Heart in right place

Paise se jaan to nahin kharidi ja sakti, but a ventilator can keep one’s heart beating. Can you sign the form to take a loved one off ventilator support?

Arvind (Anupam Kher) is faced with this task as his wife of 35 years, Madhu (Neena Kulkarni), ends up in hospital post brain haemorrhage. Based on the 2013 Marathi film ‘Anumati’, ‘The Signature’ brings to the fore the helplessness of an aged man who wants to save his wife’s life. But the money has run out, in just 12 days.

The daily cost to keep the patient on a ventilator, coupled with other medical expenses, is anywhere between ~50,000 and ~1 lakh that a middle class person cannot afford for long. And there’s a rider of no surety that the patient would come out alive.

While the problem is real, National Award-winning director Gajendra Ahire’s treatment is emotional. “It’s not love but hope,” Arvind declares as he struggles to fund the treatment. ‘The Signature’ is a heartbreaking saga of a common middle class man.

An emotionally overwrought plot, even if you reason that Arvind is foolishly falling prey to the racket private hospitals run, halfway through the movie, you cry for him. So pure is his love, and so strong the call of duty towards his partner.

There aren’t many characters, but each gives a superlative performance. Anupam Kher as the grieving man who runs from pillar to post, putting his self-pride aside — begging his son to just stand by him and his daughter for money — moves you. Kher proved his mettle as an actor in his debut film ‘Saaransh’, and 540-plus films later, his craft leaves one in awe.

Neena Kulkarni as Kher’s wife, Annu Kapoor in a friend’s role, Ranvir Shorey as a grieving father and Manoj Joshi as the doctor are impeccable in whatever few minutes they get on screen.

It’s Mahima Chaudhry, playing Arvind’s ex-flame Ambika, who leaves one pleasantly stunned. A beautifully written character — their track breaks your heart.

Due credit to director Ahire for creating a film that’s credible and real. He is ably aided by cinematographer Krishna Soren. Background music by Rohit Sharma enhances the tragedy playing in the plot. The songs — ‘Ghir Aayee Badriya’ and ‘Ghar toh Pahuncha Hoon Main’ — by Talat Aziz come across as haunting melodies from the past.

Interestingly, ‘Anumati’, too, was directed by Ahire and had Neena Kulkarni in the lead role. ‘The Signature’ is an outstanding cinematic outing.