Rituparno
Ghosh,
one
of
the
finest
storytellers
from
Bengal,
chooses
Utpal
Dutt's
play
'Aajker
Shahjahan'
as
the
premise
for
his
new
endeavour
The
Last
Lear.
The
plotline
[the
story
of
an
aging
superstar]
as
also
the
execution
of
the
subject
is
the
type
that
holds
appeal
for
a
miniscule
section
of
audience.
The
problem
with
The
Last
Lear
is
that
there's
too
much
Shakespeare
in
the
movie,
which,
to
put
it
bluntly,
isn't
everyone's
cup
of
tea.
Besides,
certain
themes
may
hold
some
appeal
for
those
into
theatre,
but
don't
work
on
cinematic
level.
Yet,
there's
no
denying
that
The
Last
Lear
has
its
share
of
engrossing
moments.
A
few
individualistic
sequences
are
noteworthy
as
also
the
portrayal
of
characters
by
some
prominent
names.
But
that's
not
enough!
In
a
nutshell,
The
Last
Lear
fails
to
connect.
At
best,
it
may
find
some
patronage
at
Festivals,
but
there's
nothing
for
Indian
moviegoers.
Harry
[Amitabh
Bachchan]
lives
for
acting,
loves
theatre,
adores
Shakespeare
and
absolutely
detests
cinema.
Enter
Siddharth
[Arjun
Rampal],
a
movie
director.
He
is
smart,
Harry
finds
out
in
the
very
first
meeting.
He
is
glad
to
have
found
a
cerebral
partner
to
have
a
conversation
with.
Slowly,
they
bond
over
coffees,
vodka
and
conversations.
Harry
decides
to
work
in
Siddharth's
film.
New
relationships
blossom.
But
an
incident
changes
everything...
Director
Rituparno
Ghosh's
choice
of
the
subject
has
its
limitations.
It's
good
to
think
different,
but
The
Last
Lear
is
abstract.
From
the
writing
point
of
view,
a
number
of
points
remain
unexplained
and
even
if
they
are,
it's
difficult
to
decipher.
Like,
for
instance,
Shefali
Shah's
hatred
for
Preity
is
unexplainable.
Why
does
Shefali
detest
Preity?
Her
problem,
in
the
first
place,
should've
been
with
the
director
of
the
film
[Arjun
Rampal],
not
the
co-actors.
Also,
the
accident
and
the
aftermath
lack
clarity.
Why
does
Arjun
want
a
retake?
Why
does
he
want
Amitabh
to
perform
the
death-defying
jump
all
over
again?
This,
when
he
knows
that
Amitabh
can't
see
without
his
glasses.
Clearly,
the
writing
has
its
share
of
loopholes.
That's
not
all,
for
The
Last
Lear
is
too
verbose,
like
Rituparno's
earlier
film
Raincoat.
It
gets
very
talk-heavy
after
a
point
and
that's
quite
off-putting.
Amitabh
Bachchan
is
the
life
of
The
Last
Lear.
But
it's
definitely
not
his
best
performance
so
far.
The
actor
has
delivered
stronger
performances
in
the
past.
He's
good,
not
great.
Arjun
is
evolving
into
a
fine
actor.
After
ROCK
ON!!,
this
is
another
performance
that
would
fetch
Arjun
laurels.
Preity
is
very
effective.
Shefali
Shah
is
superb.
Divya
Dutta
is
wasted.
Prosenjit
is
alright.
Jishu
impresses.
On
the
whole,
The
Last
Lear
has
something
for
the
Festival
circuit,
but
nothing
for
the
cinema-going
audience
in
India.
At
the
box-office,
it
caters
to
a
minuscule
section
of
moviegoers
at
select
metros
only.
Disappointing!