15 Park Avenue - marked by good performances, yet a climbdown for Aparna Sen

Rating:- * *

Meethi (Konkona Sen Sharma), a schizophrenic who also suffers from epilepsy is amply taken care of by her elder sister Anjali [Shabana Azmi] and their mother (Waheeda Rehman). In spite of
her physical problems she had got engaged to one Joydeep (Rahul Bose) and was working as a journo with a publishing house. As if luck had not dealt with her harshly, she becomes a victim of repeated rapes when she is out of her home town on an assignment. Joydeep is unable to relate to Meethi any longer and breaks off the engagement.

Meethi now lives in a state of total delusion. She continues to believe that she is married to Joydeep and has five children of her own and lives at 15 Park Avenue.

In spite of the trauma she has gone through, Anjali gives her and, indeed, her mother,all the care she can. In the process, she herself is over-stressed. Meethi’s doctor advises her a change of scene albeit for a short time. So, the family goes to Bhutan for a holiday.

Co-incidentally, Joydeep also meets the family there. He is now married to Lakshmi [Shefali Shah]. He is shattered to see Meehi who doesn’t even recognize him. In her delusions, she even complains to Joydeep about her elder sister Anjali who had taken so much care of her.

Aparna has handled a number of sequences very well, but in its entirety the film is unlikely to make it on the commercial circuit. But then Aparna does not care much for the commercial circuit.

On the plus side, 15 PARK AVENUE can well claim to have sterling performances headed by Shabana Azmi. Konkona Sen Sharma has also given an excellent account of herself. They are ably aided by Waheeda Rehman, Rahul Bose, Shefali Shah, Kanwaljit, Dhritiman Chatterjee and Soumitra Chatterjee.