Some movies give an impression of never arriving, of never treading an expected path. Such movies bomb at the box office. Meenaxi just happens to belong to that genre, and as expected has failed to rouse an interest among the masses. But for the astute observer, there is more about Meenaxi than what appears to have been depicted. Meenaxi is a story meant to be open ended, nothing really is said, though a lot can be read into it.
’A true artist knows the real value of his or her own work and doesn’t have to rely on others to judge the rendition’. To some extent, we would love to believe so, yet we go hunting in pursuit of judges, taking note of each judgement, however trying to remain partial towards our own personal opinions. Focussing on an object which has a capacity to speak out, to pass judgements, to constantly evaluate does not do a great deal of good to any artist, especially when he is in the middle of the phase when ideas seem elusive, imagination seems rather limited and past efforts seem difficult to emulate.
Unable to comprehend such a sudden loss of ability, a work of art is often rendered to the bin, due to the sheer inability of the artist to judge its worth. An artist becomes a victim to that once in a lifetime phase when he begins to doubt his own abilities and relies on self created ghosts, than his self to judge his own work.
Nawab, a renowned writer from the southern city of Hyderabad finds himself in one of those phases where ideas refuse to assume concrete forms. Pressurized by the publisher, he is in pursuit of an inspiration which would manifest itself into a work of art that would find its way towards an accepting audience. Faced with a reputation to protect and a dearth of ideas to work with, he manifests an object, a living one which professes a desire to be a part of his work.
This figment of the writer’s imagination, which apparently seems like any other normal entity, turns out to be an extension of the writer’s own ghosts. Its constant nagging about the writings, seemingly incomplete ideas straying more towards the vague, desire towards more refinement leaves the writer completely dissatisfied with his efforts. With each story meeting the same fate, the writer meets with a rather sorry end.
Don’t we all face similar situations at some point in our lives, when things don’t seem to be as natural as they once seemed to be? For no apparent reason, we are often left without any ideas to work with. We have doubts about our abilities though nothing outwardly seemed to have changed. Desolate and deserted, we chase opinions that didn’t really matter in the past. Meenaxi seems to address that issue without providing anything that could be termed as conclusive.
There are certainly some loose ends in the script which threaten to take away some of its sheen. However, to a casual viewer, Meenaxi is a delight for the eyes and the ears. Rehman’s music especially the number, ’ Chinnamma Chikkamma’ with its kannada lyrics, is well rendered. Backed by a great performance by Raghuvir Yadav, who plays the role of the Nawab, Tabu has done justice to each of her roles though not something which could be termed as perfect. M F Hussain, who seemed to have disappointed the audience with Gajagamini, has definitely done a much better job this time.
Overall, Meenaxi is highly recommended. Without providing anything conclusive, the viewer is free to frame his own inference about the story. That is the sheer beauty of movies in this class. If you haven’t had a chance, this is the time to catch up with one of the most visually appealing and mentally stimulating movies in recent times.
Thanks for reading my review.
Damo