Q:Build a movie plot around this: Who brought Harish out of retirement? Siddharth
A:
When first we meet veteran thespian Harish Mishra (Bachchan), he isgravely ill. The punishments of a film shoot have left the old man in acoma. His co-star, Shabnam (Preity Zinta), is wracked with worry, buttheir director, Siddharth (Arjun Rampal), keeps strangely distant andrefuses to visit his ailing star. In flashbacks, their story emerges.Siddharth first had to woo Harish from the comforts of his retirement,and the interaction between the two yields some of the film's mostdelightful scenes. The impatient young auteur attempts to win the trustand collaboration of the aged performer, who sits raging against themodern world from the sanctuary of his study. Sporting a silver mane,Bachchan is irresistible here - vain, forceful and impetuous. Hetrumpets the superiority of Shakespeare over anything cinema can create.And yet, the movies hold out a new challenge.Once he agrees to act in the film, The Last Lear becomes a captivatingreflection on the comparative artifices of stagecraft and cinema. As theoutsider in the cast, Harish is hilarious in dismissing movie fakery.His theatre skills are grander. Standing on a hillside, he teachesShabnam how to project her voice clear across a valley to the next hill. :)