The legendary Shabana Azmi and the immensely talented Urmila Matondkar reunite after 20 years, again as mother and daughter, in Khalid Mohamed's tribute to Ingmar Bergman's 'Autumn Sonata'. 'Tehzeeb' seems to be either a movie one hates or one loves. I love it for its sincerity. There is no hidden agenda. It's about a Muslim family but unlike almost every recent Indian film this one does not attempt to bring out the conflict between Muslims and people of other religion. It's a story about relationships: the relationship between mother and daughter, between two sisters and between a husband and a wife, period.
However, 'Tehzeeb' isn't without its share of flaws. Khalid Mohamed's script could have done without a few unnecessary subplots. The whole Diana Hayden track should have been left out as it contributes nothing. Perhaps the director's intention was to show Salim's loyalty towards his wife (or to give Arjun Rampal a larger part) but the track was irrelevant. The Namrata Shirodkar track does offer some comic relief (although Satish Kaushik is irritating) and her sensational item number is beautifully executed. But, this too could have been left out as it does take away focus from the main story. I wish they had left the entire last song, 'Mujhpe Toofan Uthaye Logon Ney' of which we only see a couple of minutes before it breaks to closing credits. This one song marvelously summarizes Rukhsana Jamal's life.
'Tehzeeb' is a very well executed film. I did not like the director's directorial debut 'Fiza' but here he does a better job overall. Javed Siddiqui's dialogues are very poetic and playful and particularly the last dialogue delivered by Urmila to Shabana is very moving. Santosh Sivan's cinematography and Sharmishta Roy's art direction are superb. A.R. Rahman's music (songs and background score) are phenomenal. It is perhaps one of his most underrated scores. Javed Akhtar's beautiful lyrics deserve mention too.
In terms of acting, 'Tehzeeb' belongs to Shabana Azmi and Urmila Matondkar. It was great to see them work together as mother and daughter again. Both actresses are phenomenal in their roles and I hope they work again soon. Shabana Azmi looks very glamorous as singing sensation Rukhsana Jamal. She acts like a star but at the same time is very convincing as the helplessly loving mother. Urmila Matonkar easily pulls off the role of the loving but conflicted daughter, the unconditionally caring sister and the lovely wife.
Arjun Rampal is excellent as he holds more than his own opposite the two more accomplished ladies. He's the one who lightens the tense atmosphere between the mother and daughter and provides wonderful comic relief. Diya Mirza is convincing as the mentally underdeveloped Nazo and kudos to her for choosing such a risky role at an early stage of her career. All four actors share a warm chemistry and are believable as a family. They seem to have been very comfortable working with each other. Diana Hayden needs to work on her dialogue delivery.
'Tehzeeb' could have been a better film but I still think it's great and love it for its authentic portrayal of the family, the music, the performances and the message it brings across. It's emotionally engaging and moving, one that feels close to heart. It's a beautiful movie about acceptance, forgiveness, appreciation, sacrifice and love.
