Movie Review : Listen Amaya (2013)

[amazon_link id=”B00DTV6AYC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Rating : 4.2/5
Genre : Drama
Year : 2013
Running time : 1 hour 48 minutes
Director : Avinash Kumar Singh
Cast : Deepti Naval, Farooque Shaikh, Swara Bhaskar
Kid rating : PG-13

Before I start this review, let me tell you what a pleasure it is watching the wonderful Deepti Naval and Farookh Shaikh, impeccable actors both, together on screen again, after a gap of many, many years (Shaikh actually makes a “Miss Chamko” remark in the film). With Swara Bhaskar, another wonderful actress, they manage to light up the screen and bring nuance and depth to this moving film.

Leela Krishnamurthy (Naval) is a widow running “Book A Coffee”, an artsy coffee place. It sounds great really, because the place is a comforting looking, low-slung loung-y restaurant, full of books. College folk and other suitably artistic people drift in and out, eating, drinking and having lots of interesting conversations with Leela. After her husband’s death Leela has raised her only daughter Amaya (Bhaskara). Amaya is now all grown-up, a confident intelligent young woman who dotes on her mother. Leela has also found a good friend in Jayant Sinha (Shaikh), a retired photographer who still continues with photography as a hobby. When Leela and Jayant decide that they would like to become more than just friends, and crystallize their understanding into a relationship, Amaya suddenly feels like the odd one out. She makes her displeasure clear and resists all attempts to persuade her into amending her thinking. Leela is at a loss; must she choose between Jayant and Amaya?

This film is about relationships, and the story has been written from a sensible viewpoint. It introduces us to the main protagonists and then settles into the crux of the problem – by this time we know enough about Jayant, Leela and Amaya to make up our minds. “Listen Amaya” portrays positively the thought behind breaking age-old taboos against widows remarrying/marrying in later years – the worrying about what “others” will think. It also portrays positive role models in Jayant and Leela, and in Leela’s supportive in-laws. Moreover, it is refreshing to see the character of Leela, an independent woman, who wants to take a step for her own happiness, of her own volition, after seeing scores of docile, pativrata naris in desi films.

Jayant and Leela are two very mature people, and Naval and Shaikh could not have portrayed them better. Shaikh gives Jayant’s character a warm, lively, playful personality and a forgiving, friendly nature. He says so much without saying a word. When hurt, his eyes betray him, and you know the depth of his emotion by his expression rather than the words he speaks. Naval, looks kinda downcast in comparison but brings to her role the forbearance of a strong, unselfish woman. Swara Bhaskar, whom we have seen before in Raanjhnaa, Tanu Weds Manu and Aurangzeb is a very, very good actress. It is hard to imagine a daughter who loves a mother more, and even harder to imagine that said daughter might have problems with her mother’s happiness, but Bhaskar makes the characterization work.

“Listen Amaya” is well directed and a pleasure to watch. Highly recommended.

Kidwise : This is a clean, classy film, but the story might be beyond the grasp of younger kids.