...And Once Again - movie review

...AND ONCE AGAIN
A; DRAMA
DIR: AMOL PALEKAR
CAST: RITUPARNA SENGUPTA, RAJAT KAPOOR, ANTARA MALI, GERSON DA CUNHA, NIVEDITA SABOO, YUDENE ZONGTENPA
RATING: '1/2



What's it about: Rishi (Rajat) is coming to terms with the loss of his wife and son while being posted in a foreign country. Trying his level best to let go of the past and move on, he takes help of a therapist whose daughter Manu (Rituparna) he marries at a later stage. During a visit to Sikkim, Rishi stumbles upon a female monk who reminds him of his first wife Savitri (Antara). There is an uncanny resemblance between the two. It not only baffles him but also sends his life spiralling out of control. After sharing his experience with Manu and telling her about the similarity, he decides to investigate the situation. What follows is an unpredictable journey where he revisits his past, confronts the present and questions his future.

What's hot: Palekar has succeeded in creating the right atmosphere for the subject. He deals with the intricacies between the three characters beautifully. Rishi's dilemma and the images conjured up in his mind are presented gracefully. Performances by Antara Mali and Rituparna Sengupta are sincere and heartfelt.

What's not: Pace is uneven and there's no uniformity in the storytelling.u00a0 There are moments when the story goes off-track and the characters lose their charm. You have to be patient to know what's going to happen next. It's a subject that isn't easy to handle, focusing more on interaction between the leads than the situations that would take the plot ahead.

What to do: Strictly for those who follow Palekar's work, ...And Once Again fails to captivate you despite its hauntingly beautiful setup.