Om-Dar-B-Dar

Om-Dar-B-Dar is a rite-of-passage film released in 1988 that is a captivating exploration of life, youth, and the human condition. Akin to an ephemeral dream, this movie defies traditional notions of narrative and propels its audience on an odyssey through an uncanny sequence of bewildering and amusing events. The film has a prestigious cast, starring Anita Kanwar, Gopi Desai, and Lalit Tiwari, the actors bringing their considerable talents to bear in bringing to life the diverse characters of this surrealist rural fairy tale.

Directed by renowned filmmaker Kamal Swaroop, Om-Dar-B-Dar is recognized as an avant-garde milestone in Indian cinema, and represents a daring departure from the usual narratives typical of the conventional Bollywood cinema. Swaroop has dared to break the conventional boundaries and offers a refreshing, if not bewildering, new form of storytelling that discards the usual linear progression for a seemingly random, but deeply connected, series of interconnected events.

The movie illustrates the story of Om (played by Aditya Lakhia), a teenage boy growing up in the Indian town of Ajmer during the 1970s. Om embodies the typical teenager, riddled with curiosity and the inherent rebelliousness that comes with discovering one’s independence. His family, including his father (Lalit Tiwari) who works in a government department and his sister Gayatri (Gopi Desai) is just as unique, each engaging in their own various idiosyncratic passions. The role of Om’s mother is brilliantly portrayed by the talented Anita Kanwar.

The movie unravels into a mishmash of threads involving science, philosophy, magic, and religion that twist and entwine, serving as a metaphor of the unpredictability of life. Om's narrative is punctuated by bouts of existentialism and incidents that blur the line between the real and the surreal. He has a knack for holding his breath underwater, a skill that leads him to become an assistant to a frog-loving scientist, and this only becomes the tip of the iceberg of the strange events in Om’s life.

Each character in Om-Dar-B-Dar, from the immediate family to other unique entities inhabiting Om's world, adds their own quirky spice to this melting pot of absurdity. Be it Jagdish (Ankur Tewari), Om's fast-talking friend who harbours an ambitious dream to be a Hindi film lyricist, or Miss Hawa Hawaii (Anita Kanwar), a woman whose apparent magic tricks blur the lines of reality, each character is different, yet, dissolved in the same essence of quirkiness.

Om-Dar-B-Dar is not merely a movie; it is a remarkable piece of art with surrealism, metaphors, and abstractions blanketing the narrative. It's a film that's incredibly difficult to categorize or even explain, however, its cryptic nature is one of its most appealing attributes. Om-Dar-B-Dar invites its audience to step into a world where the linear confines of time and logic are wilfully ignored and serves as a showcase of the astounding richness and variety of life.

Om-Dar-B-Dar has a distinct style of storytelling accentuated by an experimental and unconventional narrative style, marked by occasional bursts of songs and monologues. The screenplay spirals across several introspective, absurd, and philosophical themes. This may produce an initial dispersion of plot; however, the viewers would soon realise a designed chaos where every bit of absurdity finds its inherent connection and fits in a place it is meant to, rather like puzzle pieces.

The cinematography of Om-Dar-B-Dar is commendable for its time, bringing the quaintities of the Indian heartland to life. It has an uncanny flair of capturing the ordinary in an extraordinary fashion. The sound and music in this film are carefully curated, spawning from traditional Indian musical genres to the more contemporary tracks, while the dialogues are a blend of puns, poetry, and profound musings on existence.

Predominantly, Om-Dar-B-Dar embodies a spirit of adventurism, a resistance against the usual narratives, which makes it a classic of Indian cinema. It may not appeal to those expecting traditional storytelling, but for those looking for a journey down an unfamiliar path in cinema, this film is an invitation into a world where the laws of logic and narrative are suspended, and the unexpected is the norm. It would certainly become a memorable and thought-provoking watch.