yet another outstanding movie from the now famous director nagesh kukunoor of "iqbal" fame.a fantastic real-life story,the subject of the malayalam film 'perumazhakalam'.the story is "simble".two women;innocent meera(ayesha takia)and the determined zeenat(gul panag)meet on a collision course when their husbands living in saudi arabia are involved in a macabre incident.zeenat's husband has an altercation with meera's husband and meera's husband falls out of the tenth floor of the apartment.zeenat's husband is charged with murder as per shariyat law and sentenced to be hanged. the only way he can be saved is by the wife of the deceased signing her acceptance of a pardon to the accused.zeenat lives in himachal pradesh and meera in rajasthan. zeenat sets out on this journey to find meera before the end of the deadline.she is helped by bahuroopiya( a person who can perform many roles),shreyas talpade,who brilliantly provides the humour in the film.
the picture critiques age-old social beliefs and patriarchy.it shows how when women come together they can overcome all roadblocks.it has a feminist canvas.both ayesha takia and gul panag enact their respective roles superbly.the scene when meera receives the news of her husband's death on the cellphone,the pathos on her face and her falling from the rock on which she is standing has been taken very realistically.also her bonding with her grandmom who initially is hostile towards her.later her grandmom reveals that as a widow she was jealous of her granddaughter who was now married.but she seeks her granddaughter's pardon after meera gets widowed.and it is the grandmother who finally sees that meera escapes from their ancestral house to live a free life.her in-laws do not want her to sign a pardon for their son's murderer and want her to continue in their house like a domestic.in financial difficulties,her father-in-law is prepared to barter her away for a short time to the lessee of their haveli till he gets back the haveli.
a breath of fresh air;sans makeup and the typical running around the tree songs, it is an emotional treat to watch. cinematography is excellent.dancing to kajrare,watching 'hero' in a dilapidated rural cinema hall or the last scene where gul panag offers her hand from a moving train to ayesha takia after she signs the letter of approval for pardon and how she is pulled into the train is shown in a very touching and poignant manner.music by salim-sulaiman is top class though really there are no hummable songs.
three cheers to kukunoor for this eminently watchable film "dor"(thread or rope).do go and see it.
2 comments:
Wow, thank you for this terrific review. I will definitely have to put this movie on my "must-watch" list, but I don't suppose it'll get a theatre release here in Toronto, so I will look for the DVD. Thanks very much for the headsup! I haven't seen "Iqbal" either, perhaps I should try and rent that one, too?
hello lotus reads
iqbal is a mus-twatch film.so,rent both. see iqbal first and then dor.
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