Astu - So Be It (2013) Movie Script
In today's session, you are going to learn to
forget yourself and become another person.
First you are going to forget
your name, your relationships.
Decide who you are going to become.
Slowly, focus on that person.
Now you are slowly becoming that person.
You are going to forget all your memories.
Appa (Father)...
Now you are no longer you.
Relationships, transactions, the past, the present...
are all forgotten...
This game of Role-Play is an amazing road to
understand all issues and resolve them.
This is the game we are going to play in this
theatre workshop.
Now, slowly open your eyes.
Appa... Tai will come to pick you up.
You stay... at her place all day, ok?
I'll write my exam and come.
Then in the evening, after my exam,
I'll come to her place...
...and we will come back home together...
Yes, yes... It's done, done.
Wait here...
Wait, wait. Don't move, Appa... It's done.
Prof. Dr.Chakrapani Shastri
I am telling you because you should know, don't you?
Yes, one should know...
Truth always stems from awareness
Where there is no awareness, there is no truth...
Truth always stems from awareness
Where there is no awareness, there is no truth...
The one who 'knows' truth,
speaks the truth...
One, therefore, longs for wisdom....
Oh Almighty, I long for wisdom....
Wait, wait Appa, I'm coming.
One second... Watch the step...
How are you?
-
Fine.
His bag with clothes, biscuits... the usual.
Just help him.
- Oh, he's sitting there... I'll open it.
Hold on, Appa. Mind your hand...
Sit. Are you comfortable? Ok...
You...?
- No, no. I've an exam.
He has an exam. Do well. All the best.
Bye.
-Bye.
We are going home, aren't we?
-Yes
I have a small errand on the way and then go home, Okay?
-Okay.
I have to buy some cloth for Shweta.
We'll buy that and go, ok?
Ok, we'll buy cloth.
Where are we?
- This is Lakshmi road, Appa.
This is Lakshmi road?!
- Yes.
Is it?
- Yes, yes.
What is it, Appa?
Please let me look for the address...
What is it, Appa?
So be it, so be it...
That Bohra cloth merchant... the big shop?
Is it in this lane? The next one?
Yes the next lane, But the car won't go in there.
- Oh no... Ok. Thank you.
Please get the car moving madam.
Yes, yes! I'm going, just a minute... Sorry, sorry.
The whole road is blocked behind...
Keep sitting Appa.
Madam there is no parking here.
- It's just a matter of five minutes please.
What is this ? I have just opened my shop..
- My father is sitting. Just a few minutes please.
Please keep an eye on him.
You keep sitting her Appa. I'll just be back.
You be here Appa. I'll be back in five minutes. Right?
Please, just keep an eye on him.
Hey Elephant man, that old gentleman
in that car there wants to give you money I think.
What? You want to sit on top? Are you a kid?
No, not this one. My daughter saw this
vivid royal blue here... Please look for it.
I'll keep it for you, Madam.
Come tomorrow.
Tomorrow?!
She needs it for her play, today evening.
I'll have to look in the godown.
You'll have to wait, Madam.
Please hurry, I've left my father in the car.
No parking there and he often forgets things.
Hiraman, be quick now. Royal blue cloth...
Hey, bro!
-What?
That oldie is weeping over there...
That old fellow?
Yes. The same. The one who gave you money...
Yes. He is crying saying, 'elephant'...'elephant'..
Who knows who is he?
- Someone call the police.
Arey don't get into in police matters I tell you.
What happened? What happened Baba?
What happened?
Who... come on, come with me.
Appa... Appa? Wh... ?
The grandpa who was here... 5 minutes back...
No idea, Madam. I just got here.
- You didn't see him?
No, Madam.
-Where did he go?!
I am the source of energy of the tree called universe...
My honour is like a mountain...
I have become a chest with the divine grace....
Like Sun, the Golden Nectar flows within me...
Divine showers of glorious wealth, knowledge & life
are bestowed upon me...
Hello? Janseva Pediatric ward please...
Sister, Mrs. Pathak here. Dr. Pathak please.
Yes, see anything?
Nothing to worry about. Everything is fine.
Language is not only expressed in words.
Children have a different language.
Understand it... listen to it with trust.
Yes?
-Your wife's call, Sir. It's urgent.
Tell her, I'll call her on her mobile.
So everything will be fine.
Absolutely nothing to worry about.
Hey, move your car!
-Yes, yes, just a minute!
Told you, no parking here...
Come.
Where's your car?
- Got someone to sent it home.
Hey Old Man! Now. go. Go your home. There's nothing here.
Stop following me please.
'Dr. Chakrapani Shastri'
I told you, he won't know the address.
Knowing that, how could you leave him alone in the car?
Baba, here... Take this.
What's your name?
Name,name?
Who else is there at home?
Gaja....(Elephant)....
Where's the driver? Driver?
Did he leave the car and go away?
So be it, so be it...
Here, eat this.
Eat it..
Who are you calling?
-Trying Doctor Prabhu.
How will he go to the neurologist?
Mom, you are impossible?
Impossible? Would you have spared me
if there was no royal blue cloth today evening?
Come on, bring your bag.
Mom, how come you went to Grandpa's today?
- There's the bus. Don't miss school today.
Appa'll be back. Go on.
Coming...
Mom, you call this Royal blue?
Ram had called in the morning.
-What did he say?
He said, his exam starts today.
Mangala Kaku had to go to the temple.
He said, either you come here or take Appa there with you.
How can both of them take off together?
- How can you say that?
It was an important day for both of them.
Shouldn't they inform us in advance?
They had. I forgot.
- Forgot?!
Yes. I forgot. The Mahabharat at home
for this drama costume made me forget.
Yes, hello? Yes, Shekhar...
No, I was about to bring you the reports...
But I just wanted to tell you that he is.... missing.
No clue, he got out of the car and...
Any idea where he must have gone?
You think so? Okay!
OK, yes, we'll go there and check.
Allright. Thanks.
I'll go meet the Principal.
What a beautiful metaphor!
Seeta has returned from exile.
Ram and Seeta are talking after her trial by fire.
My dear fellows, are you with me? Huh?
Sir, I will take your leave.
So be it.. So be it..
Yes. True. It's a very difficult time.
Hello.
Hello, even today, I feel odd to sit on the
Principal's chair. That's Shastri's sir's chair.
Thank you so much.
- Doctor, please rush to the police.
Yes. At once.
He retired as the director of Oriental research Institute ten years ago.
What's the disease called again?
- Alzheimer's.
Can't say exactly what it is, but slowly one loses their memory.
It's difficult to detect that someone has suffered such a memory loss.
Madam, do you have any siblings?
A younger sister -IIT Professor in Mumbai. She was in Germany for many years. She came back 5-6 years ago.
Could Dr. Shastri have gone to see her?
- No, no!
He's quite incapable of buying a ticket and taking a train there.
Atleast inform her. With old people, one can't say.
Tell me, how long has he been like this?
I mean, has he ever gone missing before?
He has been unwell since 5-6 years...
But it has worsened in the last 1-2 years.
But when did it all start?
-It began when my mother passed away.
The patient loses their memory.
But it is the caretaker who has a hard time.
Now I realise it; my Father-in-law must have also had this same thing.
How is he now?
-No, he is no more now.
We got a wire that he fell into a well
outside the house in the village and died.
An unwanted man in the house... Who has actually seen him falling?
Sir, can you please hurry?
- The message is out on the wireless.
Please don't worry. As soon as I know anything,
I will inform you at once.
Send this photo to all the stations...
I'll have to go to the hospital. An emergency. I'll drop you home.
Should we drop in home once?
I mean, to Appa's house, to Mrunmayee.
Now what?
Where's Appa's telephone diary?
My Daughters.... Ira and Rahi
My Assistant-'Ram' and Myself- 'Appa'
Myself- Dr. Chakrapaani Shastri i.e. 'Appa'
My Wife - 'Vasumati'
'Shweta' and 'Satyawrat' my grandchildren and 'Dr.Madhav' my Son-in-law,
'Ira' my daughter, 'Shweta' and 'Satyawrat' my grandchildren.
That's a book on Zen philosophy.
Have you read it?
- No.
Do read it.
- What do they have to say?
That one must always live in the present.
That moment is the only truth.
The past and future just
don't exist for the present.
How can they say that?
How can societal life exist
without the human memory chain?
Iru, today's human is the visible link in that very memory chain.
Everything is concentrated in him/her.
That's nothing but the Present, isn't it?
I don't get it. So history means nothing?
