Chandni Bar……….a film by Madhur Bhandarkar, spanning from 1985 to 2000, is a great film portraying the life of a bar dancer. This is an autobiography of sorts, describing the journey of an innocent girl in this maligned profession.
THE STORY
The movie opens with young Mumtaz (Tabu in a splendid role!) leaving Lucknow after her family is killed in riots. Accompanied by her uncle, she reaches the big bad city of Mumbai. There they meet Iqbal ( Yadav, …don’t recall his first name, … but great actor all the same!) who promises Mumtaz a job till her uncle gets one. Mumtaz gets a job, a bar dancer in Chandni Bar, owned by Anna, a South Indian who has a chain of these! Mumtaz is earlier ridiculed but later helped by her fellow dancers to learn the tricks of the trade.
Good looks and a great body make Mumtaz a hot favorite in Chandni Bar real soon. But not before her share of peril and anguish, the realisation that she is not the only one who is forcibly in this profession. All her co-workers have a horrific past behind them which has compelled them to take up this job.
Life takes a bad turn for Mumtaz when she is brutally raped by her uncle. Enter, Potya Sawant (a terrific actor, last seen in Hey Ram) a contract killer and underworld gangster, who is a regular at Chandni Bar. Potya falls in love with Mumtaz and eventually marries her. They have 2 kids and Potya is killed in an encounter.
The rest of the movie is all about Mumtaz fighting it out for herself and her kids. She tries her level best to prevent her past from catching up with her kids, but sadly, fails!
THE CAST
Tabu as usual is splendid, looks, acting et al. Potya Sawant is also a great role. Not to mention Iqbal, another talented actor with lots of potential.
All in all a really effective star cast, if not a recognised one!
THE FILM
The film is a great piece of work by Bhandarkar. The time span of the film is thoughtfully supported by the music and attire of the respective depicted time. Though a bit gory at times, the film is true to its spirit, no songs, no delusive camerawork. Simply put, no frills attached. The foul language however is overdone but thoughtfully ( for once! ) silenced by our censor board where not required.
THE CONCLUSION
Even though the film gives an insight into the life of a bar dancer and her struggle through life, it sadly does not offer or suggest a solution to the situation. On the contrary, it says that Mumtaz, even after trying so hard to prevent her past from getting to her kids fails miserably. This, however, is a lesson to our society to not view bar dancers as mere prostitutes but women who are downtrodden by fate and do not have a choice.
To sum it up, this film is a true eye-opener, a film which shows us a harsh image of our society not all of us have seen closely, and helps us identify with a sad woman who entertains for a living………..how ironic ???