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Starring: Ajay Devgan, Aishwarya Rai, Mouli Ganguly,
Sameer Dharmadhikari, Annu Kapoor, Surekha Sikri
Director: Rituparno Ghosh
Music: Debojyoti Mishra
Producer: Shrikant Mohta & Mahendra Soni
 'Raincoat'
is a film about two people who come from the same village in
the backwoods of Bihar - a young man, Manoj (Ajay Devgan) and
a woman, Niru (Aishwarya Rai). Two people joined by love, but
separated by circumstance. Star crossed in a way, but not in
the way that the phrase usually implies.
Manu [Ajay Devgan] was from a village in the backwoods. Neeru
[Aishwarya Rai] was the girl next door, his lost love. He
came from his small village to the big city of Kolkata with
hope in his heart. His pockets were empty and he was
desperate for employment. He found his way to her house on a
wet afternoon in a borrowed raincoat. She met him draped in
silk, and shrouded by darkness in a strange gloomy house
crowded with furniture.
Cut to present day rainy Kolkata. Wearing a borrowed
raincoat, Manoj arrives to meet Neeru. The carefree days of
youth are long over. The harshness of day-to-day reality and
responsibility have besieged into the duo's disposition.
 Uncomfortable,
inquisitive, withdrawn and puzzled at different times of the
conversation, Manoj drawls back and forth in his chair,
restlessly smoking cigarettes, as if he is really making an
effort to believe Neeru's tall proclamations. And then…the
raincoat does its bit. The truth comes out. And so do their
intense feelings for each other.
Raincoat" is a film that must find an audience. It harks back
to the golden era of art house cinema during 1975-1985. If
Ghosh had made the film then, he would've quite obviously
cast Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah who would've slipped
into character without a whimper of protest.
What remains with us long after the last frame is the
narrative's tremulous nostalgia. Little droplets of memories
quiver tremblingly over the trees that arch their branches
into Ghosh's static backdrop. You don't see the trees but you
feel the calmness of lives that have gone into emotional
remission.
Rituparno Ghosh's direction deserves no points. The film is
too offbeat, atypical and nonconforming for the Indian
audiences. Cinematography is passable. The background music
is minimal.
Both Ajay Devgan and Aishwarya Rai are strictly okay. No
great shakes definitely! Annu Kapoor is the scene stealer.
Sameer Dharmadhikari is adequate. Mouli Ganguly leaves a
strong impression.
Unlike other thwarted love stories, "Raincoat" doesn't end in
delayed joy. It just ends leaving behind a baggage of unsaid
thoughts and lines.
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