And Once Again is a Bollywood film with its dialogues in Hindi and English.
We see the beautiful locales of Sikkim, experience the divinity of the Rotating prayer bells, the fluttering holy flags encircling the majestic monasteries, the overwhelming peace filled in the valleys, the rhythmic chanting piercing the silence of the snow peaks. And Once Again movie review…
All was being devoured by Manuvela (Rituparna Sengupta) and Rishi (Rajat Kapoor) during their stay in Sikkim, India.
Manuvela is an architect who is on her official visit. On her insistence, her husband, Rishikesh Nag who is an IFS officer joins her. The serenity of the gorgeous hills keeps both of them oblivious to the events dictated by their future!
Rishi is trying to cope with the reality since he had lost his wife and son in a violent attack when he was posted in Yugoslavia. While he was undergoing therapy in order to overcome his trauma, Rishi met Manuvela – his psychiatrist’s daughter! She fell in love with him. Their marriage helped him to get back to life.
While returning from a monastery in Sikkim, Rishi sees a female monk who resembled his first wife Savitri (Antara Mali). He gets restless with his doubt: he tries to identify her – unfortunately, his suspicion gets confirmed. Subsequently he confides in Manu about this accidental revelation: she also gets shaken.
After this experience, Rishi feels there is surely an uncanny resemblance between the two – the monk and his Savitri. He wants to investigate deeper about the matter. This co-incidence not only baffles him but also sends his life spiralling out of control.
What follows is an unpredictable journey and complex situations where Rishi revisits his past, confronts the present and questions his future while tracing the roots of this incredible coincidence.
Several questions crop up while watching And Once Again. Did his wife Savitri actually die? If she dies, then how did she end up being a monk?
If the monk is his Savitri then why did she not recognize him?
Director Amol Palekar has created the intricacies between the three characters very skillfully. Rajat Kapoor’s talent is visible in his angry outbursts, his reactions to the nightmares, his weaknesses. One really ends up feeling for this man in the film And Once Again.
While dealing with intricacies of man-woman relationship, the film subtly talks about repercussions of violence on human life: its lingering shadow on all of us with its startling shades! Somehow we manage to draw a line between our past and present….
AND ONCE AGAIN we face life!
There are sincere performances by Rituparna Sengupta and Antara Mali who has actually shaved her head for this film and she manages to pull it off.
It is a slow paced film with an average budget shot on the strikingly beautiful locations in Sikkim.
Cast of And Once Again:
Rajat Kapoor – Rishikesh Nag
Rituparna Sengupta – Manuvela
Antra Mali – Savitri
Gerson Dacunha
Nivedita Saboo
Yudene Zongtenpa
Credits & Crew of And Once Again:
Banner – Shangrila Kreations, Parth Productions
Director – Amol Palekar
Story / Writer – Sandhya Gokhale
Lyricist – Asif Ali Beg
Music Director – Debajyoti Mishra, Anjan Biswas
Cinematography – Asim Bose
Art – Sandhya Gokhale
Editor – Abhijeet Deshpande
Screenplay, Dialogues – Sandhya Gokhale
Costumes – Sandhya Gokhale
Sound Designer – Anita Kushwaha
Visual Effects – Biju D., Adlabs
And Once Again, movie review