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Astitva
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'Astitva' Existential quench of a woman

By N K Deoshi
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

"Astitva" is about a woman's struggle to find her identity. A story told in candid manner, it's most refreshing aspect is that it does not fall in the lines of clichéd, strident feminist tones in treating the subject.

Aditi Shriprakash (Tabu) is a quintessential middle class wife. Her husband, Shrikant Pandit, although not a brute or a wife-beater, treats her as a chattel, sets dos and don'ts for her. She is relegated to kitchen affairs and the upbringing of the kid.

Often

he has one-night-stands with other woman and the only times when he showers his love on his wife is when he needs to satiate his sexual desire. And Aditi, like an ideal Bhartiya patni takes it all stoically.

The twist in the tale comes when Aditi is bequeathed (in the form of a will) the belongings of a long forgotten musician friend (Mohnish Behl). The seed of suspicion is sown in Shrikant’s mind, and after he flips back through the pages of the diary he regularly writes, he comes up with a shocking conclusion that he could not have conceived their son.

Without the scantest consideration, let alone respect, for all that she has devoted to him in 27 years of their marriage, Shriprakash goads Aditi mercilessly for her infidelity while at the same time turning blind-eye towards his own libertine affairs.

Tired of her drab existence and unable to take it anymore Aditi gives in and walks away from marriage, her household, her family in search of herself. It is the beginning of a new life, the opening of a new chapter and the dawn of a new day after a dark and horrifying night.

Tabu shows her acting prowess. The myriad shades that she has given to her character – at times she is repressed, at times oozing confidence, at times frigid, at times sensuous – and the subtle restraint that she brings about in her demeanor proves that she is an actress to reckon with.

Only in the end does Tabu opens up the floodgates and let out all that has been simmering inside her. The harangue that follows is too convincing to be unreal. Sachin Khedekar has played the chauvinist husband with aplomb. The songs in the film are no patch ups and promote towards the continuity.

Mahesh Manjrekar, director of the movie, is fast emerging as the harbinger of change in the kitsch ridden film industry. Pioneering a new sensibility in Indian cinema he is bringing to fore the subjects that are not only different in content and form but also cater to the masses.

In a nutshell “Astitva” is a gripping film with which every woman (if not men) will empathize. A must watch for a movie buff

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