Movie Name: Mr. And Mrs. Iyer
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Cast: Rahul Bose, Konkona Sen Sharma
Director: Aparna Sen
Year Of Release: 2002
Meenakshi Iyer and her infant son, Santhanam, embark on a bus journey to return home, after visiting her parents. At the bus station, Meenakshi is introduced to Raja Chowdhury by a common friend. Raja, a wildlife photographer, is requested by Meenakshi's parents to look after their daughter and grandson during the journey. He agrees. After a short while, the bus is stopped by a traffic jam caused by sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims in nearby areas. The patrolling police visit and declare a curfew due to the riot. Soon, Raja reveals his true identity to Meenakshi that he's actually Jehangir Chowdhury, a Muslim. As a conservative Hindu Brahmin, Meenakshi shudders at the very fact that during their travel she drank water offered by Raja. She curses herself for having to take his help.
After an aged Muslim couple from the bus are slaughtered by a Hindu mob, the passengers spend the night in the bus in fear. Meenakshi saves Raja by planting Santanam in his lap and declaring to the mob that he's her husband, Mr. Iyer and the child, their son. In the morning, the passengers trek to a nearby village to seek accommodation. With the help of a patrol cop, Meenakshi and Raja are provided with the single usable bedroom available in a bungalow. Meenakshi refuses to share the room with Raja and he decides to sleep outside. During their stay at the bungalow, they discover each other's beliefs and understanding of religion. That night, as they witness a horrific murder by one of the mobs, a shocked Meenakshi is comforted by Raja and just like that, in an instant, their religious differences are forgotten. But, what next?
Will Raja be able to stay undercover? Will Meenakshi get back to her husband safely? What about the now nameless relationship between Raja and Meenakshi?
What I loved about it:
The simplicity of the movie is top-notch! Rahul Bose and Konkona Sen Sharma have their career best roles in this movie. Having a Bengali play a true blood Hindu Brahmin is quite something and Konkona manages to do this effortlessly. She is brilliant as Meenakshi and plays the role of a young mother handling an infant perfectly. Rahul Bose supports her in every frame. I love him as an actor. No one can underplay a role as well as he does. The way he calms down a hysteric Meenakshi and slowly forms a bond with her and her son is heart-warming. As a fake couple caught between riots, they do everything to save and support each other.
There sure is a hint of romance between them and that unsaid love turns out to be the USP of the movie in the end. The silence during their final train journey together speaks the loudest. You want them to be together and yet do not want them to break a family. The final look that they share breaks your heart, but you wouldn't want the movie to end any other way. Because as a viewer, there only will be one Mr. Iyer for us.
Runners-up: Misery (English), Mystic River (English), Milk (English).
