This weekend at the movies was a good one for me. I saw two films that left an indelible impression on my mind, and I suspect that they will end up leaving one on the canvas of Hindi cinema as well. The two films I saw were Queen (Vikas Bahl, 2014) in the cinema hall and Shahid (Hansal Mehta, 2013) on DVD. The stories that these two films tell are vastly different, as are the disparate worlds they inhabit. But what is common to both is that they are brave films --brave films about small people with extraordinarily large lives.
Queen is the story of Rani, a girl from the closeted world of Rajouri in Delhi, who finds freedom, new experiences, friends, and most importantly, herself when she decides to go for her honeymoon all alone. Jilted just a day before her wedding by her fiance, Vijay (played with spot-on wimpiness by Rajkumar Rao), Rani goes on a journey to two places (Paris, then Amsterdam) far away from the milieu that she has grown up in. The primary metaphor of the film is that of journey and self-discovery. Shaky at first in foreign lands, Rani soon finds her footing with the help of the new people she meets - Vijaylaxmi, a free-spirited Parisienne, and Olexander, Taka and Tim, three backpackers she rooms with in Amsterdam.
The film offers a completely new perpective on the clash, or in this case a happy and fortuitous collision, of the East and the West. The East is no more the vessel of Culture and Tradition, and the holy site of the Virtuous, Virginal woman. Nor is the West the spoiler of the said virtue, and the space where progressive means morally corrupt. So Vijaylaxmi smokes and drinks with abandon, and has a son with her boyfriend out of wedlock. Rani gets over her initially wariness to join in the fun in her own way. She does not reliquinsh her inherent conservativeness, but participates in Vijaylaxmi's wild ways without judgement and without feeling threatened that she herself needs to change to fit in. In Amsterdam, Rani is hesitant about sharing a room with three men at first, but then comfortably settles into these new friendships that she had formed on her journey, even sharing a "first kiss" with an Italian!
But the merit of this film really lies in the fact that it never shifts focus from its female protagonist, perfectly enacted by Kangana Ranaut. It does not compromise with silly item numbers or mandatory romantic angles. The film is Rani's only, and the rest is what helps her form her identity by the end of the film. The film, thus, becomes a comment on patriarchy.This is not just the patriarchy that pervades our society, embodied by Vijay in the film, who does not want Rani to get a job or dance at a party, and flips out when he sees that she is sharing a room with three boys. It is also a comment on the patriarchy that lurks in commercial film industries, which are reluctant to put their money on "female-centric" projects. The film proves undoubtedly that it does not matter who is the "hero" of the film, it's ultimately the story that makes the movie.
The second film I watched, Shahid, is also one where story rules. Shahid is a intrepid human rights lawyer, who fights on behalf those done in by a discriminatory and faulty system. The metaphor operating in this film too is one of discovery and self-realisation. The Mumbai riots of 1993, Shahid's stint in a terrorist training camp and then his languishing in jail, all help build-up his strong sense of ethics and his empathy with those who have suffer the same fate as him. Shahid's experiences teach him that the political is sometimes very personal, and one has no other choice but to take action against the injustices that plague the world around us.This film too does away with all the trappings of a commercial film - no songs, minimal background music, dialogue only when necessary, and shots of lingering silences when the camera does all the talking. Queen's Vijay is this film's Shahid, so completely the character he plays that it breaks your heart.
There is nothing flashy or big-budget about either Shahid or Queen. The films have no stars, no larger-than-life situations, no glossy song sequences, and absolutely no pretensions of being more than what they are. Both films are trying to tell a story, going about this with honesty and focus. And that's exactly why both these films work so well.
Queen is the story of Rani, a girl from the closeted world of Rajouri in Delhi, who finds freedom, new experiences, friends, and most importantly, herself when she decides to go for her honeymoon all alone. Jilted just a day before her wedding by her fiance, Vijay (played with spot-on wimpiness by Rajkumar Rao), Rani goes on a journey to two places (Paris, then Amsterdam) far away from the milieu that she has grown up in. The primary metaphor of the film is that of journey and self-discovery. Shaky at first in foreign lands, Rani soon finds her footing with the help of the new people she meets - Vijaylaxmi, a free-spirited Parisienne, and Olexander, Taka and Tim, three backpackers she rooms with in Amsterdam.
