Cast- Rani Mukerji,
Konkona Sen Sharma,
Jaya Bachchan,
Anupam Kher, Kunal Kapoor,
Abhishek Bachchan
Director- Pradeep Sarkar
Rating- **1/2
One look at the opening shot of the film set in
Varanasi and you know you are in Pradeep Sarkar territory. With ‘Laaga
Chunari Mein Daag’ the viewer gets a taste of some reality captured
beautifully in some lovely frames coupled with some Yash Raj gloss and
some Bollywood cliché.
'Laaga …..' starts
with the song ‘ Hum Toh aise hain bhayyia’ picturised on Rani and
Konkona and that very song conveys the fact that they are sisters who
share a very warm relationship with each other. Badki (Rani) and Chutki
(Konkona) lead an innocent and carefree life in the holy city with
their parents Jaya Bachchan and Anupam Kher. The only problem is the
finances which is a major one, especially since the patriarch is old
and ailing and there is no earning son in the house. They
are more than happy to oblige when a film crew from Mumbai wants their
old ‘haveli’ for shooting for a few months. The family is also
embroiled in a legal battle with the cunning older brother of the
father (Tinnu Anand) who along with his violent natured son (Sushant
Singh) is hell bent on getting them on the road. When the film shooting
deal falls through and the mother finds it hard to make ends meet with
her paltry money which she earns by stitching
clothes, it’s up to the
elder daughter to venture out to the big bad city of
Mumbai to save the family in distress. It’s her loss of innocence and
how circumstances force her into high class prostitution is the crux of
the story. What happens when her younger sister travels after her to
Mumbai and more importantly how does her family react to this
transition of hers?
There are some of real moments in the film.
Varanasi has been portrayed beautifully and
the small town feel appears authentic. Simpleton Rani’s struggle in
Mumbai is very real and it touches you. The difficult city is filled
with opportunists, and selfish people who can to go to any lengths to
have their way.
It’s the actors who mostly help in justifying the subject. Rani Mukerji
is absolutely natural. She gives another stupendous performance. Her
expressive almond eyes convey a whole lot of emotions. Konkona
is another good actor who suits the role and looks like Rani’s
protected kid sister. Maybe
Vidya Balan who was originally slated to do
the role wouldn’t have suited the way Konkona has done.
Jaya Bachchan
as the small time mum from a poor family does a great job. So does
Anupam Kher.
Honestly the
heroes have nothing much to do. Abhishek only lends his star power and
has very little to do, even lesser than Kunal Kapoor who appears post
interval. However Kunal as the
careless but smart ad executive is
interesting and different and stands out. Hema Malini
as a mujrawaali has a special appearance and the rest of the supporting
cast(Suchitra Pillai, Taraana,
Ninad Kamat, Harsh Chayya etc) are well
cast. However Tinnu Anand and
Sushant Singh come across as formula
baddies.
But it’s not
that ‘Laaga…………’ is devoid of cliché filmi moments and predictability.
Rani’s transition from simple small town to high society escort
appeared rather quick One of the very few people who appear to help her
(Suchitra Pillai) encourage her to turn into an escort and not
something more respectable! Was it just because she was duped into a
one night stand with the promise of a job? The girl who didn’t even
know what ‘lingerie’ is becomes sophisticated overnight, very
comfortable with her high profile life. Moreover the way the daughter
was sent away from home in a jiffy with no security at all, also
appears a little far fetched. The family getting ready for the Kunal-
Konkona wedding and coming to know that Abhishek is Kunal’s brother
when almost all wedding preparations are done is again very filmi. Hell
should have broken loose when the family finds out what world the elder
daughter is into, but it seemed all of them were taking the serious
issue a little too lightly. Blame it on cinematic liberty maybe
Also the viewer kind of guesses the end, that Rani would be happily accepted and married.
The
styling is wonderful. Rani and Konkona are simplicity personified in
the initial part and later their looks suit them as they shift base and
join their respective professions. Cinematography is perfect. As for
the music, ‘Hum to Aise Hai Bhaiyyan’ is the best. The other songs are
just about okay. Background score is good too. The lingo used by the
characters suit the movie.
Producers Yash
Raj continues experimenting doing films very different from what they
are known for and this can be another one of that type. But in a
Pradeep Sarkar film, you see Yash Raj touch in the two songs picturised
on the two couples, Rani-Abhishek and Konkona –Kunal. This very unique
blend of Pradeep Sarkar and Yash Raj might just work for the film,
regardless of all the cliché involved.
Sneha Hazarika (SAMPURN)
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