Date of Release – September 4, 2015
Genre – Magic Realism
Director – Oorvazi Irani
Duration – 79 minutes
Cast – Oorvazi Irani, Tom Alter, Rushad Rana, Shishir Sharma, Darius
Shroff, Firdausi Jussawalla
Music – Vasuda Sharma
Screenplay – Farrukh Dhondy
My View
Ever since I landed up in Mumbai, the mystery behind Zoroastrianism had me intrigued. At work, I met many people
with unusual surnames and found out about the religion and its interesting
history. However, since it is a very closed community, non Zoroastrians have no access
to important aspects like their places of worship, Tower of silence etc.
It was for this mystery and exclusivity that the moment I was invited
to the premiere of this unique movie about Zoroastrian faith and religion, my
head immediately nodded in affirmation and excitement!
The Path of Zarathustra is a very unique movie, for it gives
insights into the community’s faith, religion and challenges faced. The
protagonist, Oorvazi (Oorvazi Irani) moves out of her isolated life after her
maternal grandfather, Mamavaji (Tom Alter) passes away. However, before closing
his eyes to the world, he gifts her a book which he says will help her find her
true identity and answers to all her questions and directs her to go and be
amongst her people. There is no belief without believers. And thus begins
Oorvazi’s quest to find her roots and true identity in a community that is
facing the threat of losing its identity due to a fast dwindling race.
Oorvazi comes to Mumbai to stay with her maternal aunt Sheramasi
and cousin Perseus (Rushad Rana), whose eyes still reflect his love for her. As
she begins her journey to discover her true self, she discovers many aspects
about her religion and in these revelations; she is guided by imaginary characters
from historical past of Zoroastrianism such as Mazdak (Darius Shroff), who was
executed for his radical ideas, Mani (Firdausi Jussawalla), and Zurvan (Shishir
Sharma). Each character uncovers layers of the mystery surrounding the book. However,
just when she thinks she has found the keeper of the book, she is told her
search is yet to be over.
Whether Oorvazi finally unravels the mystery behind the book is
for you to find out by watching the movie. However, as a curious outsider, the
movie is an excellent way to know about the community and its beliefs. The
movie also boasts of many path breaking moves, such as shooting in a fire
temple.
One has to give full marks to the attention given to each detail.
Excellent screenplay by celebrated author Farrukh Dhondy has the viewers
transported to a different world of mystic every time one plot blends into the
other. The dialogues will definitely hover in your mind hours after you walk
out of the theatre. As a newbie, Vasuda Sharma’s job to the background score deserves
a round of applause as it compliments the flawless cinematography.
One doesn’t come across path breaking movies like The Path of
Zarathustra very often. So, whether you are a Zoroastrian or not, go for the
movie as it will definitely provoke your thoughts regarding your own roots,
My Rating
4/5
This review is for
BlogAdda and SBI Impresario Pvt Ltd. The Path of Zarathustra releases at a
theatre near you on September 4, 2015. Check out the movie’s official website www.thepathofzarathustra.com
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