Opulent and Doomed Love Affairs
Nov. 19th, 2005 01:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieTonight I saw a Bollywood epic Taj Mahal (go here to see an earlier entry with a bazillion pictures), which tells of the story of Shah Jehan's legendary love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal (which resulted in the Taj Mahal of its title). It also has fratricidal families, complicated intrigues, more lavishness than 10 other Bollywood movies put together and, of course, angst.
I loved it.
Saw it and loved it. It's one of three movies I've loved this year (the other two being Karam and Parineeta).
As I said: I loved, loved, loved it. I am a sucker for epics, and for romances and this was satisfying. Immensely so. And it was eye-poppingly beautiful. And I ended up being moved, and intrigued, and on the edge of my chair and what more can I ask from a movie? I am definitely buying this on DVD. I enjoyed the whole movie, but I thought the second half was better than the first. And I liked the music quite a lot.
Why did I love it?
Top 10 reasons (spoilers)
1. It's a movie that has a complex and complicated plot. It really is something different: not a mindless Westernized sex comedy, not a rip-off Hollywood thriller, not two cliche lovers dancing in Switzerland. It's not just about two pretty people frolicking (though it has that), and the complexities of the court and the secondary characters really made it immensely interesting.
2. The family dynamics. This family (both Jehan's children and his parents/siblings) would make Borgia look mild by comparison. This is an antidote to all the perfect families of filmdom. Any movie that starts with two brothers warring on the other, and then one of the victorious two murdering both the loser and his co-victor (and announcing his intention to his father in a chilling scene) and presenting the head of the favorite son on a plate, has got my attention. And then the family we meet in the flashback isn't any better: there is the weak-willed father, who fondles a slave girl while in the embraces of his wife, there is the Empress who will scheme desperately to keep her power, there is the weak-willed alcoholic brother willing to turn on his siblings for power etc etc etc. This court is opulent and deadly and following the political intrigues was the best part of the film.
3. Strong roles for women. They are not here just to wilt or be rescued. The most marvelous female role is of Noor Jahan (Pooja Bhatt). She is ruthless, and strong-willed, and scheming and one of the most interesting female BW characters in ages. There is her daughter, who is spoiled, and ruthless, and vain, but not as bright as her mother. There is Jahan's daughter (Manisha Koirala) who is also no push-over and has a certain steely resignation that marks her as the best of Jahan's on-screen children. And Mumtaz herself, while more "traditional" than Noor (after all, she is portraying a woman in love) also comes through when push comes to shove and makes Jahan give her up to keep his throne. I loved this.
4. I loved the complexities of the characters. Arbaaz as the evil offspring was brilliant and unsettlingly creepily evil (and what's with the knitting?). I already mentioned the female characters. Even young Shah Jahan is portrayed as quite capable of playing court games (picking Noor's daughter over Mumtaz in public) and spoiled as only someone who is always used to getting his way can be (when he gives the necklace to Mumtaz that he MUST know will cause her all that trouble). And I love it when he stands up to his stepmom.
5. Opulent. Opulent, opulent, opulent. I loved the sets and the jewelry and the costumes.
6. The love story. Ultimately, this movie would fall flat for me if I didn't buy the love story. But I did. I rooted for them, and I ended up getting a bit teary-eyed at the end, when Mumtaz is dying and Shah Jahan is praying for her life (and then we see him next and his hair is grey). They really sold me that he truly madly loved her.
7. There some amazing scenes in the movie: I loved the dramatic tention of Shah Jahan's trial for treason, with his refusing to speak until he knows Mumtaz is safe, the Emperor's open anger, Noor's machinations, his brother's carefully planned accusations. This is actually my favorite scene in the movie.
8. I loved the scene where Jahan leaves the palace to ride after Mumtaz who has been taken away by her parents on the Empress' orders. He rides in on his horse, and she runs to him and then her father interferes but Jahan won't let her leave. And then the Emperor's men show up to arrest him (and his future father in law) and there is a battle and I loved watching the sword fights, and his trying to save Mumtaz, and ultimately being surrounded and beaten (in the "he lost" sense not "hit with sticks" sense).
9. My favorite song numbers: the one where Mumtaz and Jahan end up on that huge bed and there are doves and he carries her and...sigh. Beautifully romantic. And the one where she takes a boat in a rainstorm to meet him. That whole scene is quite beautiful with the desperation (though they spend the night out in the pouring rain, on a bed?Not how I'd choose to have my first sexual experience with the love of my life, but whatever). Though that competing number Mumtaz and Empress' daughter do is also wonderful.
10. The whole sequence where Mumtaz convinces Shah Jahan to marry the Iranian princess and he ends up getting dead drunk during the wedding night so he can pretend it's Mumtaz and then the look on his face the morning after.
