DIFF 2010 - Shor (Noise)

'Shor' translated Noise is a story set in the Ganpati visarjan/festival-clad Mumbai. The film uses the typical formula of 3 independent stories running parallel and intersecting with a common agenda at the climax; the only difference being that this time it structures itself around the 11 days of the Ganpati festival with a significance attached to the prominent days such as Day 5 - Penitence, Day 10 - Contemplation, etc. (contrived?! no no not at all!) Quite literal in its association to the structure, the plot also supposedly moves on so. But in actuality the little white text at the corner of the screen, telling you what day it is, is the only marker that you have for your 11-day journey. Nothing in the movie tells you whether its day 1, 2, 3 or 59, infact the story looks set over alomst 3 months till you realise it shows Day 5!

The problem area in the movie is the constant show of the concept skeleton to establish structure, rather than an scintillating play of skin clad over frame adding layers of depth of thought to a one-line concept. The film tries to talk about everything from failed love stories to bomb blasts to festivity and that is where hundreds of thoughts appear, but as sporadic incidents, rather than woven layers. The expression (screenplay) chosen to show these un-connected incidents ends up being too orderly and linear and takes away from the chaotic flavor that the 'Noise' was supposed to be about. We do not hear anything qualifying for the noise, except for the Visarjan chaos shown during the climax, ofcourse as predictable as birth after labor.

Even on a literal platform, the noises that comprise chaos are limited to backgorund scores of the 'aarti', 'ganesh pandal', and lighted neighbourhoods, versus the noises in the minds of the protagonists, the failing love or the corruption-frustrated NRI or in the actions of small-time daily wages goons. The movie clearly looks like a one-liner added with a tadka of Mumbai and convoluted into a multi incident feature film.

6:30pm, 15.12.10 MOE 2