The power of memory means nothing?
Read it. Tao is a fascinating riddle-
of what Is - Is not, truth-untruth...
There is no untruth,
for there is no truth. Only impermanence
But can a mind be like that?
-Why not?
One that bears an empty silence like a cloudless sky. It's possible.
Once thought stops, everything is tranquil, isn't it?
Your buttermilk?
-I forgot. Let it be.
See, he forgot. And Sanskrit? Perfectly by heart.
So be it, so be it.
Sleep for a while now.
Tai, you'll eat now?
- Yes.
I myself-Appa
Coming!
Yes, what is it Appa?
Oh! Wonderful!
Purity of food...Purity of Spirit....
Puruty of Spirit...Purity of intellect...memory...
Who had his food just now? No food for you again.
Then you have to keep going to the toilet.
No, no, no...
- Take it inside.
Let go, let go of the plate.
- Appa, you've eaten... take it away.
Come with me.
You take the plate, Kaku.
Come Appa, I want to tell you something.
What are you doing, Appa?
Meditating....
Meditation is greater than the mind...
The Earth meditates....
The Cosmos meditates
Both the worlds meditate...
The Waters meditate...
The Mountains meditate...
The Gods & the Mankind meditate...
The humans who transcend the worldly limits...
...their strength is the result of their meditation...
Appa, you must be bored sitting at home.
Should we go somewhere?
- Let's.
Where should we go?
The Himalayas. That's where the Pandavas went in the end.
Yudhishthira kept walking alone...
in the cold, cold snow.
I'll get you some tea... ok?
Mom, can I have it?
- No.
Satya!!
Mom, I want it!
- Just give it to him.
Ok, take it, but keep some for Shweta.
And remember this is the last one, ok.
Have this, Madhav.
We must take Appa to Dr. Shekhar.
He seemed fine to me the other day.
He couldn't remember Shweta's name.
But that can happen with age. Don't worry.
What do you mean, don't worry? Yesterday
he asked me when had I returned from abroad.
What?
- Yes, he didn't even remember that he had just had lunch.
I'll take Prabhu's appointment.
Let's not diagnose without proper examination.
Sir, do you remember Ishavasyopadinshad?
God exists in everything in the Universe...
Consume only after you offer Him a share...
Don't desire anything that"s not yours....
Wonderful. And Uttar-Ramcharitra?
Don't think of happiness or distress, loss or gain
victory or defeat... Such a battle is not sinful....
Appa, you are reciting the Bhagvadgita not what he is asking....
Me? Am I lying?
I didn't mean that, but...
See, in the
3rd verse of Raghuvansh, King Aja...
No. She just left him and went to heaven...
I'll tell you her name...
It's....
What's it dammit?!
Urvashi.
The Ganga abandoned
her children
It's all a cosmic constellation I tell you.
Appa, this way.
The medication will help.
- Thank you Shekhar.
We'll take him to our place now, till something else can be arranged.
No one to look after him full-time
at his home.
Ram, a boy from the village...
...is here to study.
And the cook.
They both take care of him.
He likes it better there anyway, with his books for company.
But it's a difficult time for Ira especially..
Anyway thanks. Will see you soon.
- Take care.
Madhav....
Yes, we went to the institute...
Yes, Ira knows.
Ram takes good care of him. Afterall he is a student.
Barely a teenager.
Madhav...
- Yes will ask him too...
Is that Wadekar Sir? It's about Dr. Shastri.
No, nothing like that.
Great!
Appa! Great! You sit here happily reading
while I wait an hour for you on the road?
You... where?
Are you angry?
I forgot...
-You forgot?
Anger leads to insanity which leads to misleading memory
Resulting into loss of wisdom and ultimately into distruction...
Enough, Appa, It's enough!
Didn't I tell you Tai must be waiting? He said no.
- He forgets a lot nowadays.
Where are you off to?
- To college.
Yes, go on...
Don't be angry, I...
You forgot my name?!
Wasn't it your idea to give that organisation a donation
in Mother's name? And you forgot?
And went to college to meet Mrs. Gupte?
No, no... I went to the library.
Library? I called the college, they said you both left together.
I forgot the way home. She dropped me.
You never forget Meghdoot,
but forget the way home.
Not fair Appa!
Iru... Please come here dear...
Ira... my memory is failing slowly, isn't it?
I forget things nowadays, don't I?
Wadekar Sir, Prof. Abhyankar,
Mehendale...I've talked to everyone.
We should inform Rahi, shouldn't we?
Why Rahi? What will she do except sit in Mumbai and worry?
Would Appa have gone to her?
She's his favourite daughter.
Don't be silly.
Yes, speaking...
Hey , Yadnyavalkya!
Why are you wandering?
In search of livelihood or the ultimate knowledge?
...Perhaps in search of both...!
Never betray the Truth...
Never betray the spiritual duties...
Never betray the duties of wellbeing...
Never betray the duties of welfare...
Never betray the duties of study, worship & service....
Guruji is a learned man.
Such pure language!
God only knows where he is from!
Baba, where are you from?
Anta, you are fortunate to have found
a scholar like Guruji. Good...
What should I do with him?
Why is he following me?
Not following. He's accompanying you.
If I go to the police, they'll lock me up.
- He'll go back the way he came.
You didn't call him. Maybe God has sent him.
Who am I...?
Where have I come from...?
What is my form..?
What is my species...?
Who am I...?
Where have I come from...?
What is my form..?
What is my specie...?
I live with ...
Thousands of indentities
Different roles...
Dfifferent duties....
Neither a mother.....
Nor a father.....
Niether a daughter....
Nor a son....
I am the spirit of all living beings...
I am the universe...
I am the God Almighty...
I am Bramha...the Creator...
I do not know...
Who am I...?
I do not know...
Who am I...?
So be it...!
So am I...!
So be it....!
So am I...!
So am I...!
So am I...!
You say, anyone can get this illness.
I don't know about that.
But Appa is suffering this
as a punishment for his own deeds.
Ira, Appa is a patient. Why do you always talk
like you are angry with him?
Appa, Shanta Kaku is here to meet you.
Gossiping about her daughter-in-law isn't enough for her?
Appa,please. I'm getting her here.
Watch your step.
Come, sit. I'll be right back.
Appa, how are you?
We are now fading
leaves. Vasumati left at the right time.
Wonder what was eating into her heart?
Ira, you remember our Malu Vahini?
It seems she used to confide in her.
Appa, what's wrong? Didn't recognise me?
Has a year passed since your husband died?
Come, let's go have some tea.
-Yes, yes.
I didn't know things had come to this...
That was an act for Shanta Kaku,
wasn't it?
But Vasumati's heart. That was the truth...
Ira, the cramps...
- Is it ?
I'll press your feet...
Do you know Mrs. Gupte?
Appa's colleague? Yes. Why do you ask?
Just like that.
Will he be back
from the seminar by tomorrow?
Mother, Appa has said so. He will.
Who knows?
Don't know truth or lies.
You bind yourself to someone
how much
is he yours, how much a stranger?
One truth- you come alone, go alone.
- Mother.
Those books shold be returned...
Just to avoid inconvinience to the students...!
I'll take your leave.
Ira, you know her, don't you? Mrs. Gupte.
She heard about Vasumati's demise and came to meet me.
Call me if you need anything.
You too. Please don't hesitate.
I don't know how I can ever repay you.
I was tied down by my word to you.
Though I wished so,
I never told her anything.
Except this, I never kept anything from her.
But matters of Dharma (right & wrong) are difficult to judge.
I'll be on my way.
So be it, so be it.
Done?
- Yes.
Enough, that's all he'll drink.
For you?
No...
Appa, here, have some juice.
Mom, going for a bath, college at 9.
Wait a minute. Appa, listen... what?
I'm going for a bath, I have college.
Yes, go, go. Appa, listen...
Bath!!
Drink the juice.
Bath.
She has college.
No, first a bath.
You can have it later, Appa.
Do listen, don't go for a bath, Appa.
No, no, never.
Madhav...
Appa, Ram will come to bathe you....
What happened?
He is going for bath.
So, let him.
What will we do if he falls?
Come, Appa...
What are you doing here?
I want to see.
What's there to see? Go.
You go.
Appa, you come.
Ok.
You aren't used to this bathroom,
so let me show you. Sit.
This is the shower.
Yes yes, I know.
This is hot water and cold water, ok?
Appa, do you get it?
This is the hot water, ok?
Give me your glasses.
Take off your vest.
Go..Go...
Will wash it for you.
Slowly, slowly.
