kookytree
Contains Spoilers! When I saw this on late night television as part of a "Bollywood Season", it was certainly not what I was expecting. This certainly isn't the upbeat, rabble rousing fluff of stereotype. But it IS unspeakably beautiful.We follow the life of Mumtaz, beginning with her as a teenage orphan forced to leave her small town for the big city after a devastating riot, and finishing with her as an exhausted looking mother of two. The echoes and pointed repetition -both visual and story wise- between Mumtaz's life as a young girl forced to work in a squalid, seedy Beer Bar, and her life as a struggling widow, are very profound (a subtle example being the different way the Beer Bar girls dance- the "2000" ones are certainly presented differently than those of Mumtaz's era, but ultimately, nothing has changed- nothing changing being perhaps the main theme of the film). The film, covering as it does almost twenty years, is epic in both scope and screen time, but I found myself captivated by every moment.This is an unspeakably bleak film. One of the most obvious themes is that of sexual betrayal. A young Mumtaz is raped by her lazy uncle. Deepa -one of the most sympathetically portrayed and appealing supporting characters, and played by a great actress- Mumtaz's guide in the world of the Beer Bar, is repeatedly forced to have abortions when she becomes pregnant, always told that the next will be the one she can keep. Mumtaz's newly adolescent son is raped by two men barely older than he in the latter part of the film. There is a feeling that no matter what Mumtaz does, fate has something against her. All those she cares about are taken away. Her parents are burned alive, her husband is shot, her best friend is killed by her overbearing husband....when Mumtaz, gazing numbly at Deepa's body, says that she knows she will miss Deepa, but she has suffered so much that she finds it hard to gather real grief anymore, it's perhaps the saddest single moment of the film. And, at the film's closing, when her clearly intelligent son throws away all hope of a bright future -the holy grail of Mumtaz's existence, the only concept keeping her alive- all because of sexual betrayal and the revenge he feels compelled to reap because of it, you despair with Mumtaz, now a broken woman, all she has worked for reduced to nothing, in a worse postion she was in when she first came into the city.However, it's not all doom and gloom. Certainly, in the first portion of the film, when Mumtaz finds herself inducted in the apparently raucous sorority of the Beer Bar girls, the ensemble of cackling, cynical harpies can't help but make you smile along with them. Most notable is Shabbo, a spitfire of a young girl, thrown out by her parents due to shame, sexually predatory and gleefully foul mouthed. Deepa teaching Mumtaz to dance is one of the most purely enjoyable scenes, in almost a Hollywood sense. The apparent joy of these scarlet women is made poignant by one scene that immediately follows Mumtaz being raped. The girls sit around comforting her, but Deepa tells the girl to get a grip on herself. She then reels off a horrid soap opera of every one of the Bar girl's lives, each one a victim with a dark past as they cry and rock themselves. We hear them laugh later in the film, and it's infinitely more poignant, as sad as Mumtaz's howling sounds of grief at the closing.This film hates men. Or at least, the stark, omnipotent power men hold over women in Indian society. Frequently, male characters are spat the insult of "pimp" by the Beer Bar girls. When Mumtaz actually calls one this to his face (when this is clearly an accurate description), he is inutterably offended. Another key theme of the film is that the only power women hold over men is their sexuality. When Mumtaz is "bought" for the night by a man who will later be her husband, he kisses her neck and torso desperately, as she lies there like a shop dummy. He pulls away, frustrated and bewildered, almost unable to look at her. For one of the only moments in the film, Mumtaz has real power over someone. When Mumtaz needs to get her son out of jail -and quick- the only way she can feasibly make the money is to prostitute herself once more. But her age means she doesn't make enough- until her very young daughter (who Mumtaz has constantly told to get a good education and concentrate on her studies, so she doesn't have to live like her mother) out of the blue- presents her with the cash, having prostituted herself for the first time so as to make the money to save her brother. It's an epic moment, and the look on Mumtaz's face, and the face of her pseudo-pimp, says it all. History repeats itself in the most horrid of ways. The only power women have over men, is also one that is frequently used to hold them in a subservient position, the film says. Indeed, it isn't a power at all, as it merely traps and defines them- they can never transcend it. The Beer Bar girls seem happy and liberated on the surface, but scratch only a little bit below, and one always finds a man forcing them to work in a way they hate more than anything.One of the best thing about the film is it's performance from it's star. This is a hard character to pull off- she ages twenty years, but never changes because the system won't let her. She is clearly weak, but also strong in her determination that her children will be different. Two underworld lords, on separate occasions, try and coaxe her into submitting her son to an induction of organised crime, and her daughter into work as a Beer Bar girl, with even a bar named after her. Mumtaz tactfully, but firmly, refuses. The aging process is always hard to pull off, but by focusing on the eye area- the "old" Mumtaz has the same complexion, but is carrying hefty luggage beneath her eyes- the make up emphasises the numbing horror of never being allowed to grow or change or better yourself, an exhausting, harrowing existence for an exhausting, harrowing, brilliant film. Definitely see it if you can. Oh, and can someone put this out on DVD please?!?!
