Gulaal is an extraordinary and overpowering film. I watched it a fortnight ago, and I watched it again ten days ago, and it has stayed with me, can’t seem to get over it. This year has been a good year so far for Hindi films, or at least for the slightly adventurous Hindi film viewer: Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, then Dev.D, then Gulaal. If you haven’t seen any of these films, I would suggest that you watch them in this order: Dev.D first, Lucky next, and finally Gulaal.

At the risk of huge generalisation and pomposity, let me posit this: There are two types of good films. One, a film where, as you watch, you admire the directorial thought has gone into it. You are not really emotionally engaged with what the characters in the film are going through, but every moment you admire the presentation and the craft. Examples: Maqbool and Omkara made by Vishal Bharadwaj. You love the intelligence and expertise that have gone into it, but you don’t get dewey-eyed about the travails of the lead characters, even though it’s Macbeth and Othello (especially Othello). The other type of film is immersive: you feel and crave for (or hate) the people you are seeing on screen, and when you come out of the hall, you have had either a cathartic experience or a very satisfying meal. You have not noticed the emotional manipulation you have been through, or you don’t care, you have had your money’s worth. I don’t want to mention any specific example of this type of film-viewing experience, because the line here stretches from Karan Johar to Eisenstein, so let’s just say this would typify classic Hollywood films, from Hitchcock to Spielberg.

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