To depict the formless and the intangible through the cinematic medium is to open up a new dimension and a new space in the different forms of storytelling. The sense of smell acts as a narrative essaying three different stories compiled in the 2009 Marathi film ‘Gandha’.
Here, talking about the first story ‘Bride to Be’ which takes us to the city’s conservative neighborhood where Veena (Amruta Subhash ) desires to be passionately falling in love while her parents are trying hard to get her married. Eventually, she falls for Mangesh (Girish Kulkarni) who is studying in an Arts College where she works.
The presence of smell initiates the story and weaves it with a series of events to highlight the subject of this story. Both Veena and Mangesh are driven by their passions, be it the passion for love or for art, their stories define their personalities. For instance, in the very initial scenes, Veena is seen dancing to the tunes of Bollywood songs, there are posters of her favorite Bollywood ‘heroes’ attached on the wall.
She gets attracted by Mangesh at her first glance itself which is driven by her passion for love. As she gets to know him better in a series of events shown in the story that’s where the main theme of the film gets it’s worth, where she gets well aware of his life, his hardships, in a way Mangesh as a person, as in when she experiences the ‘Fragrance of Love’
Do watch this underrated gem, available on Amazon Prime.
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