Tribhanga AND The last Color

 Watched two female centric films on two different OTT platforms over the weekend. One was the predominantly modern tale of three generations of women, called TRIBHANGA and the other was a story caught in a medieval time warp, ie The Last Color. No two films could appear at the same time, have women centric themes yet be so diametrically opposite each other. 

TRIBHANGA is about the troubled relationship between a mother Nayantara  (Tanvi Azmi) and her daughter Anu (Kajol). Nayan is a writer with two children, who divorces and marries again, leaving her daughter Anuradha Apte vulnerable and exposed to exploitation, while pushing the son into the world of asceticism. The angst between Nayan and Anu arises from the perception that in her own pursuit of happiness through a mixed bag of suitors and professional commitments, Nayan doesn’t provide any choices to Anu and she is doomed to tread on a path pre-demarcated by her mother’s choices. She builds what she considers a stable and loving relationship with her own daughter, Masha, played by a cherubic Mithila Palkar, but realises how Masha herself holds grudges against her as she feels victimised by lack of choices provided by Anu. Her angst arises from her exposure to taunts and innuendos at school because of the mother’s life choices. It’s almost a complete 360 degree turnaround for Anu, who harboured serious hatred for her mother, only to face a similar, though contained, reaction from her own daughter.

Kajol, as Anu, is the TRIBHANGA from the Odissi dance form analogy, that is twisted, angular and crazy, while Masha is the Sambhaga to Nayan’s Abhanga. The story is told artistically through Nayan’s biographer Kunal Roy Kapoor’s lense, who records her emotions and experiences before she has a stroke and is confined to a hospital bed. Kajol is her usual shouting, screaming, over-the-top, venom spewing, abusive and hysterical woman who doesn’t understand the meaning of nuanced acting, almost till the very end, by which time its too late!Tanvi is certainly the hero of the film who leaves you wondering why we don’t see more of her on screen. Mithila Palkar’s character is not developed properly and you kind of feel cheated as to how the story could have traversed the more complex folds of human psyche. But with all its flaws, its a watchable movie.

The Lost Color is quite another story, filmed on the ghats of Varanasi looking at a homeless young kid Chhoti ( Aqsa Siddiqui) who befriends a widow, Noor ( Neena Gupta) confined to a life of solitude in the Vidhwa Ashram. There is almost instant warmth between the widow and the kid, who is unable to grasp why there’s no colour in the life of Noor. There is the regressive and omni-present police on the ghats of Varanasi who indulge in untold manner of exploitation of women- transgenders, wives, widows and kids. What emerges is a strong conviction on the part of the little girl that she will bring colour back into the life of Noor- a promise she keeps in more ways than one, when as a grown up she is instrumental in reversing the archaic practice of the ban on playing Holi by the widows.

The movie is a mixed bag. On the one hand it is aesthetically shot on the picturesque Ghats of Varanasi, on the other it delves  into the bond between Noor and  Chhoti, which beyond a point is static and stagnant, almost abrupt, unlike the flowing Ganga, never quite gathering momentum. The movie has a warm tone to it and the intent to capture the social mores, with all their warts and ugliness is clear. But due to the sub-standard editing it feels loose-ended and jumbled up. Somewhere you end up feeling that it merely rustles past your heart without quite stirring it, as it had the potential to. 

Neena Gupta as Noor is impressive and she lights up the screen from the moment she appears on the screen, despite her white sari and lack of colour, both literally and metaphorically. But Aqsa Siddiqui as Chhoti is the real show-stealer, with her power-house performance as a marginalised and untouchable tight-rope walker. 

Kudos to first time hindi film directors #RenukaShahne  ( @TRIBHANGA) and Michelin Star chef #VikasKhanna (Thelastcolorfilm) for their well attempted and sincere debuts, one touching upon the lives of 3 generations of modern women, the other juxtaposing those through women caught in orthodox, patriarchal and archaic societies. Hoping for better stuff from these two in times to come.