Being Cyrus

Directed by: Homi Adajania

Character sketch:
Saif Ali Khan - Cyrus Mistry
Naseeruddin Shah - Dinshaw Sethna
Dimple Kapadia - Katy Sethna
Boman Irani - Farokh Sethna
Simone Singh - Tina Sethna
Honey Chhaya - Fardounjee Sethna
Manoj Pahwa - Inspector Lovely

If you call, stinking-rotten Parsi language thrown at you on every interval, characters screaming your head off, patchy scenes here-there, people hallucinating and trying to plot against each other - dark and unsettling then this is what Being Cyrus is. There are some mystery movies that leave you satisfied or in awe but believe me Being Cyrus leaves you feeling hollow. The movie has no particular starting and no better ending. And talk about humor - there is none - not dark nor light.

Going by the hype and preview of the movie I was excited to see this twisted movie. The first half finished soon, mostly introducing the characters of the film. But I thought; now the real fun will start and we will get to see something electrifying which will thrill and excite. I was wrong. I was left frustrated.

A Parsi family - Sethnas, reside in the hills of Panchgani. A retired sculptor Dinshaw (Naseeruddin Shah) lives with his wife Katy (Dimple Kapadia). Cyrus Mistry (Saif Ali Khan) shows up at the Sethna house in Panchgani and offers to be an assistant to Dinshaw (Nothing is told about his background or why he has come). He spends a year with them and in the process a romance seemingly brews between him and Katy.

Then we see Cyrus visiting a very Parsi locality in Mumbai where Dinshaw brother Farokh Sethna (Boman Irani) lives with his old father and wife Tina Sethna (Simone Singh). We find Cyrus given all minute details about Farokh’s family through Katy. Cyrus visits Farokh’s old father who is kept at the back side of the house by his son and finds that he is ill-treated by Farokh. It seems like Cyrus sympathies with Farokh’s father.

Farokh is a very angry person who likes to fight with everyone but is afraid of dogs. He doesn’t love his wife Tina. Tina in turn is shown to be afraid of Farokh and whenever he goes out she enjoys smoking and reading. She is also suspicious that there is something between Katy and her husband. In Panchgani, Katy is ever fighting with his absentminded sculptor husband Dinshaw and she finds Mumbai more alluring than Panchgani. She also gets frequent calls from Farokh!

Then suddenly a volley of incidents start happening which make us believe that everyone is two faced and plotting against each other. And you will find that two people who seem almost harmless have destroyed the Sethna fimaly….. for money.

The movie finishes off pretty soon and you will be left thinking many things. The story comes more as a shock rather than entertainment.

Direction by Homi Adajania is marvelous and not once you feel that it is by a debutant. He has handled relationships very practically. Like Naseer-Dimples, where Dimple thinks her husband to be troublesome and bore yet sometimes she do love him for his absentmindedness. In the end she comes to understand that it was her stupidity and infidelity towards Naseer that the family has destroyed and they are suffering.

Another remarkable sequence is between Boman Irani and the father (Honey Chhaya) where Irani leave no point tormenting him. The director has extracted the best out of every actor but if the story would have been a little more explicit, ending inspiring and through major change in dialogue and language department, he would have created a masterpiece.

Boman Irani as the angry fellow is first rate. Dimple is as the philandering housewife is outstanding. Naseeruddin Shah’s role was very simple. Saif is growing as an actor since he is not afraid to experiment. Simone comes as a surprise package.

On the whole it’s a unique attempt that could have come out even better.

Rating: 2.5/5