Yes,yes... Go now! I'm getting late.
And another thing, Appa, don't lock the door.
We'll wait outside...
Why are you making such a racket?
Mom, you know what Appa did today?
He kept his slippers in the bookshelf
and books in the shoeshelf.
Oh God. What's there to laugh in that?
And what is this mess?
-You kids...
Come, let's go home.
-Appa, this is your home.
No, no. We have our own home. Let"s go.
Appa, you don't remember things,
So you have come to live here.
Fine, we'll go in the evening...
Ok, we'll go in the evening.
Appa, you don't solve crosswords nowadays?
Nowadays, I forget. My friends called me...
...word-win... word-won...
Word-wizard, Appa, Word-wizard.
Word-wizard, they called me.
Appa, 2 syllables Down - Messenger and....
..... 2 syllables Across - Tree.
No, really, remembering is painful...
2 syllables down, 2 across...
Plant and Tappa?
What's Tappa? Idiot!
And Plant is not a Marathi word.
Got it! 'Doot' (messenger) and 'Taru' (tree).
'Doot' from Meghdoot! Right?
Yes! 'Megh'(Cloud) - the elephant of the skies!
Appa, you keep saying you don't remember.
Is it a lie afterall?
How much memory loss, how much a garb :
you just can't make out.
The memory loss is real; seldom a garb.
Appa, your buttons are all wrong.
Wait, I'll button them up properly.
What are you doing?
-Your buttons...
Appa! What are you doing? Mom!
What's going on? Shweta...
Appa, what are you doing? Move aside.
What's this, Appa?
- I... his buttons, Mom.
You go, go. Appa, look here! Turn around.
Appa... Turn around.
It's ok, I'll take it with me.
- I'll bring it, I'll bring it.
Tomorrow's the dress rehearsal.
Be sure to bring it tomorrow.
I won't forget.
- Get it without fail.
Mom, Mom!
Yes, what happened?
Mom, you know Appa is not right in the head.
Sayli went to the loo and Appa was on the commode.
He hadn't even locked the door!
Shweta, you know...
Why can't he stay at his house?
Dad will hire a 24 hour nurse!
Shut up!
- What do you mean shut up?!
Were you trying to reach me today?
- Yes, why?
My phone got lost.
- What?
So what's going on?
Nothing, only Cricket all day.
He needs a scolding.
So, enjoying the cricket?
Your registered post came...
Catch!!!
Apaa... What is this?
You sit, wait, nobody move.
I'll sweep it up. You hold this for me...
It's ok, it's ok. It's nothing, Appa.
We'll clean it now.
You watch TV. Go on.
Here I'll clean it.
- Come, Ira.
Count out the clothes.
Have this.
- I don't want it.
It's very good.
- No really, I had it.
Take a little bit.
- Appa, what are you doing? Mom!
Take it, do take it.
- What's going on, Appa!
What's going on, Appa!
Look at her, why is she not eating it?
What are you doing?
She refuses to eat...
She's studying. What are you doing?
I'm giving her cake.
No, she doesn't want it.
It's good cake.
No, don't... Sudhir! Please help.
Appa, leave her.
Sir, come Sir.
Come, come away.
What's wrong with him?
He's become like that only...
Come inside sir!
I am Mrs. Pathak.
Shinde, you can go in now.
Let me go...
Hey, sit quietly.
Me... Where... But...
Button up...
Ok, I'm going.
Sit down quietly.
Where...where have you brought me ?
I told you to be quiet. Quiet!
Am I mad?
The doctor is coming.
I... let me go.
Brother, be quiet.
No, I'm not mad... not me.
The doctor advised you
not to take him out in this condition.
Ok, come. Come this way.
Oh, Ira? You sit inside. I'll come.
Now, it is getting too much...
Shweta...
This can happen in dementia.
Awareness of relationships is lost.
You have to keep watch on him.
Watch?
Will it be better to send him to his house?
I mean, for him?
But is there someone to take care of him there?
- Care...
Madhav must know an asylum : Uttarayan.
Why don't you visit it?
We need volunteers here.
This is not the work only for paid staff.
Every inmate has a different story.
And we do understand
the helplessness of the family.
Longevity is rising.
The number of elderly is increasing.
These issues will only escalate.
- Yes.
Come... we'll take your leave.
Aren't you eating?
Not hungry.
I'll drop Appa back to his house.
Ram is there, I'll call Mangala Kaku also.
Ira... You know that...
What to do, Madhav?
It's Shweta I'm worried about.
Let him go back to his own house.
Are you sure?
I'll just be back...
Who's this king you brought to this
palace?
Who's this king you brought to this
palace?
He's been after me since morning.
Have this....
Hey Chennamma...
Water... some water...
Looks like a holy man, a learned man.
Has God himself come to bless us?
So be it, so be it....
Hungry, are you?
Feeding animal-God is hard enough.
I say, take this other God to the police...
or they'll take us to jail.
Food, sit, sit... eat.
The essence of humanity is compassion.
The honey for all creatures.
In this humanity lives the glorious one.
He is the soul...the nector...the Almighty...Brahma...
Guruji, police will take you home, ok?
Ok, we'll go after sometime.
Why are you on exile like this, Sir?
The ascetic...who never accumulates...never retaliates...
...spiritually enriched...pure being....
Who knows what the Goddess
will write in one's destiny... poor thing!
..who takes just enough to survive... who has no home...
the ultimate Sage....
I won't go to the police. They'll think
I am a thief, beat me and throw me in jail.
Have this...
It's you... Ram...
Where's Appa?
Appa is lost...
Lost? What do you mean?
Once I asked Appa if he wants a shave...
He said, don't show me the mirror,
can't look at the ghost in it anymore.
Once he said, take me to Vanaprastha (into the forest-the third phase of life)
Everyone's a ghost there.
Madhav and I went to see Uttarayan.
But I wasn't for it.
But that is better than
something like this happening.
Should I search for him somewhere?
Where will you search?
And the police are searching.
Ok, I'll wait at home, in case
he comes there.
Yes, do that.
-
Call me if you need any help.
Ok... just a minute, phone.
Hello, Shweta... Shweta's phone.
You go on... Shut the door, please.
Any news of Appa?
-
No.
Did he have to do this today?
-
Shweta!
You'll are coming for the play, right?
- What's the situation, and what are you saying?
You are thinking only of yourself.
Mom, do such events come again?
I know. I can't say about me.
Dad and Satya will come.
All the best!
Guruji, come let's go to the police.
They'll take you home.
Don't you want to go home? Home?
Home?
Let's go..
I say, let him stay. A holy person has
come to our door. Let him be.
Who knows? His people may have
driven him away when he lost his head.
Poor thing, let him be, let him stay.
Who knows, dues of which lives we have yet to clear!
He'll go away, after we clear the debts....
If you'd have told me as soon as Appa disappeared,
I'd have taken leave at once.
There's no rush on the highway
in the afternoon. I reached in 3 hours.
Have you asked Gajanan Shastri?
- Yes.
And Ghaisas Guruji?
- Yes, we did.
Rahi, did you have lunch?
- No, finished my lecture and left at once.
I'll quickly cook something!
No need. I don't mind chapatti
and vegetables from the morning.
Actually I am not really hungry.
Only tea and biscuits will do.
Where's Madhav?
- He had to attend an emergency, should be back soon.
Are we leaving this place tomorrow?
- Yes.
If the old man doesn't go away
on his own,
we'll take him with us.
What will happen of him if
we leave him here, poor thing?
I'm so scared of the police...
Oh no! The old man soiled his pants!
He's lost his shame; he's become a child.
We have 2, we'll call this one our own too.
It's ok, I'll see to it. Yes, yes...
It's done...
Go play with the kid now.
Hey, take this grandpa to play with you! Go...
Ma!
Ma! Mother... hungry...
Oh, poor thing... You hungry?
But this Ma
of yours is poor...
Don't cry, don't cry my child.
Bread? Some bread? Yes, I'll see.
Come, come, I'll look for some bread.
We went this way. That was a one-way...
Take a left now.
That was a one-way, so I parked the car
and went in walking... this way...
Appa was in the car..
Should we look in those lanes there?
- Looked everywhere.
Let's ask those people.
- I did ask.
Did Grandpa comew back ?
- No, Ma'm, nobody came.
I went away for mere five minutes and... Where could he go?
Did you see a confused old man asking for his address ?
No, madam.
Did you see a grandpa with
the sacred ash on his forehead?
Tai, did Appa remember me?
No sense in this question really, but...
