Canvas, sculptures, stills… ‘sleeping art’ is passé. It jumped out of the freeze-frame mode six years ago, when artist Chintan Upadhaya posed nude in Sarjan Art Gallery in Gujarat, next to his artwork of burnt drawing sheets. His exhibit depicted the plight of riot victims in Gujarat. Soon after his display, artists all over India embraced this concept to challenge conformity. “Performance art is still a very new concept. It allows an artist to take art to a new level.

When was the last time you took a long walk with your husband/wife? Talked about the natural beauty you saw around? About young children who’d soon grow up to become responsible individuals? Or just went up to an estranged friend and repented for being a rogue?

There’s a drought of writers. Good writers. Screenwriters who bring substance and value to writing. The absence of a talented name like Sujit Sen, who wrote a number of films for Mahesh Bhatt and who penned the script of STAYING ALIVE, makes you recognize this fact all the more. STAYING ALIVE, a black comedy that borrows from real life, may not be riveting in entirety, but it makes an effort to say something novel, something inventive.

STAYING ALIVE is one such film that brings you to the reality of what life really is. Director Anant Mahadevan does not hammer home his point, but very subtly, using mild humour as a backdrop, manages to impress with what he wants to express.This film is based on a true story, that of celebrated Bollywood writer Sujit Sen’s experience in a hospital. Sen had suffered a third heart attack and was admitted to a hospital. Next to him was a gangster who had suffered his first. The movie is about how both look at life, from next to death; the bonding of both the wives in the hospital corridor, and the sacrifices they make to keep their marriage alive.