‘Frame’ movie review: Nagraj Manjule, Amey Wagh humanise a cautionary tale of an artist’s degeneration

In his reflective directorial debut, Vikram Patwardhan crafts a timely ethical battle as the cold professional working style of a veteran photojournalist, Chandu Pansare (Nagraj Manjule), collides with the empathetic outlook of a rookie photographer, Siddharth Deshmukh (Amey Wagh). Years of being behind the camera have instilled a sense of power in Chandu, who is desperate to find a moment to capture the perfect shot during times of distress. Shooting, for him, is paramount. He will choose to be a good photographer rather than learn to be a good human, as he reacts less to the emotions of those he captures and more to the mechanics of his frame.

He is still imbued with complexity, as director Patwardhan refrains from vilifying him in the screenplay. Just like the multiple layers of clothes he wears, there are sides to him he prefers to keep to himself, hiding the true nature of his broken self beneath firmly built exteriors. That’s what surprises Siddharth when he sees him talk clinically about capturing photos. Or when he talks rudely over the phone. It is owing to Chandu’s superiority complex that left a dent on his marriage, leading to his separation from his wife and daughter. The film tries to find a connection between his personal tragedy and the impersonal nature of his work style. Has being a photojournalist and reacting to violent instances on a daily basis desensitised him into a heartless human, or is it his imminent apathy that transcends into his photography?

The answer lies somewhere in the middle as Patwardhan casts a critical look at how crime scenes are covered by the media. It is a difficult world for Siddharth to inhabit as he faces difficulty in pointing his camera towards a man who committed suicide, and his rotten body is just about to be taken for post-mortem. In that moment of crisis, he finds a new way of capturing the body, framing it behind while focusing on the suicide note prominently in the foreground. The scene is staged meticulously, spending time with the inner world of Siddharth as he struggles to even look at the body, while another photojournalist mocks him for his apparent discomfort.

The might of this conflict is captured with ease by cinematographer Milind Jog, even as Patwardhan doesn’t quite open the theme to encompass larger ideas about the importance of gaze while covering a conflict. There are places where these complexities could have come in, especially in the second half when Siddharth and Chandu head to a Maharashtra village to cover the devastation caused by an earthquake. Rather, the focus stays on the central idea of being a good human and good photographer, adding a mild sociopathic tangent to Chandu, similar to Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) from Nightcrawler, although the tone never quite turns as intensely psychological.

A still from the film
| Photo Credit:
ZEE5

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The intention is also not to turn Chandu into a menace as much as it is to showcase his desperation turning into something endlessly devastating. Nagraj brings a steady conviction as he embodies the fury of Chandu. The heartlessness comes across in his body language and the manner in which he looks at his subjects. Interestingly, Chandu is a contrasting personality to Nagraj, known for his empathetic and deeply humanising gaze in films like Fandry, Sairat andJhund. He is complemented with equal clarity by Amey Wagh, who represents the innocence and idealism of being young with a disarming sharpness.

Along with their stark presence, Frame is easily elevated by the refreshing treatment by Patwardhan, who leaves space for restraint and maturity in his scenes, which are powered by a lively editing style and peppy background score. There’s an overarching sensitivity in his voice that mirrors his judgement of his characters, not letting the film slip into empty cynicism. That’s why, Frame functions also as a cautionary tale against mass desensitisation. It reaffirms that being a good human is not just a choice but an existential imperative.

Frame is currently streaming on ZEE5