Trishna lives with her family in a village in Rajasthan,
India's largest state. As the eldest daughter, she works in a nearby
resort to help pay the bills. Jay is the wealthy son of a property
developer. When he takes up managing a resort at his father's request,
he meets Trishna at a dance and their fates cross. Jay finds every
opportunity to win Trishna's affection and she accepts his efforts with
shy curiosity. But when the two move to Mumbai and become a couple,
Jay's deep family bond threatens the young lovers' bliss.
Trishna
Storyline
Based on Thomas Hardy's classic novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles,
'Trishna' tells the story of one woman whose life is destroyed by a
combination of love and circumstances. Set in contemporary Rajasthan,
Trishna (Freida Pinto) meets a wealthy young British businessman Jay
Singh (Riz Ahmed) who has come to India to work in his father's hotel
business. After an accident destroys her father's Jeep, Trishna goes to
work for Jay, and they fall in love. But despite their feelings for each
other, they cannot escape the conflicting pressures of a rural society
which is changing rapidly through industrialisation, urbanisation and,
above all, education. Trishna's tragedy is that she is torn between the
traditions of her family life and the dreams and ambitions that her
education has given her.
A disappointment
There have been many modernisations of classic novels and plays, from
Alfonso Cuaron's Great Expectations and Baz Luhrman's version of Romeo
+ Juliet. Now Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles have been given
a modern version thanks to Michael Winterbottom.
In Rajasthan
Trishnais a young woman in rural
Rajasthan who lives with her large family and meets a British
traveller, Jay Singh (Riz Ahmed). When her father is badly injured and
the family indebted, Jay offers Freida the her a job at his father's
hotel in Jaipur. Soon Jay offers Freida the chance of an education,
advancement and financial support for her family. But as they grow
closer they start a on-off relationship and are continually drawn to
each other.
Setting the updated version of Tess of the
D'Urbervilles, it would not
have worked in Modern Britain and India does have issues involving
rural poverty, a massive class divide, splits between rich and poor and
traditional social values in that nation. But I found Trishna to be a
rather dull affair. It was boring from a story perspective, that it
wanted to try and cram too much of the novel into the film, resulting
with numerous montages showing the passing of time instead of showing
events in detail. The visuals and the performances are bland, the
cinematography and art direction neither has any real grit or realism
nor a bright colourful visual. There are some good moments like a
tender moment when Jay and Trishna are in bed and she reveals a secret
and when the relationship when it gets darker. But at the same time I
did not quite buy the relationship between the two, either as it was
forbidden or that Ray is Trishna because for the most part it seem like
Ray was good for her. Ahmed is a decent actor but I did not buy there
was a darkness in his character early on. I put it more down to writing
and direction then Ahmed himself. Pinto was okay but she has been
better. She has let to find the right vehicle since Slumdog
Millionaire.
Winterbottom's direction had a weird paradox,
because of the need to
cram so much that the film felt rushed but other times the film felt
like it was dragging and stalling. The editing and pace was all over
the place and there was no coincidence. He is much better then this.
Amit
Trivedi and Shigeru Umebayashi did provide a very pretty
soundtrack and score, helping provide for the Indian feel the film was
going for.
Sadly Trishna was a disappointment and this is
certainly not a repeat
of Slumdog Millionaire.
User Reviews
A disappointment
There have been many modernisations of classic novels and plays, from
Alfonso Cuaron's Great Expectations and Baz Luhrman's version of Romeo
+ Juliet. Now Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles have been given
a modern version thanks to Michael Winterbottom.
In Rajasthan,
Trishna (Freida Pinto) is a young woman in rural
Rajasthan who lives with her large family and meets a British
traveller, Jay Singh (Riz Ahmed). When her father is badly injured and
the family indebted, Jay offers Freida the her a job at his father's
hotel in Jaipur. Soon Jay offers Freida the chance of an education,
advancement and financial support for her family. But as they grow
closer they start a on-off relationship and are continually drawn to
each other.
Setting the updated version of Tess of the
D'Urbervilles, it would not
have worked in Modern Britain and India does have issues involving
rural poverty, a massive class divide, splits between rich and poor and
traditional social values in that nation. But I found Trishna to be a
rather dull affair. It was boring from a story perspective, that it
wanted to try and cram too much of the novel into the film, resulting
with numerous montages showing the passing of time instead of showing
events in detail. The visuals and the performances are bland, the
cinematography and art direction neither has any real grit or realism
nor a bright colourful visual. There are some good moments like a
tender moment when Jay and Trishna are in bed and she reveals a secret
and when the relationship when it gets darker. But at the same time I
did not quite buy the relationship between the two, either as it was
forbidden or that Ray is Trishna because for the most part it seem like
Ray was good for her. Ahmed is a decent actor but I did not buy there
was a darkness in his character early on. I put it more down to writing
and direction then Ahmed himself. Pinto was okay but she has been
better. She has let to find the right vehicle since Slumdog
Millionaire.
Winterbottom's direction had a weird paradox,
because of the need to
cram so much that the film felt rushed but other times the film felt
like it was dragging and stalling. The editing and pace was all over
the place and there was no coincidence. He is much better then this.
Amit
Trivedi and Shigeru Umebayashi did provide a very pretty
soundtrack and score, helping provide for the Indian feel the film was
going for.
Sadly Trishna was a disappointment and this is
certainly not a repeat
of Slumdog Millionaire.
Synopsis
Trishna lives with her family in a village in Rajasthan,
India's largest state. As the eldest daughter, she works in a nearby
resort to help pay the bills. Jay is the wealthy son of a property
developer. When he takes up managing a resort at his father's request,
he meets Trishna at a dance and their fates cross. Jay finds every
opportunity to win Trishna's affection and she accepts his efforts with
shy curiosity. But when the two move to Mumbai and become a couple,
Jay's deep family bond threatens the young lovers' bliss.
Production Details
In Theaters
July 13, 2012
MPAA Rating
R (for
for sexuality, some violence, drug use and language)
