Now here is a realistic film. It begins at the begining.. with a parallel tale of two women. One in the desert, happily married to a loving mate, content with her limited life, to be a subservient wife because tradition demands that. Afterall, she gets to revel in the love of her doting husband. Another in the hills, a strong woman, with a strong commitment to her beloved. The fates of these women are entwined, in a very unsavory way. Their husbands both travel to Saudi for livelihood and in a mishap Shanker the Rajasthani fellow dies and his roommate Aamir (the himachali guy) stands accused of murder. His wife Zeenat (Gul Panag) must find Meera (Ayesha Takia) to beg forgiveness for her husband.
Meanwhile Meera’s life has undergone a sea change. From being a blessed Laxmi who brings wealth and fortune to a family, she turns into a spurned widow and relegated to shadows. Until Zeenat enters her life and turns it upside down again.
Now heres a film worth its salt. When the heroines claim no makeup.. it means no makeup. (no clear lipgloss even) There is no snide attempt to place any brand, no CCD, no Pepsi. Location means ..location. We really go to a small town in Himachal where Zeenat lives, to a small village in the outskirts of Jodhpur where Meera lives. The sincerity of the filmmaker (Nagesh Kukunoor) is to be lauded.
Zeenat and Meera are strong characters, and both Gul Panag and Ayesha Takia come out shining. Now I wish Nagesh had developed Girish Karnad as the quintessential egoistic male a bit more. That was a character crying out for more attention. We have Shreyas Talpade to help the story along, playing a behrupia (a dead art now). The guy is really good !
I saw very few men in the cinema hall :( The strong feminist subject puts them off. Cant take it I guess.