When first we meet veteran thespian Harish Mishra (Bachchan), he is
gravely ill. The punishments of a film shoot have left the old man in a
coma. His co-star, Shabnam (Preity Zinta), is wracked with worry, but
their director, Siddharth (Arjun Rampal), keeps strangely distant and
refuses to visit his ailing star. In flashbacks, their story emerges.Siddharth first had to woo Harish from the comforts of his retirement,
and the interaction between the two yields some of the film's most
delightful scenes. The impatient young auteur attempts to win the trust
and collaboration of the aged performer, who sits raging against the
modern world from the sanctuary of his study. Sporting a silver mane,
Bachchan is irresistible here - vain, forceful and impetuous. He
trumpets the superiority of Shakespeare over anything cinema can create.
And yet, the movies hold out a new challenge.Once he agrees to act in the film, The Last Lear becomes a captivating
reflection on the comparative artifices of stagecraft and cinema. As the
outsider in the cast, Harish is hilarious in dismissing movie fakery.
His theatre skills are grander. Standing on a hillside, he teaches
Shabnam how to project her voice clear across a valley to the next hill. :)
Who is in a coma?
Harish Mishra