In art, three strikes sometimes can mean a home run. Waris Hussein's "Sixth Happiness" is about a man so far removed from the mainstream of his society that his story presents a golden opportunity to look at the whole notion of what makes the mainstream mainstream. Hussein and Firdaus Kanga -- who is both the writer and the story's subject -- seize this opportunity to create a magical and funny movie that constantly surprises the viewer with its mischievous antics and even more mischievous subtext.
Now about those three strikes. "Sixth Happiness" is about a young man born with brittle-bone disease, which renders him a lifelong cripple. He is unable to grow or walk and is capable of breaking his glasslike bones with a hiccup. Add to this the fact he is born into the Parsee community in Bombay, India, generally regarded as oddball by other Indians, and when he matures, he comes to realize he is gay, an unacceptable condition in Indian society.
"Sixth Happiness" opens today in New York, to be followed by a theatrical engagement in Los Angeles beginning Nov. 5. It will then be distributed city-by-city, a rollout that will tax the ingenuity of Regent Entertainment's marketing team. But there is little doubt that those they do attract will form an appreciative nucleus that will drive this picture by positive word of mouth.
To bring "Sixth Happiness", based on Kanga's autobiographical novel, "Trying to Grow", to the screen, Hussein has undertaken a brave artistic tack. Hussein persuaded Kanga to play himself at all ages. Seeing a grown-up play an 8-year-old is initially startling, but because this playful though tiny man has an ageless quality, it works.
Also helping is the fact that because Kanga's character can never grow physically, he wants to mature as rapidly as possible. So witty remarks coming from the mouth of this particular "babe" are entirely fitting.
His beloved sister Dolly (Nina Wadia) names that "babe" Brit, which not only puns on the brittle nature of his tube-like bones but the Parsee penchant for Anglophilia. The Parsees were not only the most British of Indian subjects during the Raj, but today remain lovers of all things English. At a birthday party for her son, Brit's mother Sera (Souad Faress) looks at the table laden with food and cries out in happiness, "Oh, look, there is nothing Indian on this table!"
Sera laughs when she first hears of her newborn son's condition and immediately accepts and loves her son for who he is. But Brit's father Sam (Khodus Wadia) finds it hard to love so deformed a son and takes Brit to a succession of quacks and gurus in search of a miracle cure.
Caught between these two extremes, Brit must find not only a way to "grow up" but, as a lover (Ahsen Bhatti) tells him, a way to like his looks.
Hussein's artistic triumph is to create within the Bombay apartment and streets into which Brit ventures in his wheelchair a world where the director can crystallize the key themes of Brit's adventurous life. Brit is nicely surrounded by eccentrics, including a deaf cousin (Nisha Nayar) who is his arranged future bride, both of their hyperactive mothers, and a wealthy woman (Sabira Merchant) who tutors Brit.
Brit/Kanga gives a running commentary on the events of his life with a dry, Woody Allenesque wit. Definitely a rascal, Brit is a man who refuses to shun the daylight as the handicapped are expected to by certain elements in Indian society. Hussein has been aided in this stylish comedy by superb work by his cinematographer, James Welland, and production designer Lynne Whiteread.
SIXTH HAPPINESS
Regent Entertainment
British Film Institute/BBC
Producer:Tatiana Kennedy
Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:Firdaus Kanga
Based on the novel by:Firdaus Kanga
Executive producers:Frances-Anne Solomon, Ben Gibson
Director of photography:James Welland
Production designer:Lynne Whiteread
Costumes:Amal Allana
Editor:Laurence Mery-Clark
Color/stereo
Cast:
Brit Kotwal:Firdaus Kanga
Sera Kotwal:Souad Faress
Sam Kotwal:Khodus Wadia
Dolly Kotwal:Nina Wadia
Cyrus:Ahsen Bhatti
Amy:Indira Varma
Mme. Manckshaw:Sabira Merchant
Jeroo:Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal
Running time -- 97 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Now about those three strikes. "Sixth Happiness" is about a young man born with brittle-bone disease, which renders him a lifelong cripple. He is unable to grow or walk and is capable of breaking his glasslike bones with a hiccup. Add to this the fact he is born into the Parsee community in Bombay, India, generally regarded as oddball by other Indians, and when he matures, he comes to realize he is gay, an unacceptable condition in Indian society.
"Sixth Happiness" opens today in New York, to be followed by a theatrical engagement in Los Angeles beginning Nov. 5. It will then be distributed city-by-city, a rollout that will tax the ingenuity of Regent Entertainment's marketing team. But there is little doubt that those they do attract will form an appreciative nucleus that will drive this picture by positive word of mouth.
To bring "Sixth Happiness", based on Kanga's autobiographical novel, "Trying to Grow", to the screen, Hussein has undertaken a brave artistic tack. Hussein persuaded Kanga to play himself at all ages. Seeing a grown-up play an 8-year-old is initially startling, but because this playful though tiny man has an ageless quality, it works.
Also helping is the fact that because Kanga's character can never grow physically, he wants to mature as rapidly as possible. So witty remarks coming from the mouth of this particular "babe" are entirely fitting.
His beloved sister Dolly (Nina Wadia) names that "babe" Brit, which not only puns on the brittle nature of his tube-like bones but the Parsee penchant for Anglophilia. The Parsees were not only the most British of Indian subjects during the Raj, but today remain lovers of all things English. At a birthday party for her son, Brit's mother Sera (Souad Faress) looks at the table laden with food and cries out in happiness, "Oh, look, there is nothing Indian on this table!"
Sera laughs when she first hears of her newborn son's condition and immediately accepts and loves her son for who he is. But Brit's father Sam (Khodus Wadia) finds it hard to love so deformed a son and takes Brit to a succession of quacks and gurus in search of a miracle cure.
Caught between these two extremes, Brit must find not only a way to "grow up" but, as a lover (Ahsen Bhatti) tells him, a way to like his looks.
Hussein's artistic triumph is to create within the Bombay apartment and streets into which Brit ventures in his wheelchair a world where the director can crystallize the key themes of Brit's adventurous life. Brit is nicely surrounded by eccentrics, including a deaf cousin (Nisha Nayar) who is his arranged future bride, both of their hyperactive mothers, and a wealthy woman (Sabira Merchant) who tutors Brit.
Brit/Kanga gives a running commentary on the events of his life with a dry, Woody Allenesque wit. Definitely a rascal, Brit is a man who refuses to shun the daylight as the handicapped are expected to by certain elements in Indian society. Hussein has been aided in this stylish comedy by superb work by his cinematographer, James Welland, and production designer Lynne Whiteread.
SIXTH HAPPINESS
Regent Entertainment
British Film Institute/BBC
Producer:Tatiana Kennedy
Director:Waris Hussein
Writer:Firdaus Kanga
Based on the novel by:Firdaus Kanga
Executive producers:Frances-Anne Solomon, Ben Gibson
Director of photography:James Welland
Production designer:Lynne Whiteread
Costumes:Amal Allana
Editor:Laurence Mery-Clark
Color/stereo
Cast:
Brit Kotwal:Firdaus Kanga
Sera Kotwal:Souad Faress
Sam Kotwal:Khodus Wadia
Dolly Kotwal:Nina Wadia
Cyrus:Ahsen Bhatti
Amy:Indira Varma
Mme. Manckshaw:Sabira Merchant
Jeroo:Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal
Running time -- 97 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/22/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.