Some times you watch a film and just don’t get it. Is it that difficult to understand a film? Is it really necessary to ‘get’ it? Not understanding a film can mean so many different things. I didn't understand Meenaxi- A Tale of 3 Cities and while we are at it, I didn’t decipher Anurag Kashyap’s No Smoking, Saawariya and Tashan but it's not the same thing!
I’m not of the opinion that Meenaxi is the second greatest piece of filmmaking after Sholay but at least there was something in it. To call Meenaxi a celebration of life, an amalgamation of art forms would be slightly over the top but not completely incorrect. To call No Smoking a surreal exploration on the part of the filmmaker to venture into hitherto uncharted areas as far as popular Hindi cinema is concerned would be a load of crap.
The follow-up to the hugely disappointing Gajagamini, Meenaxi shows the sheer brilliance of M.F. Hussain. The film is about Nawab, a writer identified solely thanks to the biggest writers block that seems to tag along with him, bumping into the beautiful Meenaxi at his sisters wedding. Meenaxi dares Nawab to use her as a muse and finally get around writing his novel. Bustling with new ideas ever since Meenaxi stepped into his life, Nawab forges ahead. He starts writing the story and sets it in Jaisalmer. The local foul-mouthed mechanic, Kunal, too finds a place in Nawab’s book. Fed up with Meenaxi’s constant bickering when, in the book, things start getting boring in Jaiselmer; Nawab turns the story around and sets it Prague. Obsessed with Meenaxi, Nawab can’t help but enter his story. The line between reality, myth, dream and fiction blur with Nawab dying before finishing his work. But is he dead in the book or in reality? Is Meenaxi really there or is it just Nawab’s personification of the ultimate woman?
Confused, aren’t you?
To say the least the ending left me wondering as well. Under normal circumstances I should have been livid for the trick played by Hussain on me. But I wasn’t angry. Two of my friends (thanks Sudhesh and Ravinder) always talked highly of Meenaxi and I always wondered if the trials of life had finally gotten to them. I was pleasantly surprised by Meenaxi and why not.
The film is beautifully shot and by that I don’t mean just setting up the shot or shooting gorgeous locales. The composition of shots, the production design and just about everything in the film gives you an insight into the mind of M.F. Hussain. Another great thing about Meenaxi is that Mr. Hussain made it at the age of 89 (give or take a year or two) and the sheer fact that he learnt from his mistakes as a filmmaker on Gajagamini to come up with something as eclectic as Meenaxi is an achievement in itself. Apart from writing, prodcuing and directing the film, Mr. Hussain has penned the awesome Noor Un Ala, which is one the better Qawaalis from Hindi films. Hundreds of films are set in various cities of the world but only a few use them as a character. Hyderabad and Prague are almost as important as the lead players of the Meenaxi. Tabu shines as the Meenaxi and Raghubir Yadav is really used well for the first time since Massey Sahib (bet many of you won't remember the film!). Kunal Kapoor portrays Mary's lost lamb to the hilt. The film could have used better editing and a general overhauling of the script but still manages to impress. I can’t say the same about No Smoking or Saawariya!
Is the inability to ‘understand’ a film, a failure of the filmmaker?
Are we completely supposed to understand a film or is there a window that shouldn’t really open as much as promised?
The idea of a film should be to add that something extra to what you have to, perhaps, come up with something extraordinary. I mean one can’t rely on interpretation every time, now can we...Mr. Bhansali… Mr. Kashyap?
I’m not of the opinion that Meenaxi is the second greatest piece of filmmaking after Sholay but at least there was something in it. To call Meenaxi a celebration of life, an amalgamation of art forms would be slightly over the top but not completely incorrect. To call No Smoking a surreal exploration on the part of the filmmaker to venture into hitherto uncharted areas as far as popular Hindi cinema is concerned would be a load of crap.
The follow-up to the hugely disappointing Gajagamini, Meenaxi shows the sheer brilliance of M.F. Hussain. The film is about Nawab, a writer identified solely thanks to the biggest writers block that seems to tag along with him, bumping into the beautiful Meenaxi at his sisters wedding. Meenaxi dares Nawab to use her as a muse and finally get around writing his novel. Bustling with new ideas ever since Meenaxi stepped into his life, Nawab forges ahead. He starts writing the story and sets it in Jaisalmer. The local foul-mouthed mechanic, Kunal, too finds a place in Nawab’s book. Fed up with Meenaxi’s constant bickering when, in the book, things start getting boring in Jaiselmer; Nawab turns the story around and sets it Prague. Obsessed with Meenaxi, Nawab can’t help but enter his story. The line between reality, myth, dream and fiction blur with Nawab dying before finishing his work. But is he dead in the book or in reality? Is Meenaxi really there or is it just Nawab’s personification of the ultimate woman?
Confused, aren’t you?
To say the least the ending left me wondering as well. Under normal circumstances I should have been livid for the trick played by Hussain on me. But I wasn’t angry. Two of my friends (thanks Sudhesh and Ravinder) always talked highly of Meenaxi and I always wondered if the trials of life had finally gotten to them. I was pleasantly surprised by Meenaxi and why not.
The film is beautifully shot and by that I don’t mean just setting up the shot or shooting gorgeous locales. The composition of shots, the production design and just about everything in the film gives you an insight into the mind of M.F. Hussain. Another great thing about Meenaxi is that Mr. Hussain made it at the age of 89 (give or take a year or two) and the sheer fact that he learnt from his mistakes as a filmmaker on Gajagamini to come up with something as eclectic as Meenaxi is an achievement in itself. Apart from writing, prodcuing and directing the film, Mr. Hussain has penned the awesome Noor Un Ala, which is one the better Qawaalis from Hindi films. Hundreds of films are set in various cities of the world but only a few use them as a character. Hyderabad and Prague are almost as important as the lead players of the Meenaxi. Tabu shines as the Meenaxi and Raghubir Yadav is really used well for the first time since Massey Sahib (bet many of you won't remember the film!). Kunal Kapoor portrays Mary's lost lamb to the hilt. The film could have used better editing and a general overhauling of the script but still manages to impress. I can’t say the same about No Smoking or Saawariya!
Is the inability to ‘understand’ a film, a failure of the filmmaker?
Are we completely supposed to understand a film or is there a window that shouldn’t really open as much as promised?
The idea of a film should be to add that something extra to what you have to, perhaps, come up with something extraordinary. I mean one can’t rely on interpretation every time, now can we...Mr. Bhansali… Mr. Kashyap?
1 comments:
Beautifully written piece. I have often wondered why critics (general public wouldnt like this film anyway) too shunned this film. This is such a fine piece of abstract art, much like any abstract photography/painting or whatever. And it explores the lines between reality and fiction so brilliantly (interestingly Hindu mythology is replete with similar concepts). His sense of composition was outstanding. And he choose the right person to echo his aesthetics - Santosh Sivan. It is an underrated film, that is probably unique in that genre.
Post a Comment