Elements that needed build-up happened suddenly. But I can't help but think that, just maybe, this film would've benefited tremendously only if it had had more of an edge to it. This is why when credit details for Yash Raj Films' next offering Laaga Chunari Mein Daag indicate coming together of the composer-lyricist; one expects yet another quality score right away. Konkona Sen Sharma also acted exceptionally well as the little sister. There is also an interspersion of pop and rap in this fast moving peppy track which has a potential to turn out to be a highlight of the film. As it really is about its women, the men are fine but you wouldn't focus on them in thinking about the movie. Or did they do that to avoid being criticized of favoring the Alps too much? One can be pretty much sure of artistic delight of Pradeep Sarkar's penchant for visuals.
Acting and Direction is superb. But, as debts and bills mount and the threat of eviction hangs over the Sahays, Vibha's father suffers a stroke. With all the necessary arrangements that go along with a 'mujra' with 'tabla', 'ghunghroo' et all in place, this is a track that could well be picturised on Hema Malini who has a guest appearance in the film. Kunal Kapoor comes close, but no cigar. The harsh reality of the lives of the poor. Two sisters, played by Rani and Konkona, are blessed with an unbreakable bond growing up with breakable parrents. Some males seem hardly bothered about concepts like chastity or virginity so it seems in the film — the fact that Abhishek Rani's hubby in the film happily agreed to marry the escort — knowing very well that later, when he attends the corporate meetings etc.
Natasja goes to Mumbai to make some money, to become a son. It dealt with the issue of blame and shame. The other bit of excellent acting is by Jaya Bachchan as her mother and also Abhishek and Konkona Sen. Rani Mukherjee gives her booming career the desired niche as she delves into author-backed character. Now when her sister knows, she forgives her. And you are expected to believe this is a life of humiliation and shame! The music was refreshing because it was different.
Life in Benaras and Mumbai has been captured beautifully without a trace of cliché. . The bollywood hero has evolved with Abhishek's response to Rani. Vibha and Shubha's mother slaves away as a seamstress while their ineffective father obsesses over lottery tickets yet is prickly about his destitute state. Parineeta was among the best films to come out from bollywood in the past five years or so. Somehow, in the early scenes of 'happy days' I felt that Konkona as 'chutki' has outclassed Rani in performance! The father, Shivshankar Sahay, is against renting out his house to the movie company but has to accept it due to financial reasons. Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, :.
In addition to all the mess, most of the songs were horrible and should have been edited out. Chutki Konkana Sen is one of the finest artists in Indian cinema. So it's whether hot-tempered or just cold! There was this one pause that Abhishek Bachchan takes mid-sentence. Or could it be because it was not Switzerland at all? Financial crunch drives Rani to the big city where she becomes a high class Prostitute — having the designation of 'Escort' because in big-big corporate sectors, the senior officials cannot ask like 'get me a prostitute for the night'. The only song really stands out is the sort of hip-hop number with Mita Vashisth's voice with Shubha Mudgal's rendition of Manna Dey's old classic, 'Laaga chunari mein daag'. All the characters and the stuff introduced in the song are quickly forgotten, for a rote narrative, which leads us to believe that setting the song in Varanasi was just a gimmick, and the characters mere props.
Sarkar has managed to put across the transformations in Badki's character in a convincing and touching way that at times we tend to care deeply for her. A film unit wants to hire the Kher mansion and pays them Rs. I couldn't quite believe that, when Vibha was really down in the dumps, her female Mumbai friend would immediately direct her towards prostitution but, give the girlfriend credit, she does give sage call-girl advice. Was it simply that phone call to her mother that pushed her off the edge? We have seen both these women do a wide variety of roles, and these particular ones don't stand out from within the standards they have set for themselves. You have learnt to forgive them for the extra tinge of orange and the sharp sounds, the mandatory songs and the unnecessary melodrama.
Better defined characters and even better defined motivations would have taken this overall interesting plot a long way. That old Guddi and Anamika girl Jaya Bachchan looks like a hag these days. People from her village her cousin in fact comes to know that she was actually a sex-worker and even starts blackmailing her! It was funny seeing her do the singing and dancing as it's the first time she's done that not that she was bad or anything. The only songs that stand out are the first track, the song that takes place when Badki becomes Natassha and the Mujra even though it was chopped and could have been better left as a whole. Can't we be a little more creative? And you slowly watch the transformation of a small village girl becoming a high level escort, taking the name of Natasha. People might be tempted to leave half way.
So-So, by Amit R Agarwal, :. Hema Malini does a graceful cameo. A look at a lush green fully grown tree might be a treat for one's eye but even it's root might have ended up in some drain of a cosmopolitan city from where it sources its life. So, I have to give it a 5. I wonder if the reviewer actually saw the movie. Or will the shadows of her past douse the lamps of hope? Konkona, the fine actress that she is, gives it her all. When I went for the movie I was skeptical as I heard a review that the movie was a regressive tear jerker.
She helps Rani with her makeover and Rani becomes a top-notch escort and is soon flush with money-she sends money home regularly thereby helping her family to get rid of its poverty. She battles menace and blackmail alone, not letting these dark shadows fall on Chutki or her family. Watch this movie to see the changing maturity of Indian Cinema. The story of an innocent girl turning to prostitution to fend for her family. Rife as it is with weepy moments and heartaches and a certain hard-bitten darkness but not hard-bitten enough , the film never really leaves any doubt as to whether there's a convenient happy ending in the works.