We as citizens of this great nation have always prided in our
unity in diversity, be it for the languages, customs, cuisines etc. There have
indeed been voices of discord over the centuries & history has been witness
to numerous events that threatened to disintegrate this nation into oblivion.
But time & again we prevailed & that was due to the ability of majority
of people to look at each other as one of their own. However, there is still a
significant number who rigorously adhere to their religious norms to the extent
that they believe that even embracing art forms or customs of other religions
is deemed an unpardonable sin. This is exactly what Baba Azmi has portrayed in
his debut venture “Mee Raqsam”. Since the theme was interesting & the cast
had Naseeruddhin Shah, I decided to check it out when it premiered on Zee5.
Set in Azamgarh’s Mijwan village, Salim (Danish Husain) is a
tailor who had recently lost his wife. As expected, it created a void in his
family but the impact was much more profound on their daughter, Mariyam (Aditi
Subedi). However, she found solace in Bharatanatyam & seeing her enthusiasm
for the art form, Salim enrolled her into the dance school in the neighborhood.
But neither of them would have fathomed the turmoil that was going to befall on
them from their community.
After a successful career as a cinematographer, Baba Azmi decided to try his hand in direction & that’s how “Mee Raqsam” was created.
The movie is presented by his sister, Shabana Azmi and is a tribute to his father & renowned poet Kaifi Azmi and is shot
in Mijwan which was the hometown of his father. Baba had penned the script as well & it
focuses on the bond that a father & daughter share even on the face of
adversity from all quarters. The screenplay by Safdar Mir & Husain Mir
brings out the relationship between the father and daughter beautifully, but
the enormity of the resistance that the father had to face from the community
to give wings to his daughter’s wishes is not conveyed adequately to the audience.
The other technical aspects were average at best.
Danish Husain has performed really well as he makes us empathize
with his character. I really look forward to seeing his in more movies. Aditi
Subedi has given an earnest performance & endears to the audience, though
her dance skills weren’t exactly a strong suit. Naseeruddin Shah might have
been there only for a few scenes but a veteran more than made his presence felt
as the staunch guardian of his religion’s principles. As for the rest of the
cast, Sharda Kaul (as her aunt) was effective while the others also did their
parts aptly.
Verdict: The movie did not garnered much attention for its rather
low keel publicity & lack of major stars (though the credentials of the
cast that lined up here was solid). It deals with a topic that has & will
have relevance in her society for years to come. In short, give it a try!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Regards…Ben
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