But he did.
Did he ?
Is Satya's tiffin ready. I am leaving.
Here it is.
The police haven't gotten
back at all yet, Madhav.
Ira please. We have to give them time, ok?
I'll come
as soon as Shweta's play finishes.
Tai's not going?
How can I go?
Why not?
Will Appa return at once if you sit
at home?
Or will you hunt for him from home?
Not that. But I won't
enjoy the play, that's why.
It's your daughter's play. Think of what
she will feel if you don't go.
Your sitting at home will make no difference to finding Appa.
So, let Shweta at least feel good.
Rahi, don't foist your rational theory on me please.
Madhav, you are a doctor. You tell her.
Appa is not Appa anymore.
Once a person's brain shuts, doesn't that person count as dead?
So, since Appa is no longer Appa,
why not keep him in some asylum ?
What do you think, Madhav?
Rahi is right.
Keeping a patient in an asylum or in a hospital is in no way cruel.
I am not convinced.
You Stopped theatre workshops, didn't you?
Yes, I did. Because I no longer have the
mental energy or space it needs!
5 minutes... I left the car for 5 minutes
and Appa disappeared.
Even my memory is getting hazy...
I relived it a 100 times...
Didn't I lock the car?
Did I leave
a window open?
He vanished...
all because of me.
Ira, are you mad? It's not at all your fault.
Tai, don't take on unnecessary guilt.
As if you knew Appa would go away like this?
He has become unpredictable.
Eventually you will both look at me accusing
that Appa got lost because of me.
Don't tell me that...unpredictable...
What's this, Tai. First get angry and
then feel guilty.
When will you change?
I always felt, you were Appa's favourite.
So he got you to learn Sanskrit, like him.
And made me study science.
Me going away was fine, but
he wanted you in Pune, near him.
Actually, he was only proud of you, Rahi.
You have it good - no husband, no kids.
And me? As the elder one, you manage,
you adjust.
The younger one is abroad...
Look after the parents, Mother's illness.
And now Appa is alone. Take care of him.
That's why Me.
This is the thing.
First do and then
get frustrated.
And make others feel guilty.
Instead, just do whatever you want.
Don't tell me that.
What am I to do? Whatever I want? How?
Tai, this is like Mother.
Mother was not well educated.
She had no understanding of Appa's learning.
So she pined away about Mrs. Gupte.
How do you know if she was just
pining or if there was some truth in it?
You have been away from home
for 15 years!
What do you know?
One minute, what are you saying?
Who's Mrs. Gupte?
You don't know anything. You stay out of this...
So, in so many years, you weren't even
able to tell him about this.
No.
Then why blame Appa if he didn't tell
Mother?
And if at all there was anything between them,
accept it rationally.
Can't two people from the same profession
share an intellectual friendship?
Enough Rahi.
And I'd say, even if they felt
something for each other...
Rahi, enough!
What are you
going on about - rationally, rationally?
Appa's parents died when he was just three.
I remember how he used to suffer.
He'd say, my parents died when I was
young.
I was unable to do my son's duty.
You both are my sons.
When Abhyankar Sir died, I remember
what he told his children.
Recalling a Zen saying he said,
Children should remember onething....
They can serve their parents
only upto the crematorium.
That's doing a son's duty.
And how can you call him dead?
He may be dead for you, but not for me.
He's very much alive....
Parents never die.
We keep them alive in our minds forever.
Why do you say Appa is dead?
Appa always said, Arjun's dilemma
in the Bhagavadgita arises out of his compassion.
This compassion is not his limitation,
but his strength - the strength of empathy.
Appa will come back.
Don't worry. And it's not your fault.
Satya must be waiting for me. I'll go.
I'll come back soon.
- Yes, go.
Tai, I'll leave.
Have a 9 am lecture.
And my words are more trouble than of help.
And you are already doing whatever's needed.
What else can I do to help?
Don't worry. We'll keep you informed.
Goodbye.
- Ok, bye.
Hello, Inspector Sawant? Yes, any news?
So then? Okay. I will call you again.
Indubai, I'll be back before you leave.
So, no need to lock the house.
- Ok.
If anyone calls on the landline,
ask them to call on my cell.
- Ok.
Don't forget.
- Yes, yes.
Slow down Satya...
Prof. Vidya R.Gupte
Sanskrit Canting Class
Hello. I am Ira Pathak,
Ira Shastri. Dr. Chakrapani Shastri's daughter.
Yes, yes, of course I recognised you.
Please come in.
Do come in.
Mother, I am leaving.
Leaving already?
My daughter Abha
and my granddaughter Savitri. Ira Pathak.
Hello.
- Hello.
I'll leave.
- Yes, Sau, come tomorrow.
Come, come. Sit. I'll be back.
I...came to ask... has Appa come... did
he come here today?
No, Sir didn't come here. But why?
I stopped at a shop on the way home with
Appa. He was in the car.
When I came back, he had disappeared.
Oh no! Then... the police?
Notified them.
He came here once.
Said... I am Kalidas's Meghdoot.
I didn't understand.
I asked him if
I should drop him home. He said no.
Then I got him a rickshaw.
Where must he be wandering?
I'll leave.
- But you...
Wait.....
Please wait for 5 minutes.
Sir helped me in some difficult times.
Helped me live.
Yes, so I have heard with my own ears.
You had trapped him in promises, right?
True.
I had asked him for a promice for fear of the world.
My husband...
My husband had a disease that would shame his wife.
But I still loved him.
I had a job but the money wasn't enough
for my daughter's studies and his treatment.
I told Sir this and asked for his help.
What should I do, Sir?
These problems
will always persist.
But these petty monetary issues can be solved.
But if this time goes, how will she study?
It's important.
I know I always trouble you like this.
No, no. Don't even mention it.
Enroll her immediately and complete her education...
Thanks to Sir's generosity, my daughter
completed her education, got married.
Today, she is happy in her career
and family.
I put a condition, that he wouldn't
tell anyone about my situation.
Ira, Sir was always engrossed in the
study of ancient literature, only.
Sometimes I hear his 'Astu, Astu'
in my ears.
So be it.
Just 'Aso' in Marathi.
So be it, so be it.
The games mind plays are always strange.
Who can understand them?
I told you all this so that you should have no doubts in your mind.
I am sorry.
You should say that to Sir.
But he
has already gone beyond all that.
Hey, anyone seen an Elephant man around?
An Elephant man?
The tents across the river...
saw an
elephant there the other day.
As if they stay in one place...
Keep roaming, here and there.
- Roam all over.
Saw an Elephant man here?
Elephant... ?
No Sir. Why would an
elephant man come here for some hooch?
Hurry! Hurry up! Clear outta here!
What happened?
The Police... the Police are coming!
Oh no! The Police?
Be quick, let's move out. The Police
are following us...
Let's go, hurry!
Let's go, hurry!
And what about him?
I'm telling you, I won't leave him here.
No. His people deceived him.
But we won't. No.
Ok, whatever. Let's go.
Hello Dr. Pathak?
-Ye, Inspector Sawant..
Our Traffic policeman said he saw an old man sitting atop an elephant..
On an elephant?
We have a hunch that it must be Dr. Shastri.
Oh.. Okay!
- Please tell madam too..
Ok, yes I'll tell her.
Good that we got some lead.
Come, come inside.
Wait Satya...
Hello? Yes, Madhav.
What?
Found him!
Please tell me again.
They found Appa?
Where was he?
An elephant?
Oh, I did see one
in the morning.
But how could we imagine this!
But... Is he alright?
Yes, I'll come to the police station.
And the kids?
And Rahi? Will you tell them?
Yes, I'll come immediately.
Ok. Bye.
Hey, there was an elephant here.
Where did the tents go?
They went that way... There..
That way? When?
- About an hour ago...
Ok...
Aunt Rahi!
- Shweta.
Where is Mom?
-
Appa has been found.
Thank God! He's been found!
-
Yes, Mom and Dad have gone to get him.
Sir we didn't do anything...
- Yes sir.. Please listen to us...
Yes yes.. We know..
Inspector.. leave them.
Appa... Appa..
Appa! Get him down! Appa, come down...
You create the universe,
nourish it, contol it, protect it...
In your glorious eternal holy presence
I see myself as nothing but you!
Come... Let's go.
We will leave immediately sir...
- Who all is with you?
Take Care.
Don't wander about here and there.
Take care of him like he is your baby.
He has become God.
Everything looks
alike to him.
Take care, ok?
Will take your leave now...
Mother...
