Mitr, My Friend (2002)

Brilliant and touching

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Wish the quality of the film, sound and acting were more consistent. Very distracting when the commercials (on one of our local Asian stations) kick in! I very much enjoyed Sobhana's luminous performance as Lakshmi and could sympathize with her feelings of isolation and frustration.This movie was filmed in my neighborhood, the Bay Area, and I imagine Lakshmi's feelings are quite common among women in the local Indian community whose husbands hold very demanding high-tech jobs, who are not themselves well-educated or social, and whose children are exhibiting the worst characteristics of spoiled California young adults. Lakshmi did a very brave thing in attempting to become more educated and independent. Too bad it backfired on her because of her husband's jealousy and insecurity.Unfortunately the actress who played Divya made her very one-note and negative for most of the movie; her performance was very soap opera, which may have been the director's fault rather than hers. It did nothing to generate sympathy for her, and in fact made one more sympathetic toward her mother's character. Not a good thing, as Lakshmi was too judgmental and interfering in her daughter's life. Lakshmi was right, of course - her daughter was too young and immature to live on her own and made the expected terrible decision in choosing her first boyfriend. Maybe Indian mothers haven't caught on to the fact that the surest way to drive a daughter into the arms of the wrong boy is to forbid her from seeing him! That said, Divya's almost instant transformation from bratty teen to friend and confidante of her mother's was hard to believe. The ending was pretty silly, actually, and I never really figured out who the mysterious Internet presence was. If it was the husband, why didn't he seem to know anything about it and why wasn't he wearing a yellow shirt? It clearly wasn't Steve.........guess I will have to watch again.

Mitr, my friend, gives voice to women, who are lonely and go through what Lakshmi has gone through in this movie. Though it is very unlikely, that woman in U.S. faces such vacuum in her life. It is more appropriate in the countries like India, where it is still expected from woman to stay back at home and look after her family only, where she still considered to be a second citizen.Only sensitive people can appreciate this movie. Shobhana was superb. Music deserve an applause, Ms. Illayaraja has done a great job, even after so many years, i still enjoys the music of Mitr. time... care.... love.... the most enchanting words for any happy family, it can actually perform miracle in anybody's life. Hats off to Revathi and her crew.

Mitr has a pretty good concept, interesting story, and a dynamic performance by Shobana who illuminates the screen whenever she is there which, luckily, is most of the movie. Nasir Abdullah, who plays her husband is OK but everyone else in the film seemed like they got their acting chops from Grade D late night cable TV. The daughter, friends, neighbors, -- everyone else -- gave stilted performances as if they were reading their lines. Fortunately, the daughter's performance got better towards the end of the film but the director should have elicited better performances from everyone unless that was their best and the casting crew would have to take the blame for not finding better actors. I would have preferred the over-acting of a lot of Hindi actors than some of the drivel and inane delivery that permeated this film.Despite my misgivings of Mitr, I will still give it a 6 because of Shobana's performance and look forward to seeing her in other projects of better quality. Watching Shobana in action is worth enduring the cringe factor that occurs when watching the other actors.

Mitr, which is all about alienation an average woman starts feeling when her daughter and lifemate starts blaming her to be orthodox and a nag; and hardly find time to understand her. It also depicts how one forgets to live her own life for relations and a very positive ending marks states that still we can believe in relations.It's a film which is so much refreshing for all those who got a heart to empathise and understand problems of others.The same hands that point out the mistakes being commited doesn't go without touching the deeper core of our soul.cinematography of the film by fowzia is unbelievably merged with the narration and fellings dealt.Also the music score by bhavatharini needs special mention which simply complements the visualisation and moods.If films like this are never being appreciated when can india come out of melooodramas and "got all the crap in this" type of films.Director Revathy and her crew which consists only woman deserves cheers...(but why this gender division? for ads?)never miss this movie.