IN CUSTODY
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 5.7
Date Released: varies Running Length: 2:03 Rated: PG (Mature themes)
Starring: Om Puri, Shashi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Sushma Seth, Tinnu Anand, Neena Gupta Director: Ismail Merchant Producers: Whahid Chowhan Screenplay: Anita Desai and Shahrukh Husain based on the novel by Anita Desai Cinematography: Larry Pizer Music: Zakir Hussain and Ustad Sultan Khan Released by Sony Pictures Classics In Urdu and Hindi with subtitles
The most stimulating and intellectually-challenging of ideas do not always make the best of movies. IN CUSTODY is a prime example of this. There is much meat here to chew on, but the flavor is in doubt. By devoting all its attention to a dry, didactic examination of the disappearance of the Urdu language, this movie has filled the screen with poorly-realized characters that function as little more than mouthpieces for getting across the director's point-of-view.
Back in the early days of Merchant-Ivory, before the producer/director team turned their attention to sumptuous British dramas (such as A ROOM WITH A VIEW, HOWARDS END, and THE REMAINS OF THE DAY), films such as SHAKESPEARE WALLAH explored India and Indian themes. In Ismail Merchant's directorial debut, this part of the world is again visited, albeit with considerably less impact.
The story begins with a meek teacher named Deven (Om Puri) attempting to arrange a meeting with the great Urdu poet Nur (a corpulent Shashi Kapoor, who was much trimmer when he appeared in SHAKESPEARE WALLAH). Armed with an antiquated reel-to-reel tape recorder, Deven overcomes the financial demands of one of Nur's wives (Sushma Seth), and the jealousy of the other (Shabana Azmi) to conduct the interview. Much to his dismay, however, Nur is not the great man that his reputation suggests. Rather than reciting verse and sharing his philosophical views on life, he would rather drink rum and eat biryani.
Despite excellent performances from veteran actors Om Puri and Shashi Kapoor, the two main characters in IN CUSTODY lack depth. They function as Merchant's tools to examine the dissolution of a language and the subsequent impact of that event on Indian culture as a whole. Never is a substantial emotional bond forged between the viewer and either Deven or Nur. When a film can't make an audience care about the protagonists, how much more imposing a task is it to generate interest in an issue?
There are flashes of near-brilliance in IN CUSTODY. The principal theme--the shunting aside of Urdu for Hindi--is intellectually engaging. The parallels between the language's decline and that of its premier poet are equally worthy of exploration. Also, Merchant displays a deft hand at capturing the essence of a poverty-stricken India being reluctantly forced into the electronic age.
Unfortunately, the glue to hold these elements together isn't in place. The tone, with its bursts of comedy and out-of-place melodrama, is uneven, and IN CUSTODY's running time is far too long. But the real disappointment is that Deven and Nur are never more than shadows of the personalities that they could be. Too much time that could be used to delve beneath the surface currents of these mens' lives is devoted too reading poetry.
Individual appreciation of IN CUSTODY will largely depend on what you expect from a film. Too many of today's theatrical offerings fall into the "all form, little substance" category. In this case, the opposite is true. What might make for an interesting dissertation doesn't fare nearly as well in the context of a motion picture.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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