Prawal Raman’s Gayab Turns 21

The basic premise of an inconspicuous common man (played by Tusshar Kapoor) who gets his wish of vanishing into thin air is promising — though for home-viewing purposes. It allows the maltreated protagonist a certain lascivious leeway into places where civilised society does not allow us to enter. Hence, our mousy hero Vishnu Prasad is suddenly and violently ubiquitous. In a prolonged celebration of secluded erotica, he barges into his dream-girl’s hi-tech bedroom (some classy art décor by Jeena Shetty and Rashid Rangrez) as she is bathing.

She is on an overdrive with video games, and yet has the audacity to be shocked when her boyfriend Sameer (Ramman Trikha) confesses he once, just once, tried drugs. A strange dichotomy runs through this tale of wish fulfilment. The characters are clean, uncomplicated, simple people caught in a bizarre situation that fails to energise the plot or the audience.

Though some of the early scenes (like when the still-visible hero is slapped by the heroine’s boyfriend at a café) have the power to touch you, the touch does not continue with the film. The narrative grows progressively powerless after Vishnu acquires supernatural powers. To director Prawaal Raman’s credit, he does not overdo the emotions. And except for the protagonist’s mother, all the characters behave ‘normally’, given the abnormal scenario of a hero whom no one can see — except the audience.

Hence, while the audience is watching (and the characters are not), Vishnu gets saucy and bold. Many of his misdemeanours of invisibility involve yanking off his tormentor’s trousers or tripping them over. Anil Kapoor was invisible in “Mr India”. But he never really got down to yanking off anything!

Prawaal Raman’s invisible man is more like a mischievous kid. His ‘lost-in-space’ pranks amuse for a while. But then he begins to get seriously nasty, unleashing a desperate havoc on the city, which is totally at odds with the sweet-natured character.

Starting off as a feel-good fable on being invisible, “Gayab” gets lost in a tale of an obsessive lover-boy who must get the girl at any cost. Midway, when Vishnu decides to rob a bank, you know he has lost the plot completely. And so has the director. Yet, if “Gayab” is more bearable than it would seem, it is because the film is affectionately mounted. Piatro Zuercher’s cinematography is like a bunch of ripe mangoes ready to be plucked! The musical numbers by Amar Mohile and Ajay Atul are interesting but too taken up with the titillating task of showing off Antara Mali’s curves. Her manic performance offsets Tusshar’s cool discomfort rather well. So far busy trying to play the college dude, Tusshar finally finds his metier as the uncommonly common man. He is not scared of dropping his defences to look as vulnerable as a wet cat left to fend for itself in a dark alley.

While the lovely Natasha is wasted as Mali’s mom, Ramman Trikha’s beefy-boyfriend act is surprisingly free from malice. Unlike other portrayals of the ‘other man’, he plays a regular guy who gets pushed around. Raghuvir Yadav fails to strike poignant notes as the bereft father (for no fault of his — no actor can look convincing trying to embrace a man who is not there, unless that actor happens to be Sridevi in “Mr India”).

But Rasika Joshi, as Yadav’s ‘bitter-half’ is so cartoonish in her cantankerous role that one wonders if her uni-dimensional wretchedness is supposed to lampoon middle-class anxieties. In fact, cartoon images are ratified in freeze-frames where Vishnu and the other characters turn into cartoon-strip sketches. So after

Director Prawaal Raman spoke to Subhash K Jha on 21 years of Gayab. “Gayab always remains a very special film for me. From the very essence behind its story. To the team, the music, songs, performances. And most importantly, I still get calls from many who call it an influence to fight back being bullied in school. The very fact that it was a film about a superhero who is not a hero for others but for himself, trying to deal with his dormant personal issues to overcome failure, overcome humiliation, to find himself a respectable place in the society, a dignified presence as a social animal… And the super power just acted as his crutches. The super power was just a metaphor. It was all about a simple man who needed to understand that he too can fight back for his respect, for his existence, for his acceptance with respect and dignity.

All what he could not be before the power of invisibility, it became a subject which appealed to me. Unlike all superhero films, this was more about the character, and his issues within. This character had to solve and kill his inner demons first and then fight for societal issues. It deals with inferiority complex of a person who does not have a voice, a visibility, an existence. And the very curse of being socially invisible turns into a boon of the power of invisibility. Ramuji was the best as always even as a producer. I was a fan of Mr India but was not keen to make a film on a character being invisible for that very reason. But it was Ramuji who convinced me by saying, ‘It’s not about a superhero. It’s about a common man and his failed love story across the street. This super power the character uses to overcome his own personal crisis. And how eventually gets resolved to be ready to help others.’

Mr India was like a great comic book and it had all the elements of a classic entertainer. Gayab was a failed love story dealing with the poignancy of the character. Other than the common issue of invisibility, it will be wrong to compare the two. Mr India had a great antagonist Mogambo. Gayab had a great antagonist too: the Mogambo inside. Mr India fought for the country. Vishnu Prasad fought for himself. The very basic thought and approach were different. And of course Gayab had lesser commercial viability since its conception. So we had our budget under control keeping its semi-mass appeal. It was like a superhero film dealing with an adult issue. A failed love story. Not a failed society where the hero needs to stand up for the country.

I feel great when even now people meet me saying it was their story. As they were bullied in school and they got the strength to overcome and become visible. Ramuji had given me a great team. The actors were perfectly suited. I got a chance to work with the great Raghuvir Yadav. The music by Ajai-Atul added the very soul to the film. Co-writing with Kona Venkat was an amazing experience. Working with Rekha and Chinni Prakash was a memorable experience. And the great team at Prime Focus.”