A look at why SAAT KHOON MAAF failed
So it is very disappointing to see a talented and a good man fail. I saw his 7 Khoon Maaf at the Berlinale. A lot of hard work went into making the film. But I could not believe what was playing before me on the screen - a long, tiresome narrative with no energy and no wow factor. Not exactly what I had started to expect from the auteur Bhardwaj -- director of very mature adult films, Maqbool, Omkara, Kaminey, as well as his sweet children's projects Makdee and The Blue Umbrella.
I have not read the source for the film-Ruskin Bond's story- but it is clear that 7 Khoon fails because of its script. In a rush to give an account of a woman who marries six or seven times, the film jumps from one narrative thread (read one man) to another in quick succession. It still takes two and half hours for the film to unfold - and that seems way too long.
There is always space for black comedy. But how relevant or plausible is a story about a serial bride in our times? It is very odd to watch a film where a woman murders her six husbands, with the assistance of her four accomplices and each time manages to re-marry immediately thereafter. The men are rotten, abusive characters, but she seems to have no guilt, no moral center that would speak to her and remind her that these life patterns are very wrong.
The problem with the script gets compounded by the fact that Bhardwaj chose Priyanka Chopra to play the lead. Chopra is a very limited actress although she did shine when
Bhardwaj guided her in Kaminey. Bhardwaj has a track record of making stars shed their Bollywoodism and to immerse themselves into their characters. He got Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor to give their career-best performances in Omkara.
In Kaminey, Chopra had a relatively small role. In 7 Khoon Susanna's character is too complex for Chopra. I did not care for Chopra's Susanna from the beginning and that was a problem when she had five or six more husbands to kill.
On Thursday, Bhardwaj addressed a press conference in Berlin. He mentioned that while working on the 7 Khoon script, he, quite by accident, learned that nuns are "married" to Jesus Christ. This knowledge helped him work out the film's ending. My sense is that the world of Indian Catholics or Christianity in general is a territory that is somewhat alien to Bhardwaj. And so he uses the standard Bollywood approach to represent Susanna's Catholic existence. A lot of Susanna's daily life, as well as her costumes, home and production design have a strong Bollywood tone to it. I felt I was back in the unreal, over-the-top world Sanjay Leela Bhansali created in Black.
Even the most talented creative people can have limits. Martin Scorsese excels in stories that explore the world of mafia,
with dark menacing characters. But with Kundun he stepped out of his comfort level to show the quieter world of Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lama. Kundun was an earnest film with a reverential tone, but it lacked a central drama, seemed quite boring and ended abruptly.
So my advice to Bhardwaj - stick to the basics and the worlds you are familiar with. You can still surprise us with many more stories you will find in those worlds.
Kumkum Bhagya
Hollywood
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