essence of the message, which is the need of the hour for all generations.
Some may criticise that viewers of this move become more of ‘mental’ from the word ‘sentimental’.
Deserves rating of 4/5.
