What worked:
The movie, as described in the synopsis, is an ode to the woman throughout the centuries. Honestly , I was very curious to watch the movie, did not bring any preconceived notions or expectations about the movie. It took me a while to grasp the theme of the movie. I would say it is one of the daring movie from India for its way of execution. That does not not mean the main agenda of the movie was not conveyed. At times, the movie is inspiring and bold, and at others it is vocal and real. One of the plus point of the movie is casting Madhuri for the lead role, I was impressed by her acting, though conventional. Also casting great actors like Mohan, Ashish, Shabana and Nasurdin added the needed flavor. I was more impressed by the acting of Mohan and he stood against others though all were good. Also, I was heavily impressed by the dialogues because I felt that I was perceiving something extraordinary; something that has been running for generations and will run for generations to come.
The movie had one of its strength in the use of color and music. The set design, the use of colors and their physical and symbolic representation was too heavy for me to fully understand. The background score with the use of classical Indian music was a very plus point. The movie is obviously a bit sophisticated in the use of symbolism and metaphors, as a result failed as a disaster in the box office. However, it made me curious to watch the movie multiple times because I believe the movie has a lot to offer in terms of the philosophies and meaning behind each scenes.
What did not work:
I would say the movie somehow lost its credibility, in my personal opinion, by the use of too many songs. I would have been glad if the songs were less represented, chopped or not presented in the movie. They somehow diluted the mood and climate of the movie.
What I kept thinking multiple times while watching the movie is the movie should have been a theatre play. I am very optimistic that the lead actors like Shabhana, Nashurdin,Ashish and Mohan , all with their profound experience working in the theatre, would agree with me on this regard, and would have done better in as a play. As an avid lover of both theatre and cinema, i would have definitely produced it as a play. Firstly, the set design, costume design, stage acts and even the acting by the veterans all looked like a theatre play being captured in a video. Of course, some of the scenes required a grandiose set design, they were not impossible, and also considering most of the set design could have been presented in a theatre, I would have wanted to see it as a play. I think many will agree, and I think this is one of the reasons the movie was a box office disaster in the movie theatre. We have seen many experimental movies and this is not one of them that the mass audience would be able to grasp visually, audible and philosophically. Having said all these, I am still glad that this movie was made.
Final verdict: recommended, if you are really in the mood for something very unique