So, overall? I thought it was an excellently made epic love story. I was getting really bored with the surfeit of very Westernized Bollywood movies, and this was the perfect antidote.
I'll add the pics to illustrate later :)
I loved it.
Saw it and loved it. It's one of three movies I've loved this year (the other two being Karam and Parineeta).
As I said: I loved, loved, loved it. I am a sucker for epics, and for romances and this was satisfying. Immensely so. And it was eye-poppingly beautiful. And I ended up being moved, and intrigued, and on the edge of my chair and what more can I ask from a movie? I am definitely buying this on DVD. I enjoyed the whole movie, but I thought the second half was better than the first. And I liked the music quite a lot.
Why did I love it?
Top 10 reasons (spoilers)
1. It's a movie that has a complex and complicated plot. It really is something different: not a mindless Westernized sex comedy, not a rip-off Hollywood thriller, not two cliche lovers dancing in Switzerland. It's not just about two pretty people frolicking (though it has that), and the complexities of the court and the secondary characters really made it immensely interesting.
2. The family dynamics. This family (both Jehan's children and his parents/siblings) would make Borgia look mild by comparison. This is an antidote to all the perfect families of filmdom. Any movie that starts with two brothers warring on the other, and then one of the victorious two murdering both the loser and his co-victor (and announcing his intention to his father in a chilling scene) and presenting the head of the favorite son on a plate, has got my attention. And then the family we meet in the flashback isn't any better: there is the weak-willed father, who fondles a slave girl while in the embraces of his wife, there is the Empress who will scheme desperately to keep her power, there is the weak-willed alcoholic brother willing to turn on his siblings for power etc etc etc. This court is opulent and deadly and following the political intrigues was the best part of the film.
3. Strong roles for women. They are not here just to wilt or be rescued. The most marvelous female role is of Noor Jahan (Pooja Bhatt). She is ruthless, and strong-willed, and scheming and one of the most interesting female BW characters in ages. There is her daughter, who is spoiled, and ruthless, and vain, but not as bright as her mother. There is Jahan's daughter (Manisha Koirala) who is also no push-over and has a certain steely resignation that marks her as the best of Jahan's on-screen children. And Mumtaz herself, while more "traditional" than Noor (after all, she is portraying a woman in love) also comes through when push comes to shove and makes Jahan give her up to keep his throne. I loved this.
4. I loved the complexities of the characters. Arbaaz as the evil offspring was brilliant and unsettlingly creepily evil (and what's with the knitting?). I already mentioned the female characters. Even young Shah Jahan is portrayed as quite capable of playing court games (picking Noor's daughter over Mumtaz in public) and spoiled as only someone who is always used to getting his way can be (when he gives the necklace to Mumtaz that he MUST know will cause her all that trouble). And I love it when he stands up to his stepmom.
5. Opulent. Opulent, opulent, opulent. I loved the sets and the jewelry and the costumes.
6. The love story. Ultimately, this movie would fall flat for me if I didn't buy the love story. But I did. I rooted for them, and I ended up getting a bit teary-eyed at the end, when Mumtaz is dying and Shah Jahan is praying for her life (and then we see him next and his hair is grey). They really sold me that he truly madly loved her.
7. There some amazing scenes in the movie: I loved the dramatic tention of Shah Jahan's trial for treason, with his refusing to speak until he knows Mumtaz is safe, the Emperor's open anger, Noor's machinations, his brother's carefully planned accusations. This is actually my favorite scene in the movie.
8. I loved the scene where Jahan leaves the palace to ride after Mumtaz who has been taken away by her parents on the Empress' orders. He rides in on his horse, and she runs to him and then her father interferes but Jahan won't let her leave. And then the Emperor's men show up to arrest him (and his future father in law) and there is a battle and I loved watching the sword fights, and his trying to save Mumtaz, and ultimately being surrounded and beaten (in the "he lost" sense not "hit with sticks" sense).
9. My favorite song numbers: the one where Mumtaz and Jahan end up on that huge bed and there are doves and he carries her and...sigh. Beautifully romantic. And the one where she takes a boat in a rainstorm to meet him. That whole scene is quite beautiful with the desperation (though they spend the night out in the pouring rain, on a bed?Not how I'd choose to have my first sexual experience with the love of my life, but whatever). Though that competing number Mumtaz and Empress' daughter do is also wonderful.
10. The whole sequence where Mumtaz convinces Shah Jahan to marry the Iranian princess and he ends up getting dead drunk during the wedding night so he can pretend it's Mumtaz and then the look on his face the morning after.
So, overall? I thought it was an excellently made epic love story. I was getting really bored with the surfeit of very Westernized Bollywood movies, and this was the perfect antidote.
I'll add the pics to illustrate later :)
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Date: 2005-11-20 10:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-20 04:10 pm (UTC)