Mystic Masseur
(November 2001)
Directed by Ismail Merchant
Starring Om Puri (Ram Logan), Aasif Mandvi (Ganesh), Ayesha Dharker (Leela), Sanjeev Bhasker (Beharry), Jimi Mistry.
DVD Release Date: 30 June 2003
Classification: PG
PAL, Region 2 encoding
(Europe, Japan, South Africa and the Middle East including Egypt).
Catalogue Number: P9100DVD
Guide Price: £12.99
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I discovered V S Naipaul during a long 'Indian Summer' as a schoolgirl when I should have been baby-sitting my neighbours' young child. Still the child was a well-behaved toddler, and I was a fast reader, leaving me with ample time to savour Naipaul's novels - most about the Indian community in Trinidad - like 'Miguel Street' and 'The House of Mr Biswas'. Since then I have always associated sunshine and warm summers with V S Naipaul.

Ismail Merchant's adaptation of the Nobel Literature prizewinner's book, 'The Mystic Masseur', is a mellow traverse through the lush beauty of Trinidad and the life of Ganesh Ramsumair, the hero of the tale. Played by Asif Mandvi, Ganesh, an unemployed teacher in the island's capital Port of Spain, moves to the countryside where is beguiled by the apparently naïve and illiterate Ramlogan (Om Puri) and his daughter, Leela, played by Ayesha Dharker.

Ganesh discovers that he had inherited his father's skills as a masseur and promptly declares his intention to write a lot of books interspersed with a little massage. His newfound vocation as a masseur nets him Leela as a wife and Ramlogan as his, by now, wily father-in-law.

In truth, Ganesh does not have 'healing hands' and his literary efforts result in slim-line pamphlets with titles likes '101 questions about Hinduism', the first if which he dedicates to his mentor, advisor and general "dogsbody", Beharry played to a comic turn by Sanjeev Bhasker of Goodness Gracious Me fame.

Following a fateful visit from his ex-landlady, Ganesh agrees to heal her son who is suffering from hallucinations about a dark cloud. If the whole tale seems multi-coloured and quirky, that pretty much describes the entire Indian community enclave in Trinidad who cling to their largely Hindu religious beliefs and yet speak the local "patois" and blend with the locals. A veritable melting pot of beliefs, idiosyncrasies and eccentricities. Ganesh's hocus-pocus on the plagued boy seems to apparently work gaining him instant recognition as a 'mystic' and Pundit.

Ganesh's fortunes improve and he churns out an even greater number of books on subjects like 'What God said to me". Years fly by and then, one day, the cured boy (now played by Jimi Mistry) re-enters Ganesh's life to fire up the latter's newly-found political aspirations and transformation into G Ramsay Muir BA, MBE!

The Mystic Masseur is the life story of one man, set in 1950's Trinidad. Despite the humour, the silliness and the innocent ambitions of the Indian-Trinidadians to better themselves, the same themes still hold true today. At that time, they valued education and learning as a way to escape the manual labours of their forefathers. Jimi Mistry's character even attains a university place at Oxford, which provides a decent cue for shots of "the dreaming spires", the Ashmolean library and Magdalen Bridge - well-known attractions of the city.

Caryl Phillips screenplay does justice to V S Naipaul's book and Merchant Ivory productions have shown the true beauty and flowing rhythm of life on Trinidad. Aasif Mandvi, Sanjeev Bhasker and Jimi Mistry play their characters well. Om Puri is ever excellent and Ayesha Dharker gets a chance to show her versatile acting abilities as Leela. As with any Merchant Ivory production, old stalwarts like James Fox (Mr Stewart) and Zohra Segal (Ganesh's Aunty, the great belcher) make an appearance.

Overall, The Mystic Masseur is languorous, mellow and gentle like the sea breezes and palm trees in Trinidad. See…now you are thinking of a warm summers!

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