My Brother... Nikhil (2005)

That was an excellent one.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The subject of the film is about something many people have gone through: the contamination to HIV, the development of the disease of AIDS and the ultimate death of the patient. Personally I do not want to count the victims around me because that would be too sad. Some died of pulmonary infections. Some died of a vicious attack on their nervous system. Some died of Karposi skin cancer. The types and modes of death were incredibly varied. For nearly 15 to 20 years the available treatments did not do much except slow down the end and soften that end. We now have a treatment that can lengthen the life of the patients seriously, but it is no cure yet. But luckily we are far beyond Reagan's declaration that it was the punishment of god against homosexuals.In the film we are in Goa and we are dealing with a State Champion in swimming. He finds himself HIV positive. He is expelled from the swimming team: one day he gets into the water and everyone else scrambles out. He is totally rejected by his parents, his father beating him up and his mother telling him that since he was premature at birth she wishes he could have died. He has only one refuge and it is Nigel, his friend. He is arrested and definitely roughed up by the police who took him to the hospital where he is isolated in the sanatorium, alone and totally abandoned and unable to leave. He suffers from the rejection because of the disease, which is absolutely outrageous because everyone has the right to benefit from medicine equally, at least officially. But he also suffers from the rejection because he is at once revealed to be a homosexual. Note that's the only word used in the film and the word "gay" is never used. At this point we are deeply engulfed and drowning in some colonial heritage that India's supreme court has still not been able to declare anti-constitutional Here is their latest decision:« IN THE SUPREME COURT 0F India CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION (ORDER XL, RULE 1) REVIEW PETITION (CIVIL) No. of 2014 (Against the Order dated 11.12.2013 in Civil Appeal No. 10972 of 2013 (arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 15436 of 2009) passed by this Hon'ble Court: Sought to be Reviewed) IN THE MATTER 0F: Dr. Shekhar Seshadri & Others . . .Petitioners Versus Suresh Kumar Koushal & Others . .Respondents. . . This Hon'ble Court, by the impugned judgment, set aside the judgment of the High Court and held that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was constitutional and that it applied to acts, irrespective of age or consent of the parties involved. »This Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is directly inherited from the old British colonial penal code. India has not yet been able to get rid of her colonial heritage and past. We have here a typical post colonial situation. The consequences are drastic. Nikhil is in locked up detention in total isolation in a sanatorium where he gets minimal care. His family is victimized and ostracized in the city to the point of them having to leave, though this reveals the total lack of courage of the parents, since the daughter supported by her fiancé decides to stay and look for a lawyer and fight. Nigel as Nikhil's partner is forced to go through a test, which is in a way perfectly sane and he should have decided to do it himself, and he finds out he is healthy. After the first difficult situation between the two men, Nigel becomes supportive to the end. It is difficult to find a lawyer and there is no real legal attack possible if there is no popular support. So they start a public campaign. In that situation Nigel's home will be raided and looted. But they win the battle. Nikhil decides not to fight against his boss who does not want to reinstate him in his job and he develops a musical career for a couple of years. Then the film shows the slow ending of this life. It is in this part that the film brings the mother first to apologizing for her violent declaration. It will take a lot more time for the father who will finally accept for Nikhil to come back home when he has reached the final phase of the disease and is no longer able to have a normal activity. Nikhil will thus die a deeply emotional death in the arms of Nigel who would have gone to sleep curled up around him waiting for that magic moment when the sun comes up at daybreak, this moment becoming the metaphor of Nikhil's death.The film is absolutely beautiful and deeply emotional. It was shot in 2005 and it has not been able to prevent the erring position and ruling of India's Supreme Court in 2014 as quoted above. We have to keep in mind India is assuming its colonial heritage instead of questioning it and is now far behind all western countries, or nearly, and all democracies respectful of their own democratic order that recognize the right to any adult to have and practice any sexual orientation they want as long as it does not endanger the integrity and life of their partners, with of course the special case of minors who are not supposed to have sexual intercourse with adults of any type up to a certain age set by the law. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Even though I'm a guy, I can admit that this is one of those movies that will make you cry. The title music and the song "Le chale" is an outstanding song..one that you can never get tired of playing on your Guitar. Amitabh Varma is at his best at writing poetry and Vivek Phillip's music goes straight to the heart. Sanjay Suri impressed me in his cameo role in "Dhoop", but he has acted out of his skin in this movie and deserves an award for his acting. His poignancy and facial expressions reminded me of Raj Kapoor at times. Great movie about a very serious issue. The soundtrack is superb as well. Other than the Le Chale song, there are some instrumental versions too, which are great. Other actors acted well too. I give it 10/10

2005 was a very good year for quality movies. And I can safely say that 'my brother nikhil' is the best movie. I loved 'Black' and 'Iqbal', but they come only second to MBN. They did'nt touch me as much as MBN. The credit for that goes to a lot of factors-people involved, and not just the main plot line.The movie just flows. Never drags- excellent editing. As realistic as it could get- excellent screenplay. Completely devoid of subplots- excellent script writing. Music by Vivek Phillip is awesome. Has only one song that also plays along in the background. And what a song. Sunidhi chauhan and Shaan have delivered one of their best ever. Haunting is the word.Sanjay Suri plays the protoganist. And boy can he act! I was impressed with his performance in 'Pinjar'. And now this. Am just appalled that he never even got nominated for any of the awards, let alone win. I think its about time that people/film industry sit up and give him credit for his talent.Likewise, Purab Kohli deserves applause for his performance. Another talent going unnoticed by bollywood. Juhi chawla, Victor Banerjee and Lilette Dubey all come up with wonderful performances, making their characters totally believable and they are perfectly cast. Am not undermining their calibre, but they've all been recognized and established actors. So, in the end its Sanjay and Purab who got the raw deal. And of course, Onir, the director can be added to that list too. He has handled the issue of AIDS and homosexuality with utmost maturity. Basic premise aside, he deals with so many relationship situations, and all done very realistically. Keep up the good work. Cant wait for his next 'bas ek pal'.All in all, it's a sin to let a movie like this pass by. So if u have'nt already, please go watch it.

After "Black", "My Brother Nikhil" is another movie that can be added to the "Must See list" or a collection at home. A great film with outstanding star cast and a brilliant script. The one song in the movie "Le Chale" was really good and is perfectly set in the movie. It is not a movie that will appeal to everyone, but its for those who enjoy differeent kind of cinema. Juhi is a really good actressand must do more movies because she is definitely one of the good ones.Sanjay acted very well as well. Liletter Dubey was just fantastic (she is good in every film). There isn't much I can spoil because the movie is about AIDS and how Juhi helplessly watches her brother die but at the same time but at the same time she is the only one who stands by him. The movie deals with family conflicts, social issues in a different way. A MUST SEE! 10/10