Arunoday (अरुणोदय)

"Arunoday (अरुणोदय)"

Watched Marathi movie "Arunoday (अरुणोदय)". This film is directed by Partho Sen-Gupta, a French national of Indian origin. He has also written the screenplay. It's a formal co-production of India and France. Music is by Eryck Abecassis. It stars Adil Hussain (Joshi), Tannishtha Chaterjee (Leela), Ashalata Wabgaonkar (Radhabai), Chinmay Kambli (Babu), Isha Amlani (Naina) and Gulnaz Ansari (Komal). The film runs for about 1 hour 20 min and released in 2014.

Inspector Joshi (Hussain) is a morose lower middle class man. His daughter, Aruna, went missing at the age of six never to be found. His wife became mentally unstable by this shock. Joshi keeps chasing shadows in rain with his gun drawn while getting wet. He keeps coming to Paradise bar during his shadow chases and thinks he may find his daughter there. 

There is a side story of the dancing girls and how small girls are first brought and then groomed to become bar dancers. This house of girls is controlled by madam Radhabai (Ashalata).

This is an art movie. The story happens in Mumbai and entire story (except the last scene) happens at night and during continuous rain. Rain and darkness represent gloom and hopelessness. Arunoday (Sunrise) represents hope, new beginning. 

This movie is a blend of fact and fiction. The blend is so authentic that even when the movie ends, spectators can't decipher what was fact and what was fiction. Whether Paradise bar was real? Did Joshi really visit it? Did he see his daughter? Although there's a happy ending to the movie, one doesn't know if it really happened or it was only in Joshi's imagination. 

Hussain is presented in a different getup with big moustaches. It took me some time to recognize him. He plays the haunted father convincingly. Ashalata is in a counterintuitive role of a madam and does justice to it. Others are ok.

Keeping with the mood of the movie, music director has composed eerie music. The locations are carefully chosen and look authentic. 

This film has won awards in Durban international film festival,  Imagine film festival and Filmfest Munchen.

Watch of you like the art film genre. Otherwise, give it a miss.