Trishna

Producer: Anurag Kashyap

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Starring: Frieda Pinto, Riz Ahmed, Anurag Kashyap, Amit Trivedi, Kalki Koechlin, Roshan Sheth,

Music: Amit Trivedi, Shigeru Umebayashi

Lyrics:

Genre: Drama

Recommended Audience: Adult

Approximate Running Time: 117 min

Film Released on: 13 July 2012

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Story line

Life is often brutal, throw in love, and it gets even harsher. People come into and often times unhappily go out of our lives throughout the years. Hearts are broken, minds are played with, doubts are fostered, and ultimately the challenge is to remain true to yourself no matter what. “Trishna” is a movie in which Frieda Pinto’s understated performance as the lead character brings forth a myriad of uncomfortable emotions with the realization that life’s challenges are not always tied up into a neat little bow with a happy ending. In short, “Trishna” is a film that will challenge the viewer to visit those dark places we usually choose to ignore, and you will come out of it, analyzing your life and the loves that have crossed your path. The movie shapes you with a powerful narrative that packs an emotional punch.

Directed by Michael Winterbottom, the film showcases how destructive an individual can be in someone’s life, and how the currents/eddies of emotion carry the two lead characters on to an inevitable yet unbelievable conclusion. Right off the bat, I have to warn the viewer, that this is a mature film that is not suitable for children in any way. The director is known for pushing the envelope with films like, “Welcome to Sarajevo”, the highly controversial “9 Songs” and “Genova”. He’s not afraid to tackle the dark corners of the human psyche. The screenplay is written by the director and is based on Thomas Hardy’s classic novel, “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”. He’s taken quite a few liberties from the original novel, by collapsing the three male characters of the original into one multifaceted (if damaged) character played by Riz Ahmed (“The Road to Guantanamo”), while Frieda Pinto portrays the character who provides the narrative spine of the film, Trishna. The other major change is that Winterbottom has changed the locale of the original novel to India (Rajasthan). What could have been a disaster, works in a uniquely memorable way due to the director’s handling of film structure.