Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastan carries the city of Mumbai like a knot in the stomach and the character, Arvind Desai, spits its out: “I hate crows, the filth and the stench…”. Defying the crafty devices that make films successful and much like Arvind’s unwillingness to become the worthy successor of a line of rich businessmen, the film portrays a city of beggars, noisy crossroads, flooded streets, dispossessed workers. The film drifts away from the announced “dastan” (tale) down an existential slope where Arvind struggles to find solace in women and seems absent in the political discussions. Something about Arvind Desai is reminiscent of Fabrizio in Before the Revolution (1964). JB
Unreleased in France
