My penchant for old Indian art films and parallel
cinema knows no bounds. One of the lesser-known art films of the 1980’s, that I
enjoyed watching recently was a Deepti Naval and Pradeep Verma starrer –“Ek
Baar Phir”. With a deeply engaging and bold storyline, along with stellar
performances and excellent cinematography, it surely is one film that I would
recommend every arthouse cinema lover, to watch!
Mahendra (Suresh Oberoi) is a superstar, married to
Kalpana (Deepti Naval) who is a housewife. Kalpana accompanies Mahendra to one
of his film shoots in London. Mahendra is a haughty and conceited fellow, who
is extremely unprofessional and cannot get over his starry tantrums! A night
owl, womanizer and borderline alcoholic are words that describe his disposition
best!! Kalpana on the other hand is aware of his amoral ways, but can do little
to tame her incorrigible husband. She has more or less become his shadow, and
at one point feels so ensnared in her dull/purposeless existence, that life
seems to have landed in a stalemate for her! Despite all the luxuries at her
disposal, her stifled individuality and a pressing void of “passionate love”
continues to sting her- until one day she bumps into a street artist, Vimal
(Pradeep Verma). Their mutual love for contemporary art draws them towards each
other, and from here on; their passionate love affair commences. While
Mahendar, leaves for Switzerland for the second leg of his shoot, Kalpana
insists on staying back to attend art classes!
During this time, the bond between Kalpana and
Vimal deepens and takes a more serious turn. Vimal helps her, come into her
own. His touch makes her understand the true essence of life. Suddenly she
feels that her identity has been re-established and she starts discerning the
basis of her existence, until one day Mahendar turns up at her apartment in
London to surprise her! He ecstatically breaks the news that he has bagged a
film with an American director. He departs for America leaving Kalpana in a
quandary! She realizes that she is so irrevocably entangled in her rut with
Mahender that the idea of relinquishing it all, for her newfound love for
Vimal, suddenly seems far-fetched and inane. She henceforth starts avoiding
him. Vimal is devastated and tries desperately to get Kalpana to talk to him
once, but to no avail. He finally writes a letter to her expressing his wish to
meet her “sirf ek baar phir”.
The movie very beautifully portrays sensitive
nuances of womanhood and the significance of ‘self’ in the life of a married
Indian woman. A quaint and heart-felt portrayal of a woman’s search for her
identity, this coming off age film will surely propel and empower every Indian
woman to stand up for herself, and believe in who she is and what she wants
from life! The film breaks all women associated stereotypes and invokes a new,
refreshing and progressive school of thought!
The above review got published on the link below-
An edited version got published on the link below-
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