Come let's go Appa. Please, come...
Where were you going ?
forget yourself and become another person.
First you are going to forget
your name, your relationships.
Decide who you are going to become.
Slowly, focus on that person.
Now you are slowly becoming that person.
You are going to forget all your memories.
Appa (Father)...
Now you are no longer you.
Relationships, transactions, the past, the present...
are all forgotten...
This game of Role-Play is an amazing road to
understand all issues and resolve them.
This is the game we are going to play in this
theatre workshop.
Now, slowly open your eyes.
Appa... Tai will come to pick you up.
You stay... at her place all day, ok?
I'll write my exam and come.
Then in the evening, after my exam,
I'll come to her place...
...and we will come back home together...
Yes, yes... It's done, done.
Wait here...
Wait, wait. Don't move, Appa... It's done.
Prof. Dr.Chakrapani Shastri
I am telling you because you should know, don't you?
Yes, one should know...
Truth always stems from awareness
Where there is no awareness, there is no truth...
Truth always stems from awareness
Where there is no awareness, there is no truth...
The one who 'knows' truth,
speaks the truth...
One, therefore, longs for wisdom....
Oh Almighty, I long for wisdom....
Wait, wait Appa, I'm coming.
One second... Watch the step...
How are you?
-
Fine.
His bag with clothes, biscuits... the usual.
Just help him.
- Oh, he's sitting there... I'll open it.
Hold on, Appa. Mind your hand...
Sit. Are you comfortable? Ok...
You...?
- No, no. I've an exam.
He has an exam. Do well. All the best.
Bye.
-Bye.
We are going home, aren't we?
-Yes
I have a small errand on the way and then go home, Okay?
-Okay.
I have to buy some cloth for Shweta.
We'll buy that and go, ok?
Ok, we'll buy cloth.
Where are we?
- This is Lakshmi road, Appa.
This is Lakshmi road?!
- Yes.
Is it?
- Yes, yes.
What is it, Appa?
Please let me look for the address...
What is it, Appa?
So be it, so be it...
That Bohra cloth merchant... the big shop?
Is it in this lane? The next one?
Yes the next lane, But the car won't go in there.
- Oh no... Ok. Thank you.
Please get the car moving madam.
Yes, yes! I'm going, just a minute... Sorry, sorry.
The whole road is blocked behind...
Keep sitting Appa.
Madam there is no parking here.
- It's just a matter of five minutes please.
What is this ? I have just opened my shop..
- My father is sitting. Just a few minutes please.
Please keep an eye on him.
You keep sitting her Appa. I'll just be back.
You be here Appa. I'll be back in five minutes. Right?
Please, just keep an eye on him.
Hey Elephant man, that old gentleman
in that car there wants to give you money I think.
What? You want to sit on top? Are you a kid?
No, not this one. My daughter saw this
vivid royal blue here... Please look for it.
I'll keep it for you, Madam.
Come tomorrow.
Tomorrow?!
She needs it for her play, today evening.
I'll have to look in the godown.
You'll have to wait, Madam.
Please hurry, I've left my father in the car.
No parking there and he often forgets things.
Hiraman, be quick now. Royal blue cloth...
Hey, bro!
-What?
That oldie is weeping over there...
That old fellow?
Yes. The same. The one who gave you money...
Yes. He is crying saying, 'elephant'...'elephant'..
Who knows who is he?
- Someone call the police.
Arey don't get into in police matters I tell you.
What happened? What happened Baba?
What happened?
Who... come on, come with me.
Appa... Appa? Wh... ?
The grandpa who was here... 5 minutes back...
No idea, Madam. I just got here.
- You didn't see him?
No, Madam.
-Where did he go?!
I am the source of energy of the tree called universe...
My honour is like a mountain...
I have become a chest with the divine grace....
Like Sun, the Golden Nectar flows within me...
Divine showers of glorious wealth, knowledge & life
are bestowed upon me...
Hello? Janseva Pediatric ward please...
Sister, Mrs. Pathak here. Dr. Pathak please.
Yes, see anything?
Nothing to worry about. Everything is fine.
Language is not only expressed in words.
Children have a different language.
Understand it... listen to it with trust.
Yes?
-Your wife's call, Sir. It's urgent.
Tell her, I'll call her on her mobile.
So everything will be fine.
Absolutely nothing to worry about.
Hey, move your car!
-Yes, yes, just a minute!
Told you, no parking here...
Come.
Where's your car?
- Got someone to sent it home.
Hey Old Man! Now. go. Go your home. There's nothing here.
Stop following me please.
'Dr. Chakrapani Shastri'
I told you, he won't know the address.
Knowing that, how could you leave him alone in the car?
Baba, here... Take this.
What's your name?
Name,name?
Who else is there at home?
Gaja....(Elephant)....
Where's the driver? Driver?
Did he leave the car and go away?
So be it, so be it...
Here, eat this.
Eat it..
Who are you calling?
-Trying Doctor Prabhu.
How will he go to the neurologist?
Mom, you are impossible?
Impossible? Would you have spared me
if there was no royal blue cloth today evening?
Come on, bring your bag.
Mom, how come you went to Grandpa's today?
- There's the bus. Don't miss school today.
Appa'll be back. Go on.
Coming...
Mom, you call this Royal blue?
Ram had called in the morning.
-What did he say?
He said, his exam starts today.
Mangala Kaku had to go to the temple.
He said, either you come here or take Appa there with you.
How can both of them take off together?
- How can you say that?
It was an important day for both of them.
Shouldn't they inform us in advance?
They had. I forgot.
- Forgot?!
Yes. I forgot. The Mahabharat at home
for this drama costume made me forget.
Yes, hello? Yes, Shekhar...
No, I was about to bring you the reports...
But I just wanted to tell you that he is.... missing.
No clue, he got out of the car and...
Any idea where he must have gone?
You think so? Okay!
OK, yes, we'll go there and check.
Allright. Thanks.
I'll go meet the Principal.
What a beautiful metaphor!
Seeta has returned from exile.
Ram and Seeta are talking after her trial by fire.
My dear fellows, are you with me? Huh?
Sir, I will take your leave.
So be it.. So be it..
Yes. True. It's a very difficult time.
Hello.
Hello, even today, I feel odd to sit on the
Principal's chair. That's Shastri's sir's chair.
Thank you so much.
- Doctor, please rush to the police.
Yes. At once.
He retired as the director of Oriental research Institute ten years ago.
What's the disease called again?
- Alzheimer's.
Can't say exactly what it is, but slowly one loses their memory.
It's difficult to detect that someone has suffered such a memory loss.
Madam, do you have any siblings?
A younger sister -IIT Professor in Mumbai. She was in Germany for many years. She came back 5-6 years ago.
Could Dr. Shastri have gone to see her?
- No, no!
He's quite incapable of buying a ticket and taking a train there.
Atleast inform her. With old people, one can't say.
Tell me, how long has he been like this?
I mean, has he ever gone missing before?
He has been unwell since 5-6 years...
But it has worsened in the last 1-2 years.
But when did it all start?
-It began when my mother passed away.
The patient loses their memory.
But it is the caretaker who has a hard time.
Now I realise it; my Father-in-law must have also had this same thing.
How is he now?
-No, he is no more now.
We got a wire that he fell into a well
outside the house in the village and died.
An unwanted man in the house... Who has actually seen him falling?
Sir, can you please hurry?
- The message is out on the wireless.
Please don't worry. As soon as I know anything,
I will inform you at once.
Send this photo to all the stations...
I'll have to go to the hospital. An emergency. I'll drop you home.
Should we drop in home once?
I mean, to Appa's house, to Mrunmayee.
Now what?
Where's Appa's telephone diary?
My Daughters.... Ira and Rahi
My Assistant-'Ram' and Myself- 'Appa'
Myself- Dr. Chakrapaani Shastri i.e. 'Appa'
My Wife - 'Vasumati'
'Shweta' and 'Satyawrat' my grandchildren and 'Dr.Madhav' my Son-in-law,
'Ira' my daughter, 'Shweta' and 'Satyawrat' my grandchildren.
That's a book on Zen philosophy.
Have you read it?
- No.
Do read it.
- What do they have to say?
That one must always live in the present.
That moment is the only truth.
The past and future just
don't exist for the present.
How can they say that?
How can societal life exist
without the human memory chain?
Iru, today's human is the visible link in that very memory chain.
Everything is concentrated in him/her.
That's nothing but the Present, isn't it?
I don't get it. So history means nothing?
The power of memory means nothing?
