Lawyers and film critics share one thing in common - they sometimes must take up cases that require them to go against their principles in search of a greater truth. In the case of film critics, this means watching a film till the very end and then extracting out of the viewing that which advances film-making, human representations of the world at large, and the grand scheme of things.
Fledgling film-makers work under circumstances fraught with uncertainty - completing the film requires much fortitude and support from people willing to put in their efforts, often at next to no financial rewards. Independent film-makers have taken rich advantage of the democratization of film production through digital video. Few initial films are breakthrough efforts - one remembers Praying With Anger, Bad Taste and so on, yet there are others that stand out - Clerks, Pather Panchali, etc.
Which brings us to Arya, a film directed by Manan Singh Katohora. It is a bad film, and yet, like all films, one finds some interesting aspects. It validates almost single-handily François Truffaut's auteur theory of film-making, which believes that a film or body of work reflects the personal vision and preoccupations of the director.
This is a post-9/11 film, expressing the emotions and reactions of first-generational Indian immigrants in New York after that day of empty sky. The protagonist has a number of disjointed experiences, influenced or arising from that day, and in the end, turning back to it as a nexus.
The actors are not really acting, or even playing their part. They are being who they are - somewhat alienated yuppies who must strive harder to fit into their first- and second-generation immigrant cultures - the New York desi scene, social aspirations, inside jokes, frottage are all expressed in a school play-like manner, and serve as distractions from the core plot. The main storyline deals with a television producer who is apparently leading a contented youthful existence until he begins to exhibit strange behavioral traits - the possibilities range from schizophrenia to a dream-like reality, and yet the real world is grotesque enough to not need any parapsychological explanations.
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