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| Kangana Ranaut in Queen |
The film offers a completely new perpective on the clash, or in this case a happy and fortuitous collision, of the East and the West. The East is no more the vessel of Culture and Tradition, and the holy site of the Virtuous, Virginal woman. Nor is the West the spoiler of the said virtue, and the space where progressive means morally corrupt. So Vijaylaxmi smokes and drinks with abandon, and has a son with her boyfriend out of wedlock. Rani gets over her initially wariness to join in the fun in her own way. She does not reliquinsh her inherent conservativeness, but participates in Vijaylaxmi's wild ways without judgement and without feeling threatened that she herself needs to change to fit in. In Amsterdam, Rani is hesitant about sharing a room with three men at first, but then comfortably settles into these new friendships that she had formed on her journey, even sharing a "first kiss" with an Italian!
But the merit of this film really lies in the fact that it never shifts focus from its female protagonist, perfectly enacted by Kangana Ranaut. It does not compromise with silly item numbers or mandatory romantic angles. The film is Rani's only, and the rest is what helps her form her identity by the end of the film. The film, thus, becomes a comment on patriarchy.This is not just the patriarchy that pervades our society, embodied by Vijay in the film, who does not want Rani to get a job or dance at a party, and flips out when he sees that she is sharing a room with three boys. It is also a comment on the patriarchy that lurks in commercial film industries, which are reluctant to put their money on "female-centric" projects. The film proves undoubtedly that it does not matter who is the "hero" of the film, it's ultimately the story that makes the movie.
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| The poster of Shahid |
The second film I watched, Shahid, is also one where story rules. Shahid is a intrepid human rights lawyer, who fights on behalf those done in by a discriminatory and faulty system. The metaphor operating in this film too is one of discovery and self-realisation. The Mumbai riots of 1993, Shahid's stint in a terrorist training camp and then his languishing in jail, all help build-up his strong sense of ethics and his empathy with those who have suffer the same fate as him. Shahid's experiences teach him that the political is sometimes very personal, and one has no other choice but to take action against the injustices that plague the world around us.This film too does away with all the trappings of a commercial film - no songs, minimal background music, dialogue only when necessary, and shots of lingering silences when the camera does all the talking. Queen's Vijay is this film's Shahid, so completely the character he plays that it breaks your heart.
There is nothing flashy or big-budget about either Shahid or Queen. The films have no stars, no larger-than-life situations, no glossy song sequences, and absolutely no pretensions of being more than what they are. Both films are trying to tell a story, going about this with honesty and focus. And that's exactly why both these films work so well.
Hey Namu, I loved reading your reviews! Queen I watched and absolutely loved and after reading your review I felt like I was watching the movie again! Its that well written, perfectly picked the important parts and still have the movie linked! Although one thing I perceived in the movie was that although Rani was destroyed and heartbroken when Vijay refuses to marry her a day prior to the wedding, what really gradually changed her outlook is when she realised each one is fighting a war within themselves and there are people who are in worse conditions than she is in.. Atleast she was in a country where her fellowmen were not at war (Olexander) and she had her parents (Taka lost his family in the tsunami) and she had a family who was on her side and she did not have to resort to something against her wish to feed her family (like Roxette/Rukhsaar did). Somewhere I felt that made a difference to her outlook of life! but all in all, I love the way you write! And look forward to more!!
ReplyDeleteHi Rima,
DeleteThanks for the feedback. Yes, that's right. I didn't quite think of her transformation that way :)
Nice review. I also liked it based on the idea conveyed. I could relate to most of the happenings in the movie. Kangana looked so fresh in it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Aparna!
DeleteYou're right' they also did not give her an elaborate make over or an elaborate character change. She was still Rani from Rajouri but with a new and better perspective. Did you see her FB status said 'Jai Mata Di' everywhere, in the end :D
ReplyDeleteYes, I did notice that! Loved the film too :)
Delete