A Separation

A Separation (2011)- Drama, Mystery by Asghar Farhadi         

A movie making you think but not cry...

 

“A Separation” aka “Jodaeiye Nader az Simin” - an Iranian Drama with the touch of simplicity and complication. The name of the film itself says the story of “a separation”.

The story begins from an argument about living abroad between Nader (Peyman Moadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami)- a married couple. Simin prefers to live abroad to provide better opportunities for their only daughter, Termeh (Sarina Farhadi). However, Nader refuses to go because he thinks he must stay in Iran and take care of his father, who suffers from Alzheimers. So that, Simin is determined to get a divorce and leave the country with her daughter.

Here I can see the two sides of caring and love between parents and children. The love of a mother (Simin) for her daughter (Termeh) and also love of a son (Nader) for his old, helpless dependent father. Both are important from different viewpoint.  When, in the court, Simin says to Nader "your father does not even know you" Nader answers "but I know him." Here, the responsibility of a child toward his father is very tangible.

During the movie, Simin insists on the idea of going abroad; when Nader refuses, she believes there is no other way for them except to divorce. Because Simin does not live with her husband and her daughter anymore, Nader decides to hire a reliable and responsible nurse for his father. Therefore, Razieh (Sareh Bayat) enters their house as the nurse. One day Nader comes and sees that his father has fallen from his bed and does not move. He thinks his father just passed away. However, he is still alive and becomes OK after a few minutes. Nader becomes very angry of what he calls "Razieh's irresponsibility" because she left the house and there is no sign of her. When she comes back, Nader brawls with her and pushes her out of the house and Razieh falls on the stairs that causes the abortion of her baby and a new challenge for Nader and Simin appears.

Finally, Nader and Simin agree to let Termeh choose her destiny by saying whether she prefers to live with her father or her mother. The ending of the story is not clear and it is up to the audience to guess whether Termeh wants to live with her father or her mother.

When you will watch this film, you can easily feel that the story is very familiar to you. As if you know what will happen next. Still strong direction, superb storyline, natural acting skill will force you to sit without blinking the eyes. Leila Hatami & Sareh Bayat performed unconventionally great. Sarina Farhadi (Daughter of Asghar Farhadi, Director) also did very well her own part. The right and wrong actions of characters are blurred to such an extent we end up sympathizing with them all. That is the beauty of this film. No one is better than the other. Everyone is wrong and justified at the same time. Everyone is human.

The movie is now particularly famous because it is the first Iranian movie to win Best Foreign Language Film

at the 84^th Academy Awards (2012). Also it is a first Iranian film to ever win an Oscar.

At the end of all the things I must say one thing, judge this film yourself. You decide how do you want to see this movie, in what angle- you will find your answer easily.

Jamini Roy... An Idol...

Jamini Roy was one of the greatest painters of the 20th century. He was born in the year 1887, at Beliator village in Bankura district of Bengal. His father, Ramataran Roy, was a middle class man who resigned from government service to pursue his interest in art. In 1903, when he was only 16 years old, Jamini Roy came to Calcutta (now Kolkata) to enroll himself in the Government School of Art.

As the biography and life history of Jamini Roy unfurls, we get to know that in the early days of his career as an artist, his paintings came across as bland and dull. In the mean time, he started doing odd jobs in order to survive. It was in 1925 that he discovered his true calling outside the Kalighat temple in Calcutta. Jamini recognized his preference as well as interest in the field of Kalighat paintings. From that time onwards, his paintings started reflecting the Kalighat style. By the early 1930s, Jamini Roy became fully conversant with the lines of the Kalighat idiom and switched over to the native materials.

With the passage of time, his paintings started reflecting more and more influence of the indigenous art of Kalighat painting, along with the terracotta's of the Vishnupur temple. However, around mid-1930s, Jamini Roy left the conventional practice of the canvas and started making painting surfaces out of cloth, wood or even mats coated with lime. He even started experimenting with natural colors, using earth, chalk powder and vegetable colors instead of dyes. From 1930 onwards, the career of Jamini Roy took an upward turn and the trend continued till he left for the holy abode, in the year 1972.

His Style
The paintings of Jamini Roy, which belong to the early 1920s, reflect the influence of Bengal School mannerisms. He also made some excellent paintings that marked his entry into the Post-Impressionist genre of landscapes and portraits. Many paintings of Jamini Roy have been based on the everyday life of the rural Bengal. Then, there are numerous ones revolving around religious themes like Ramayana, Radha-Krishna, Jesus Christ, etc. Jamini Roy also painted scenes form the lives of the aboriginal Santhals.

Recognition
Jamini Roy's paintings were put on exhibition for the first time in the British India Street of Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1938. During the 1940s, his popularity touched new highs, with the Bengali middle class and the European community becoming his main clientele. In 1946, his work was exhibited in London and in 1953, in the New York City. Jamini Roy was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1955.

Famous Works

• Cats Plus
• Cats Sharing a Prawn
• Crucifixion with Attendant Angels
• Kitten
• Krishna and Balarama
• Krishna and Radha Dancing
• Krishna with Gopis in Boat
• Makara
• Queen on Tiger
• Ravana, Sita and Jatayu
• Santal Boy with Drum
• Seated Woman in Sari
• St. Ann and the Blessed Virgin
• Vaishnavas
• Virgin And Child
• Warrior King

 Here some of the famous paintings with different style-

Cats sharing a prawn- water colour

St. Ann and the Blessed Virgin

Ram, Sita and Laxmana

The last supper- Oil Painting

Mother and Child