Dreams in Prussian Blue (2010) by Paritosh Uttam captures the life of
some Fine Arts students in Mumbai. It was recently in the news because Shyam
Prasad’s new movie Artist is based on
it.
Naina
Trivedi, a fresher at Fine Arts College meets Michael Agnelo and his friends
Abhinav and Ruchi. Michael’s passion for painting and his charisma sweep her
off her feet and she realizes that she has fallen in love with him. To the
dismay of her conservative Brahmin family, she leaves home to have a live-in
relationship with Michael. The initial plan is that she will write and he will
paint. But when they start living together, the responsibility of running the
household falls on Naina as Michael does only what he is promised to do- to
paint and nothing else.
Caught
up in a situation from which there is no turning back, she creates a website
for his paintings and calls prospective buyers and art galleries. Michael
refuses to turn up for one such meeting with the owner of an art gallery and
Naina calls and threatens him with a break-up. Unfortunately, Nicheal meets
with an accident on the way and loses his eyesight. It is Abhinav who helps her
with the bills and with Michael.
Abhinav
and Ruchi live the middle class dream of a secure job, a posh apartment, plans
for starting a family and having a car. Naina is distraught that Michael who
used to be the best of all has come to nothing while the others are thriving. Inspite
of his blindness, Michael continues to paint and she has to work hard to pay
the rent and buy new canvases and paints. Abhinav advises her to give Michael
used canvases and gives her a box of Prussian Blue that was there at his house.
Michael
finishes 24 pictures that depict the history of painting and his exhibition
draws people because of the publicity that is given to his blindness. However,
Abhinav’s deceit does not stop with the Prussian Blue and Naina is caught up in
a fix because of her love for Michael and gratitude for Abhinav. Will she be
able to fix her strained relationship with Michael?
1 comment:
Oh I had no idea this book had this kind of a story.
Thanks for reviewing it. I want to pick this up now.
Thanks
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