Kisna: The Warrior Poet Dvd

Kisna: The Warrior Poet is an Indian Hindi film written, edited, produced and directed by Subhash Ghai and starring Vivek Oberoi (who plays the title role), Antonia Bernath, and Isha Sharvani. The musical film is set in the British India of the tumultuous 1940s when Indian nationalists fighting for the country’s independence rose up as one, urging the British Raj to leave. It is a love story about two people who are torn between Karma (the noble deed) and Dharma (the duty). The film has two veteran composers, A. R. Rahman and Ismail Darbar; the lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar. The film marked Amrish Puri’s last appearance as he had not signed or acted in any film after it before dying on 12 January 2005. The film, however, did not perform well at the box office. The film was premiered in the Marché du Film section of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

Lady Catherine, a wealthy British woman, arrives in India to donate Rs 3500 Crores to charity as part of India’s Republic Day Celebrations. Before she can hand over the money, she requests a visit to Devprayag, where India’s 2 great rivers Bhagirathi and Alaknanda meet to form the mighty Ganges River. At Devprayag, Lady Catherine remembers her childhood and narrates her story to the small crowd, which includes a journalist.

Catherine was born in India in 1930, to British citizens living in the country. She had a privileged and peaceful upbringing. In 1935, a young Catherine befriends Kisna, a local village boy, and the two share a joyous friendship. Upon learning of this, Catherine’s father forcefully sends her back to England.

In 1947, during the Independence Struggle, Catherine comes back to India on holidays and again meets Kisna. Their childhood friendship is rekindled and over time the feelings slowly develop into love. Their relationship is tested by the fact that they seemingly belong to the opposite sides of India’s struggle for freedom. Kisna also reveals that he is engaged to be married to Lakshmi.

There is growing resentment against colonialism and Catherine finds herself being targeted by an enraged mob of Indian nationalists. She is protected by Kisna, who faces backlash from his family and community, who were part of the mob. Kisna is torn between his friendship and love for Catherine, and his duty to his country and the hatred of the British Raj. Kisna takes it upon himself to escort Catherine to the British High Commission, where safe passage back to England can be arranged for her. The trip reaffirms their love for each other but Kisna is ultimately forced to choose between his feelings for Catherine and his duty to his country. He chooses the latter and the pair bid an emotional farewell to each other.

In the present, it is revealed that Kisna married Lakshmi, and fulfilled his duties to his wife and country, but always loved Catherine till his death. His last wish was for his ashes to be spread at Devprayag, the place where first love blossomed between him and Catherine. Catherine’s last wish is also for her ashes to be spread at Devprayag, so that, even though they both married different people, she and Kisna can be together forever.

Cast

Vivek Oberoi as Kisna
Isha Sharvani as Lakshmi
Antonia Bernath as Katherine
Anna Llewellyn as young Katherine
Polly Adams as Lady Katherine
Amrish Puri as Bhairo Singh
Om Puri as Juman Masum Kishti
Yashpal Sharma as Shankar Singh
Rajat Kapoor as Prince Raghuraj
Jeetu Verma as Phunkara
Hrishitaa Bhatt as Rukmani
Ronit Roy as Jimmy (Special Appearance)
Rahul Singh
Vivek Mushran as Nandu
Sushmita Sen as Naima Begum (item number)