Read it. Tao is a fascinating riddle-
of what Is - Is not, truth-untruth...
There is no untruth,
for there is no truth. Only impermanence
But can a mind be like that?
-Why not?
One that bears an empty silence like a cloudless sky. It's possible.
Once thought stops, everything is tranquil, isn't it?
Your buttermilk?
-I forgot. Let it be.
See, he forgot. And Sanskrit? Perfectly by heart.
So be it, so be it.
Sleep for a while now.
Tai, you'll eat now?
- Yes.
I myself-Appa
Coming!
Yes, what is it Appa?
Oh! Wonderful!
Purity of food...Purity of Spirit....
Puruty of Spirit...Purity of intellect...memory...
Who had his food just now? No food for you again.
Then you have to keep going to the toilet.
No, no, no...
- Take it inside.
Let go, let go of the plate.
- Appa, you've eaten... take it away.
Come with me.
You take the plate, Kaku.
Come Appa, I want to tell you something.
What are you doing, Appa?
Meditating....
Meditation is greater than the mind...
The Earth meditates....
The Cosmos meditates
Both the worlds meditate...
The Waters meditate...
The Mountains meditate...
The Gods & the Mankind meditate...
The humans who transcend the worldly limits...
...their strength is the result of their meditation...
Appa, you must be bored sitting at home.
Should we go somewhere?
- Let's.
Where should we go?
The Himalayas. That's where the Pandavas went in the end.
Yudhishthira kept walking alone...
in the cold, cold snow.
I'll get you some tea... ok?
Mom, can I have it?
- No.
Satya!!
Mom, I want it!
- Just give it to him.
Ok, take it, but keep some for Shweta.
And remember this is the last one, ok.
Have this, Madhav.
We must take Appa to Dr. Shekhar.
He seemed fine to me the other day.
He couldn't remember Shweta's name.
But that can happen with age. Don't worry.
What do you mean, don't worry? Yesterday
he asked me when had I returned from abroad.
What?
- Yes, he didn't even remember that he had just had lunch.
I'll take Prabhu's appointment.
Let's not diagnose without proper examination.
Sir, do you remember Ishavasyopadinshad?
God exists in everything in the Universe...
Consume only after you offer Him a share...
Don't desire anything that"s not yours....
Wonderful. And Uttar-Ramcharitra?
Don't think of happiness or distress, loss or gain
victory or defeat... Such a battle is not sinful....
Appa, you are reciting the Bhagvadgita not what he is asking....
Me? Am I lying?
I didn't mean that, but...
See, in the
3rd verse of Raghuvansh, King Aja...
No. She just left him and went to heaven...
I'll tell you her name...
It's....
What's it dammit?!
Urvashi.
The Ganga abandoned
her children
It's all a cosmic constellation I tell you.
Appa, this way.
The medication will help.
- Thank you Shekhar.
We'll take him to our place now, till something else can be arranged.
No one to look after him full-time
at his home.
Ram, a boy from the village...
...is here to study.
And the cook.
They both take care of him.
He likes it better there anyway, with his books for company.
But it's a difficult time for Ira especially..
Anyway thanks. Will see you soon.
- Take care.
Madhav....
Yes, we went to the institute...
Yes, Ira knows.
Ram takes good care of him. Afterall he is a student.
Barely a teenager.
Madhav...
- Yes will ask him too...
Is that Wadekar Sir? It's about Dr. Shastri.
No, nothing like that.
Great!
Appa! Great! You sit here happily reading
while I wait an hour for you on the road?
You... where?
Are you angry?
I forgot...
-You forgot?
Anger leads to insanity which leads to misleading memory
Resulting into loss of wisdom and ultimately into distruction...
Enough, Appa, It's enough!
Didn't I tell you Tai must be waiting? He said no.
- He forgets a lot nowadays.
Where are you off to?
- To college.
Yes, go on...
Don't be angry, I...
You forgot my name?!
Wasn't it your idea to give that organisation a donation
in Mother's name? And you forgot?
And went to college to meet Mrs. Gupte?
No, no... I went to the library.
Library? I called the college, they said you both left together.
I forgot the way home. She dropped me.
You never forget Meghdoot,
but forget the way home.
Not fair Appa!
Iru... Please come here dear...
Ira... my memory is failing slowly, isn't it?
I forget things nowadays, don't I?
Wadekar Sir, Prof. Abhyankar,
Mehendale...I've talked to everyone.
We should inform Rahi, shouldn't we?
Why Rahi? What will she do except sit in Mumbai and worry?
Would Appa have gone to her?
She's his favourite daughter.
Don't be silly.
Yes, speaking...
Hey , Yadnyavalkya!
Why are you wandering?
In search of livelihood or the ultimate knowledge?
...Perhaps in search of both...!
Never betray the Truth...
Never betray the spiritual duties...
Never betray the duties of wellbeing...
Never betray the duties of welfare...
Never betray the duties of study, worship & service....
Guruji is a learned man.
Such pure language!
God only knows where he is from!
Baba, where are you from?
Anta, you are fortunate to have found
a scholar like Guruji. Good...
What should I do with him?
Why is he following me?
Not following. He's accompanying you.
If I go to the police, they'll lock me up.
- He'll go back the way he came.
You didn't call him. Maybe God has sent him.
Who am I...?
Where have I come from...?
What is my form..?
What is my species...?
Who am I...?
Where have I come from...?
What is my form..?
What is my specie...?
I live with ...
Thousands of indentities
Different roles...
Dfifferent duties....
Neither a mother.....
Nor a father.....
Niether a daughter....
Nor a son....
I am the spirit of all living beings...
I am the universe...
I am the God Almighty...
I am Bramha...the Creator...
I do not know...
Who am I...?
I do not know...
Who am I...?
So be it...!
So am I...!
So be it....!
So am I...!
So am I...!
So am I...!
You say, anyone can get this illness.
I don't know about that.
But Appa is suffering this
as a punishment for his own deeds.
Ira, Appa is a patient. Why do you always talk
like you are angry with him?
Appa, Shanta Kaku is here to meet you.
Gossiping about her daughter-in-law isn't enough for her?
Appa,please. I'm getting her here.
Watch your step.
Come, sit. I'll be right back.
Appa, how are you?
We are now fading
leaves. Vasumati left at the right time.
Wonder what was eating into her heart?
Ira, you remember our Malu Vahini?
It seems she used to confide in her.
Appa, what's wrong? Didn't recognise me?
Has a year passed since your husband died?
Come, let's go have some tea.
-Yes, yes.
I didn't know things had come to this...
That was an act for Shanta Kaku,
wasn't it?
But Vasumati's heart. That was the truth...
Ira, the cramps...
- Is it ?
I'll press your feet...
Do you know Mrs. Gupte?
Appa's colleague? Yes. Why do you ask?
Just like that.
Will he be back
from the seminar by tomorrow?
Mother, Appa has said so. He will.
Who knows?
Don't know truth or lies.
You bind yourself to someone
how much
is he yours, how much a stranger?
One truth- you come alone, go alone.
- Mother.
Those books shold be returned...
Just to avoid inconvinience to the students...!
I'll take your leave.
Ira, you know her, don't you? Mrs. Gupte.
She heard about Vasumati's demise and came to meet me.
Call me if you need anything.
You too. Please don't hesitate.
I don't know how I can ever repay you.
I was tied down by my word to you.
Though I wished so,
I never told her anything.
Except this, I never kept anything from her.
But matters of Dharma (right & wrong) are difficult to judge.
I'll be on my way.
So be it, so be it.
Done?
- Yes.
Enough, that's all he'll drink.
For you?
No...
Appa, here, have some juice.
Mom, going for a bath, college at 9.
Wait a minute. Appa, listen... what?
I'm going for a bath, I have college.
Yes, go, go. Appa, listen...
Bath!!
Drink the juice.
Bath.
She has college.
No, first a bath.
You can have it later, Appa.
Do listen, don't go for a bath, Appa.
No, no, never.
Madhav...
Appa, Ram will come to bathe you....
What happened?
He is going for bath.
So, let him.
What will we do if he falls?
Come, Appa...
What are you doing here?
I want to see.
What's there to see? Go.
You go.
Appa, you come.
Ok.
You aren't used to this bathroom,
so let me show you. Sit.
This is the shower.
Yes yes, I know.
This is hot water and cold water, ok?
Appa, do you get it?
This is the hot water, ok?
Give me your glasses.
Take off your vest.
Go..Go...
Will wash it for you.
Slowly, slowly.
Yes,yes... Go now! I'm getting late.
