Khalid Mohammed's Tehzeeb is a tribute to Ingmar Bergman's Autumn Sonata, and he officially acknowledges Bergman for being the inspiration for this film. Mohammed is a good director, but his attempts to make an art film and add all the possible ingredients of Hindi commercial cinema trip him a bit up this time. In his wonderful 2000 film Fiza he did the same, but much more delicately, and while Tehzeeb is definitely a good film, he tends to go a bit overboard with all the appearances, subplots and redundant characters. Having said that, Tehzeeb is still a great watch, and due credit goes to Mohammed's fine script and direction, Javed Siddiqui's realistic dialogues, A.R. Rahman's soundtrack which gives life to the movie, and of course the credible acting by the leading actors.
Starting with the flaws, the entire Diana Hayden story could and should have been deleted. What does it have to do with the film and its story? I did not really understand the purpose of her appearance and what actually it was all about. And besides that, she is such a non-actor! Her accent is terrible and she is annoying throughout. The Namrata Shirodkar one was redundant as well, though more bearable because of the nice song and the wonderful scene that follows it (the advice Shabana gave Namrata about the rules of success in showbiz). There were several other instances, like Diya Mirza's ridiculous disco dance. That was apparently a take-off on the exceptional "nervous breakdown" dance numbers of Sridevi and Meenakshi Sheshadri in the films Lamhe and Damini, respectively, but in this film, it's just pathetic.
Now to the film: Shabana Azmi and Urmila Matondkar star as a mother and her daughter (second time after Masoom in 1983. 20 years ago, can you believe it?!). Urmila is Tehzeeb, a young married woman who looks after her mentally ill young sister, and Shabana is Rukhsana Jamal, a popular singer and her estranged mother. Although she does love her mother and misses her, Tehzeeb has always considered her mother the cause of her father's death and her younger sister's (Dia Mirza) mental disability. All of a sudden, Mrs. Jamal calls Tehzeeb to inform her that she is going to visit her. Both women are excited towards the meeting. Here the story actually deepens. The film brilliantly follows and depicts this mother-daughter relationship, its ups and downs, and finally shows how they come to terms with each other.
Quite expectedly, while the film is titled after Urmila's character, it belongs to Shabana Azmi, who is natural, credible and charming as the vivacious and colourful star Rukhsana. It's a pleasure watching her delivering these witty dialogues in her own inimitable style. Urmila, while always a talented and intense performer, tries to do more than required at some scenes. She is too impulsive, and while it's an integral part of her acting and always interesting to watch, I think she should have tried some restraint in this role. Arjun Rampal, playing Tehzeeb's loving and supportive husband Salim, is also the film's narrator, and he succeeds on both accounts. Mohammed rightly tries to give his role as much substance as possible, and Rampal performs exceedingly well; he plays Salim with utmost sincerity and humour and makes him thoroughly likable and entertaining. Dia Mirza is cute and effective as the mentally disabled and love-seeking Nazo.
Tehzeeb is aided by a great technical crew and is excellent in cinematography, editing and particularly music. A.R. Rahman scores once again with a terrific background score and equally great songs, among which I especially loved "Na Shiqwa Hota", a soulful number which efficiently summarises the mother-daughter relationship on-screen. Mohammed wonderfully portrays the lifestyle of modern Muslim families, and this is yet another factor which warrants a fascinating watch. The film's ending is unexpected and surprising. Some may like it, some may not. I was disappointed by it, but it's actually what makes Hindi movies so unique and special, no? Tehzeeb is not without its flaws, but after all I still think it is an interesting and moving film and an altogether worthy effort. I recommend.
