Gaja Gamini

Gaja Gamini
Directed by	M. F. Husain
Written by	Kamna Chandra (writer) M. F. Husain
Produced by	Rakesh Nath
Starring	Madhuri Dixit Shabana Azmi Inder Kumar Naseeruddin Shah
Cinematography	Ashok Mehta
Edited by	Waman Bhosle Virendra Gharse
Music by	Bhupen Hazarika
Distributed by	Yash Raj Films[1]
Release date	1 December 2000
Running time	122 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Gaja Gamini (English: One with a walk like an elephant) is a 2000 Indian film written and directed by M. F. Husain and is his ode to womanhood and his muse of the time, Madhuri Dixit, who stars as the lead in the film with Shahrukh Khan and Naseeruddin Shah.^[2][3] The film was a box office disaster.^[4]

Plot[]

The central figure of the film is represented by a mysterious figure called "Gaja Gamini" (Madhuri Dixit), who inspires, arouses, and confuses the common man. "Gaja Gamini" is the inspiration behind Leonardo da Vinci's (Naseeruddin Shah) 'Mona Lisa', Kalidas' poem "Shakuntala", and a photojournalist named Shahrukh's (Shah Rukh Khan) photographs. The mysterious "Gaja Gamini" appears as four characters, one of them being Sangeeta, a blind girl from Banaras at the beginning of time, who inspires village women (Farida Jalal, Shilpa Shirodkar, and Shabana Azmi) to revolt against a male-dominated system and carve a niche for women forever. Another character is Shakuntala, who is the subject of Kalidas' poem of the same name. Shakuntala incites jealousy in the women and love in the men around her, charming humans and animals alike in the forests of Kerala. "Gaja Gamini" is also Mona Lisa during the Renaissance, the object of painter Leonardo da Vinci's obsession. Finally, Monika, the most confusing sector of the film, is supposed to represent the woman of the New Millennium. Kamdev, the God of Love (Inder Kumar), walks the earth throughout history, attempting to win the love of "Gaja Gamini".

Thrown into this mix is a large black wall, separating two different periods, and confrontations between Science (Ashish Vidyarthi) and Art (Mohan Agashe) at different points in history, showing that the world itself can change, but its original ideas will always be the same. For example, a play by Shakespeare wrote and performed by actors in the 15th century will still be performed in the 21st century, but with different actors. The confrontations between art and science also bring about the idea that while science is firmly set on believing that which can only be proved, the basis for art is that which can be proved and an intuitive sense that can be felt. Science uses the brain, while Art uses the brain and the heart. Another facet of the film is a "gathri", a small bundle which a woman carries upon her head, like a burden, with which she must walk forever.^[5][6]

Cast[]

• Madhuri Dixit as Gaja Gamini / Sangeeta / Shakuntala /Monika / Monalisa
• Tanvi Hegde as Gaja Gamini / Baby Shakuntala
• Shabana Azmi as Premchand's Nirmala
• Naseeruddin Shah as Leonardo da Vinci
• Shilpa Shirodkar as Sindhu Tej Sapru Tanseen
• Farida Jalal as Noorbibi
• Mohan Agashe as Kalidasa
• Ashish Vidyarthi as Scientist
• Shahrukh Khan as Shahrukh in a special appearance
• Inder Kumar as Kamdev

Review[]

Sumnan Tarafdar of Filmfare gave a positive review of the film, calling it "not something that comes along every day".^[7] Taran Adarsh said "The film has a very colourful look, with the visuals being eye-catching. But as a director, Hussain fails to convey his thoughts on celluloid. On the whole, Gaja Gamini is an artistic film which will not be understood by any strata of an audience - classes or masses. Business-wise, the film is sure to spell disaster. A waste of precious celluloid".^[8]

Soundtrack[]

Hussain approached A. R. Rahman to compose the music for the film, but due to time constraints, he had to turn down the offer. The music was composed by Bhupen Hazarika.

References[]

External links[]

• Gaja Gamini at IMDb
• Gaja Gamini at Bollywood Hungama