And another thing, Appa, don't lock the door.
We'll wait outside...
Why are you making such a racket?
Mom, you know what Appa did today?
He kept his slippers in the bookshelf
and books in the shoeshelf.
Oh God. What's there to laugh in that?
And what is this mess?
-You kids...
Come, let's go home.
-Appa, this is your home.
No, no. We have our own home. Let"s go.
Appa, you don't remember things,
So you have come to live here.
Fine, we'll go in the evening...
Ok, we'll go in the evening.
Appa, you don't solve crosswords nowadays?
Nowadays, I forget. My friends called me...
...word-win... word-won...
Word-wizard, Appa, Word-wizard.
Word-wizard, they called me.
Appa, 2 syllables Down - Messenger and....
..... 2 syllables Across - Tree.
No, really, remembering is painful...
2 syllables down, 2 across...
Plant and Tappa?
What's Tappa? Idiot!
And Plant is not a Marathi word.
Got it! 'Doot' (messenger) and 'Taru' (tree).
'Doot' from Meghdoot! Right?
Yes! 'Megh'(Cloud) - the elephant of the skies!
Appa, you keep saying you don't remember.
Is it a lie afterall?
How much memory loss, how much a garb :
you just can't make out.
The memory loss is real; seldom a garb.
Appa, your buttons are all wrong.
Wait, I'll button them up properly.
What are you doing?
-Your buttons...
Appa! What are you doing? Mom!
What's going on? Shweta...
Appa, what are you doing? Move aside.
What's this, Appa?
- I... his buttons, Mom.
You go, go. Appa, look here! Turn around.
Appa... Turn around.
It's ok, I'll take it with me.
- I'll bring it, I'll bring it.
Tomorrow's the dress rehearsal.
Be sure to bring it tomorrow.
I won't forget.
- Get it without fail.
Mom, Mom!
Yes, what happened?
Mom, you know Appa is not right in the head.
Sayli went to the loo and Appa was on the commode.
He hadn't even locked the door!
Shweta, you know...
Why can't he stay at his house?
Dad will hire a 24 hour nurse!
Shut up!
- What do you mean shut up?!
Were you trying to reach me today?
- Yes, why?
My phone got lost.
- What?
So what's going on?
Nothing, only Cricket all day.
He needs a scolding.
So, enjoying the cricket?
Your registered post came...
Catch!!!
Apaa... What is this?
You sit, wait, nobody move.
I'll sweep it up. You hold this for me...
It's ok, it's ok. It's nothing, Appa.
We'll clean it now.
You watch TV. Go on.
Here I'll clean it.
- Come, Ira.
Count out the clothes.
Have this.
- I don't want it.
It's very good.
- No really, I had it.
Take a little bit.
- Appa, what are you doing? Mom!
Take it, do take it.
- What's going on, Appa!
What's going on, Appa!
Look at her, why is she not eating it?
What are you doing?
She refuses to eat...
She's studying. What are you doing?
I'm giving her cake.
No, she doesn't want it.
It's good cake.
No, don't... Sudhir! Please help.
Appa, leave her.
Sir, come Sir.
Come, come away.
What's wrong with him?
He's become like that only...
Come inside sir!
I am Mrs. Pathak.
Shinde, you can go in now.
Let me go...
Hey, sit quietly.
Me... Where... But...
Button up...
Ok, I'm going.
Sit down quietly.
Where...where have you brought me ?
I told you to be quiet. Quiet!
Am I mad?
The doctor is coming.
I... let me go.
Brother, be quiet.
No, I'm not mad... not me.
The doctor advised you
not to take him out in this condition.
Ok, come. Come this way.
Oh, Ira? You sit inside. I'll come.
Now, it is getting too much...
Shweta...
This can happen in dementia.
Awareness of relationships is lost.
You have to keep watch on him.
Watch?
Will it be better to send him to his house?
I mean, for him?
But is there someone to take care of him there?
- Care...
Madhav must know an asylum : Uttarayan.
Why don't you visit it?
We need volunteers here.
This is not the work only for paid staff.
Every inmate has a different story.
And we do understand
the helplessness of the family.
Longevity is rising.
The number of elderly is increasing.
These issues will only escalate.
- Yes.
Come... we'll take your leave.
Aren't you eating?
Not hungry.
I'll drop Appa back to his house.
Ram is there, I'll call Mangala Kaku also.
Ira... You know that...
What to do, Madhav?
It's Shweta I'm worried about.
Let him go back to his own house.
Are you sure?
I'll just be back...
Who's this king you brought to this
palace?
Who's this king you brought to this
palace?
He's been after me since morning.
Have this....
Hey Chennamma...
Water... some water...
Looks like a holy man, a learned man.
Has God himself come to bless us?
So be it, so be it....
Hungry, are you?
Feeding animal-God is hard enough.
I say, take this other God to the police...
or they'll take us to jail.
Food, sit, sit... eat.
The essence of humanity is compassion.
The honey for all creatures.
In this humanity lives the glorious one.
He is the soul...the nector...the Almighty...Brahma...
Guruji, police will take you home, ok?
Ok, we'll go after sometime.
Why are you on exile like this, Sir?
The ascetic...who never accumulates...never retaliates...
...spiritually enriched...pure being....
Who knows what the Goddess
will write in one's destiny... poor thing!
..who takes just enough to survive... who has no home...
the ultimate Sage....
I won't go to the police. They'll think
I am a thief, beat me and throw me in jail.
Have this...
It's you... Ram...
Where's Appa?
Appa is lost...
Lost? What do you mean?
Once I asked Appa if he wants a shave...
He said, don't show me the mirror,
can't look at the ghost in it anymore.
Once he said, take me to Vanaprastha (into the forest-the third phase of life)
Everyone's a ghost there.
Madhav and I went to see Uttarayan.
But I wasn't for it.
But that is better than
something like this happening.
Should I search for him somewhere?
Where will you search?
And the police are searching.
Ok, I'll wait at home, in case
he comes there.
Yes, do that.
-
Call me if you need any help.
Ok... just a minute, phone.
Hello, Shweta... Shweta's phone.
You go on... Shut the door, please.
Any news of Appa?
-
No.
Did he have to do this today?
-
Shweta!
You'll are coming for the play, right?
- What's the situation, and what are you saying?
You are thinking only of yourself.
Mom, do such events come again?
I know. I can't say about me.
Dad and Satya will come.
All the best!
Guruji, come let's go to the police.
They'll take you home.
Don't you want to go home? Home?
Home?
Let's go..
I say, let him stay. A holy person has
come to our door. Let him be.
Who knows? His people may have
driven him away when he lost his head.
Poor thing, let him be, let him stay.
Who knows, dues of which lives we have yet to clear!
He'll go away, after we clear the debts....
If you'd have told me as soon as Appa disappeared,
I'd have taken leave at once.
There's no rush on the highway
in the afternoon. I reached in 3 hours.
Have you asked Gajanan Shastri?
- Yes.
And Ghaisas Guruji?
- Yes, we did.
Rahi, did you have lunch?
- No, finished my lecture and left at once.
I'll quickly cook something!
No need. I don't mind chapatti
and vegetables from the morning.
Actually I am not really hungry.
Only tea and biscuits will do.
Where's Madhav?
- He had to attend an emergency, should be back soon.
Are we leaving this place tomorrow?
- Yes.
If the old man doesn't go away
on his own,
we'll take him with us.
What will happen of him if
we leave him here, poor thing?
I'm so scared of the police...
Oh no! The old man soiled his pants!
He's lost his shame; he's become a child.
We have 2, we'll call this one our own too.
It's ok, I'll see to it. Yes, yes...
It's done...
Go play with the kid now.
Hey, take this grandpa to play with you! Go...
Ma!
Ma! Mother... hungry...
Oh, poor thing... You hungry?
But this Ma
of yours is poor...
Don't cry, don't cry my child.
Bread? Some bread? Yes, I'll see.
Come, come, I'll look for some bread.
We went this way. That was a one-way...
Take a left now.
That was a one-way, so I parked the car
and went in walking... this way...
Appa was in the car..
Should we look in those lanes there?
- Looked everywhere.
Let's ask those people.
- I did ask.
Did Grandpa comew back ?
- No, Ma'm, nobody came.
I went away for mere five minutes and... Where could he go?
Did you see a confused old man asking for his address ?
No, madam.
Did you see a grandpa with
the sacred ash on his forehead?
Tai, did Appa remember me?
No sense in this question really, but...
But he did.
Did he ?