nilendu
Contains Spoilers If you don't remember the movie TRISHAKTI for any other reason than for Milind Gunaji's awful acting, a very forgettable starlet in attractive swimsuits and the ever expressionless Sharad Kapoor - you should immediately upgrade yourself. The director of Trishakti (Madhur Bhandarkar) has come out with a work to remember - Chandni Bar.If you attach only a single word with this movie, it's DARK. Some more options and you will say - realistic, gloomy, pessimistic, too much marathi / Bombay centric. All inclusive, the piece you must see if you liked Satya.This movie has actors. Only name you probably heard before is Tabu. But others simply excel.The story is gripping. The screenplay is by far the best after Satya, and very much comparable to Vaastav. Mumtaz (Tabu) comes to Bombay with her 'Mamu' after losing both her parents in a 'danga' in Sitapur, UP (circa 1983). Mamu puts her to a dancing bar guided by Iqbal ChamDi - the mohalla man. Anna (who really speaks a superb dialect) owns Chandi Bar. Podya - the local goon - gets attracted to Mumtaz and marries her. They have two kids when Podya is killed by police in a 'fake' encounter. It's interval and rest of the movie is Tabu's struggling against all odds and losing each time! Finally it ends when she sees her past in both her kids and not her 'future' as she imagined!What makes the film depressing to watch is that the central character never grows as a person. She keeps wailing as misfortunes hit her but never does anything to overcome her 'fate'. She is showed to have told 'All the misfortunes ffall on me' and weep! It is hard to sympathise with a character who doesn't do anything to solve her problems. In fact, the only relatively positive step she takes is to marry Podya (Atul Kulkarni) and quit dancing.There are few moments when this film assumes the character of a 'docu-drama' and sways off from the story. At times you will see mundane efforts to somehow establish this film as the comprehensive research work on Bombay's Beer Bar and NOT as an isolated story. (The director acks. this before the movie starts!). Too much of generalization at times. But it doesn't take too long to bounce back - such a tight screenplay it has.There are juvenile homosexuality, criminal-politician nexus (so believable it looks on screen !), beer bar epic, marathi speaking Bombay police, and most of which you expect in a 'post-Satya' era.The thing that will draw your attention is the (sometimes gross) coupling of the period with the then hindi movies. The beer bar is shown first time in 1980s. Anil Kapoor's photo hangs there. There is a Kimi Katkar show from Tarzaan too in case you wanna concentrate on those more! The posters are very much 80s. But when Mumtaz grows older the posters change to Shahrukh and then to Hrithik. The songs do it too. Probably there is a bit overdoing of it when Potya kills a 'khabri' (one who tips off police) and the background poster is from 'Khoon Bhari Maang'!!For classical fans, Shubha Mudgal composed the title music. It's great!
The direction is good. But what will really impress you about this movie are the light and screenplay. The light work is blended very carefully particularly when it's inside the bar. Anyone who has been in a beer bar and police station in bombay will admit that this movie didn't at all look like being shot indoor!Once again, this movie should be a lesson for young screenplay writers. It deals with many dimensions and still never ever on a single point it falls flat. There are patchy moments (like when Podya kills Mamu enraged over the fact he raped Mumtaz) - but the screenplay is so taut - you won't be distracted by those during the movie.It's a must see. Do watch it. If nothing, the money will go towards 'Stop Yash Chopra Circus' fund!!Note - Watch out for Atul Kulkarni. This guy has every potential to overcome Manoj Vajpayee. Off late Manoj has been only concentrating on mannerism. A lesson he could have avoided picking up while working with the B.
venkat_rs
Thanks to the plethora of movie and music channels, the 'non-commercial' movies of today get enough and sometimes, extra publicity. Hyderabad Blues gave some distributors the confidence to venture out with such movies.As is obvious from the title of the movie and from the promos on TV channels, the story revolves around the central character, Mumtaz, and her life and times as a "beer-bar" dancer. Rather than just narrating one particular story, the movie tries to document the misery in the lives of such people.Hats off to Madhur Bhandarkar for boldly doing a movie the way he wanted to do it. The movie hits you on your face even more than Satya (to which it has drawn comparisons), primarily because of the absence of commercial elements (including songs). The movie is raw yet clean.But the other half of the credit should go to Tabu, who stakes her claim for a second National Award, with a sensitive portrayal. The only problem is that she tends to maintain a kind of laziness in all her roles. The other actors are adequate and play characters which move in and out of Mumtaz's life. Raju Singh's background score is a good supplement to the movie, though it sounds eerie at times.This movie is strictly not for entertainment. Just go out and get the satisfaction of watching a good movie.
