Ship of Theseus (2012)

The film explores questions of identity, justice, beauty, meaning and death through an experimental photographer, an ailing monk and a young stockbroker.

Director:

Anand Gandhi

Writers:

Anand Gandhi, Anand Gandhi (story)

Stars:

Aida Elkashef, Yogesh Shah, Faraz Khan

Top Rated Indian Movies #93 | 11 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aida Elkashef	...	Aliya (as Aida El-Kashef)
Yogesh Shah	...	Doctor (as Dr. Yogesh Shah)
Faraz Khan	...	Vinay
Hannan Youssef	...	Aliya's mother
Narendra Shah	...	'Uncle'
Chitra Shah	...	Lady in the house
Manan Shah	...	Kid in the house
Aishwarya	...	Girl with the blindfold
Balaji Janardhan	...	Blind & deaf people at the gallery
Abbas K.	...	Blind & deaf people at the gallery
Bharat Pardesi	...	Blind & deaf people at the gallery
Pradeep Sinha	...	Blind & deaf people at the gallery
Akhtar Bhale	...	Blind & deaf people at the gallery
Sidharth Meer	...	Art enthusiast 1
Bonnie Chenevier	...	Art enthusiast 2

Storyline

If the parts of a ship are replaced, bit-by-bit, is it still the same ship? A celebrated experimental photographer struggles with the loss of her intuitive genius as an unexpected aftermath of a physical change; an intellectual monk confronting a complex ethical dilemma with a long held ideology, has to choose between principle and death; and a young stockbroker, following the trail of a stolen kidney, learns how intricate morality could be. These disparate characters manifest philosophical dilemmas in their personal lives, but their narratives converge to reveal an even larger fabric of connections, meaning, beauty, existence and death in a delicately poetic finale.

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Plot Keywords:

death | philosophy | independent film | photographer | organ theft | 

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Taglines:

How do you know where you end and where your environment begins?

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

India Netherlands

Language:

English Arabic Swedish Hindi

Release Date:

19 July 2013 (India)

Also Known As:

Thészeusz hajója

Filming Locations:

Himachal Pradesh, India

Box Office

Budget:

INR 12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Recyclewala Films,Fortissimo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title of the film, 'Ship of Theseus' alludes to the highly debated Theseus' paradox (also referred to as the Ship of Theseus). The paradox engages in the idea of identity: "If parts of an object are replaced with similar parts, does it remain the same?" Thus this concept is applied to human beings psychologically, ideologically and physically throughout the film.

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Quotes

Charwaka: Monks are supposed to be celibate, then why this much intellectual masturbation in first place?

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Soundtracks

Tre
From album "som Pansar" (2010)
Music by Zackarias (Kenny Lundström, Anton Prydz, Martin Mansson, Robin Lundström
Lyrics by Anton Prydz
Produced by Peter Samuelsson/Robin Lundström

User Reviews

An experience not to be missed.

Have been more than 5 months since I saw the film. But it surely got to be a film which will stay with me forever. A film dealing with a philosophical paradox doesn't sound exciting but this film totally surprised me. The paradox of the Ship of Theseus is an underlying layer of the film which has 3 stories. The characters in the film deal with things that challenge their beliefs and in unexpected ways. The beauty is in the treatment which is effortlessly unpredictable without ever being manipulative or calculated. You feel tremendous empathy for the characters which seems to come for the filmmakers deep understanding of the human psychology and behavior unlike most films/narratives where the author/ filmmaker try to 'design' a character for the purpose of eliciting emotions. Here its all so natural that there seems no design and that is the best part about the performances. They are real as well as really intriguing. I found the character of monk played by Neeraj Kabi to be specially intriguing. His is an amazingly natural performance and yet larger than life in some ways. Sohum Shah was a revelation. For once I thought that he may have been casted in the film for being the producer but when you see the film, he was just brilliant. His performance is one which is so subdued that it took me sometime to realize how good he is. Aida who plays the photographer also delivers a delightful performance. I guess her role was the most difficult as she plays a character which one cannot normally find references in real life or even fiction and despite that she delivers such a natural performance.

What is most surprising about the film is its technical finesse. Cinematography is the best you'll see, the film is a visual treat. It took me sometime to realise that the film is set in Bombay not because its a Bombay which you rarely ever see in Bollywood films. It was later that I got to know that the film was shot on a Canon DSLR and I couldn't believe it. Sound design and mixing is also top notch something which is rare for low budget productions(In Indian context even for big budget films). The background score is absolutely mesmerising and only comes when needed. Particular mention should be made of the Naham Janami song which plays in the background during the monk story. I really believe that this film deserves a big screen experience and that is why am so happy that it is finally releasing in India otherwise most would have either not seen it or would have to see it on small screens which does not do justice to this film.

I can go and on about the film but at this point will end at this note that do not miss this film if you get an opportunity to see it. You'll thank me for this!