Is Satya's tiffin ready. I am leaving.
Here it is.
The police haven't gotten
back at all yet, Madhav.
Ira please. We have to give them time, ok?
I'll come
as soon as Shweta's play finishes.
Tai's not going?
How can I go?
Why not?
Will Appa return at once if you sit
at home?
Or will you hunt for him from home?
Not that. But I won't
enjoy the play, that's why.
It's your daughter's play. Think of what
she will feel if you don't go.
Your sitting at home will make no difference to finding Appa.
So, let Shweta at least feel good.
Rahi, don't foist your rational theory on me please.
Madhav, you are a doctor. You tell her.
Appa is not Appa anymore.
Once a person's brain shuts, doesn't that person count as dead?
So, since Appa is no longer Appa,
why not keep him in some asylum ?
What do you think, Madhav?
Rahi is right.
Keeping a patient in an asylum or in a hospital is in no way cruel.
I am not convinced.
You Stopped theatre workshops, didn't you?
Yes, I did. Because I no longer have the
mental energy or space it needs!
5 minutes... I left the car for 5 minutes
and Appa disappeared.
Even my memory is getting hazy...
I relived it a 100 times...
Didn't I lock the car?
Did I leave
a window open?
He vanished...
all because of me.
Ira, are you mad? It's not at all your fault.
Tai, don't take on unnecessary guilt.
As if you knew Appa would go away like this?
He has become unpredictable.
Eventually you will both look at me accusing
that Appa got lost because of me.
Don't tell me that...unpredictable...
What's this, Tai. First get angry and
then feel guilty.
When will you change?
I always felt, you were Appa's favourite.
So he got you to learn Sanskrit, like him.
And made me study science.
Me going away was fine, but
he wanted you in Pune, near him.
Actually, he was only proud of you, Rahi.
You have it good - no husband, no kids.
And me? As the elder one, you manage,
you adjust.
The younger one is abroad...
Look after the parents, Mother's illness.
And now Appa is alone. Take care of him.
That's why Me.
This is the thing.
First do and then
get frustrated.
And make others feel guilty.
Instead, just do whatever you want.
Don't tell me that.
What am I to do? Whatever I want? How?
Tai, this is like Mother.
Mother was not well educated.
She had no understanding of Appa's learning.
So she pined away about Mrs. Gupte.
How do you know if she was just
pining or if there was some truth in it?
You have been away from home
for 15 years!
What do you know?
One minute, what are you saying?
Who's Mrs. Gupte?
You don't know anything. You stay out of this...
So, in so many years, you weren't even
able to tell him about this.
No.
Then why blame Appa if he didn't tell
Mother?
And if at all there was anything between them,
accept it rationally.
Can't two people from the same profession
share an intellectual friendship?
Enough Rahi.
And I'd say, even if they felt
something for each other...
Rahi, enough!
What are you
going on about - rationally, rationally?
Appa's parents died when he was just three.
I remember how he used to suffer.
He'd say, my parents died when I was
young.
I was unable to do my son's duty.
You both are my sons.
When Abhyankar Sir died, I remember
what he told his children.
Recalling a Zen saying he said,
Children should remember onething....
They can serve their parents
only upto the crematorium.
That's doing a son's duty.
And how can you call him dead?
He may be dead for you, but not for me.
He's very much alive....
Parents never die.
We keep them alive in our minds forever.
Why do you say Appa is dead?
Appa always said, Arjun's dilemma
in the Bhagavadgita arises out of his compassion.
This compassion is not his limitation,
but his strength - the strength of empathy.
Appa will come back.
Don't worry. And it's not your fault.
Satya must be waiting for me. I'll go.
I'll come back soon.
- Yes, go.
Tai, I'll leave.
Have a 9 am lecture.
And my words are more trouble than of help.
And you are already doing whatever's needed.
What else can I do to help?
Don't worry. We'll keep you informed.
Goodbye.
- Ok, bye.
Hello, Inspector Sawant? Yes, any news?
So then? Okay. I will call you again.
Indubai, I'll be back before you leave.
So, no need to lock the house.
- Ok.
If anyone calls on the landline,
ask them to call on my cell.
- Ok.
Don't forget.
- Yes, yes.
Slow down Satya...
Prof. Vidya R.Gupte
Sanskrit Canting Class
Hello. I am Ira Pathak,
Ira Shastri. Dr. Chakrapani Shastri's daughter.
Yes, yes, of course I recognised you.
Please come in.
Do come in.
Mother, I am leaving.
Leaving already?
My daughter Abha
and my granddaughter Savitri. Ira Pathak.
Hello.
- Hello.
I'll leave.
- Yes, Sau, come tomorrow.
Come, come. Sit. I'll be back.
I...came to ask... has Appa come... did
he come here today?
No, Sir didn't come here. But why?
I stopped at a shop on the way home with
Appa. He was in the car.
When I came back, he had disappeared.
Oh no! Then... the police?
Notified them.
He came here once.
Said... I am Kalidas's Meghdoot.
I didn't understand.
I asked him if
I should drop him home. He said no.
Then I got him a rickshaw.
Where must he be wandering?
I'll leave.
- But you...
Wait.....
Please wait for 5 minutes.
Sir helped me in some difficult times.
Helped me live.
Yes, so I have heard with my own ears.
You had trapped him in promises, right?
True.
I had asked him for a promice for fear of the world.
My husband...
My husband had a disease that would shame his wife.
But I still loved him.
I had a job but the money wasn't enough
for my daughter's studies and his treatment.
I told Sir this and asked for his help.
What should I do, Sir?
These problems
will always persist.
But these petty monetary issues can be solved.
But if this time goes, how will she study?
It's important.
I know I always trouble you like this.
No, no. Don't even mention it.
Enroll her immediately and complete her education...
Thanks to Sir's generosity, my daughter
completed her education, got married.
Today, she is happy in her career
and family.
I put a condition, that he wouldn't
tell anyone about my situation.
Ira, Sir was always engrossed in the
study of ancient literature, only.
Sometimes I hear his 'Astu, Astu'
in my ears.
So be it.
Just 'Aso' in Marathi.
So be it, so be it.
The games mind plays are always strange.
Who can understand them?
I told you all this so that you should have no doubts in your mind.
I am sorry.
You should say that to Sir.
But he
has already gone beyond all that.
Hey, anyone seen an Elephant man around?
An Elephant man?
The tents across the river...
saw an
elephant there the other day.
As if they stay in one place...
Keep roaming, here and there.
- Roam all over.
Saw an Elephant man here?
Elephant... ?
No Sir. Why would an
elephant man come here for some hooch?
Hurry! Hurry up! Clear outta here!
What happened?
The Police... the Police are coming!
Oh no! The Police?
Be quick, let's move out. The Police
are following us...
Let's go, hurry!
Let's go, hurry!
And what about him?
I'm telling you, I won't leave him here.
No. His people deceived him.
But we won't. No.
Ok, whatever. Let's go.
Hello Dr. Pathak?
-Ye, Inspector Sawant..
Our Traffic policeman said he saw an old man sitting atop an elephant..
On an elephant?
We have a hunch that it must be Dr. Shastri.
Oh.. Okay!
- Please tell madam too..
Ok, yes I'll tell her.
Good that we got some lead.
Come, come inside.
Wait Satya...
Hello? Yes, Madhav.
What?
Found him!
Please tell me again.
They found Appa?
Where was he?
An elephant?
Oh, I did see one
in the morning.
But how could we imagine this!
But... Is he alright?
Yes, I'll come to the police station.
And the kids?
And Rahi? Will you tell them?
Yes, I'll come immediately.
Ok. Bye.
Hey, there was an elephant here.
Where did the tents go?
They went that way... There..
That way? When?
- About an hour ago...
Ok...
Aunt Rahi!
- Shweta.
Where is Mom?
-
Appa has been found.
Thank God! He's been found!
-
Yes, Mom and Dad have gone to get him.
Sir we didn't do anything...
- Yes sir.. Please listen to us...
Yes yes.. We know..
Inspector.. leave them.
Appa... Appa..
Appa! Get him down! Appa, come down...
You create the universe,
nourish it, contol it, protect it...
In your glorious eternal holy presence
I see myself as nothing but you!
Come... Let's go.
We will leave immediately sir...
- Who all is with you?
Take Care.
Don't wander about here and there.
Take care of him like he is your baby.
He has become God.
Everything looks
alike to him.
Take care, ok?
Will take your leave now...
Mother...
Come let's go Appa. Please, come...
Where were you going ?