And Once Again Movie Reviews

It's difficult to understand the motivations behind this film. Is Amol Palekar trying to make an offbeat film about loss and longing? Is he trying to make a film about the lure of Buddhist philosophy? Or is he simply trying a Discovery Channel trip to sylvan Sikkim and its salubrious climes? Then again, is there a niche audience in his mind, which might just fail to find its way to the auditorium because of low hype and marketing?

As the name suggests And Once Again is film about the past. This isn't a Hindi film with an English title as is the trend these days (Wake Up Sid, New York). Neither is this film shot entirely in English. The characters switch between the two languages like a lot of people in urban India do. Surprisingly it helps the film flow. Rajat Kapoor (Rishi Nag) is an IFS officer married to Rituparna Sengupta (Malu), a hot shot architect. Whilst visiting a monastery in Sikkim

Rishi (Rajat) is coming to terms with the loss of his wife and son while being posted in a foreign country. Trying his level best to let go of the past and move on, he takes help of a therapist whose daughter Manu (Rituparna) he marries at a later stage. During a visit to Sikkim, Rishi stumbles upon a female monk who reminds him of his first wife Savitri (Antara). There is an uncanny resemblance between the two. It not only baffles him but also sends his life spiralling out of control.

…And Once Again keeps a lazy pace throughout, but there isn’t anything to anchor the viewer – neither th...