Paheli
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Paheli (translates as Riddle) is a Bollywood movie, released in India on June 24 2005, directed by Amol Palekar and produced by Gauri Khan, Sanjiv Chawla and Shahrukh Khan, who also plays the male lead. Paheli is based on the short story written by Vijayadan Detha and tells the story of a wife (Rani Mukerji) who is left by her husband (Shahrukh Khan) and visited by a ghost, disguised as her husband, who is in love with her and takes her husband's place.
Sunil Shetty, Juhi Chawla, Rajpal Yadav and Amitabh Bachchan have special appearances.
The working title of the movie was Ghost Ka Dost (translates to friend of a ghost).
Synopsis
The movie is narrated by two puppets, voiced by Naseeruddin Shah and his real-life wife Ratna Pathak Shah. Enthusiastic young Lachchi (Rani Mukerji) is to be married to Kishen (Shahrukh Khan), the son of the rich merchant Bhanwarlal (Anupam Kher). But Kishen is a dutiful son who honors his father's wish to start a new, far-away business on a predetermined auspicious date -- which happens to be the day after the wedding ceremony. On the wedding night, Kishen turns away from his wife to finish his bookkeeping, and in the early morning hours he sets off on a business trip that is to last five years. Lachchi is devastated -- so Gajrobai (Juhi Chawla), her husband`s sister-in-law, consoles her, since Gajrobai`s husband (Sunil Shetty) has also disappeared. The next day, "Kishen" reappears to Lachchi's great relief -- but later, "Kishen" explains to her (and only to her) that he is really a ghost who has taken her husband's form after falling in love with her and then learning that her husband has left her so coldly. Lachchi is thus presented a riddle between the representation of all of her desires in the form of the ghost and her real husband. She takes this new, loving, self-confident version of Kishen as her own choice. Lachchi's bliss goes on until four years later, when she is pregnant and the real Kishen realizes he misses his wife only to return to find ... himself. Kishen's family isn't able to determine which one the real Kishen is - they decide to visit the king so he can decide. On the way to the king they meet an old shepard (Amitabh Bachchan) who helps them out. He asks three questions and in the end tricks the ghost to disappear in a bottle. The real Kishen is found out and everyone returns home. Lachchi is devastated over the loss of the Ghost - and in the very end it is revealed, that the Ghost has escaped the bottle and taken over Kishen's body in order to live with her forever. Kishen has therefore become a "gebbeth"; a host person that has become possessed by a personality not its own.
Controversy
Paheli was nominated as India's official entry to the 2006 Oscars, a decision which surprised the film community. Paheli had received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the acting but criticized elements in the direction or with the story in general. Paheli had also performed moderately at the box office compared to other critically acclaimed movies such as Black, Iqbal and Page 3. Some critics have accused the Film Federation of India (the body in charge of nominating official entries to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) of succumbing to lobbying, or pandering to the Academy by appealing to their stereotyped view of Indian society.On the other hand, the film remains a delightful portrait of old Rajasthan, beautifully photographed and very well acted by two preeminent actors of the present day, Shahrukh Kahn and Rani Mukerji. It can also be suggested that Paheli's story was more original than the preferred choices of the critics such as "Black" and "Iqbal." Black, in particular, which was a re-make of the classic Hollywood movie The Miracle Worker, is arguably less "Indian" than a film based on a Rajasthani fable. Furthermore, 'Black' was set largely in English, though some argue that the language spoken in a film should not have any bearing on these decisions.
External links
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