4 min readMumbaiNov 22, 2013 11:19 AM IST
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s version of Juliet,a far cry from the coy female protagonists or the bubbly,vivacious type so common to our films,surpasses all others for its layered complexity. Leela is a romantic with a spin.
It’s been quite the Sachin season and everybody has a story or two about the Master Blaster. Co-incidentally,I have one too despite the fact that I am not a big fan of the game (I would opt for tennis any day)! Well,I got to experience Sachin mania first-hand in the form of unimaginable traffic snarls outside Wankhede Stadium where he was playing.
There was the preview of Goliyon Ki Raasleela — Ram-leela and a music launch for Dhoom 3 and I was perhaps looking forward to both as much as others were to watching the “God of cricket” perform his feat. Clearly,I was in a minority.
It was almost as if the entire city had spilled on to the streets to watch the Master Blaster in action that one last time! About two hours since the time that I left my office at Nariman Point,I was still nowhere close to the screening destination. As it turned out,I missed the designated show and caught it only the next morning!
Fortunately,hysteria around the legendary cricketer’s retirement abated over the weekend,giving way to that other universally acceptable form of Indian entertainment — movies.
In fact given the stiff competition (from Sachin) …Ram-leela,Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s adaptation of the bard’s timeless romantic tragedy Romeo & Juliet,appears to have done quite well for itself. This of course,is not a first — worthies like Mansoor Khan (Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak) and Habib Faisal (Ishaqzaade) have done it and rather well at that,but auteur Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s labour of love made quite an impression on several counts but foremost for the uniquely remarkable Leela (named after his mother).
Bhansali,is clearly back on home turf — with a canvas larger than life,masterfully orchestrated with the colours and grandeur that have almost come to define him—he was clearly in a mood to reinvent and break the mould. All female protagonists in Bhansali’s films be it Nandini of Hum Dil De Chuke,Paro from Devdas,or Michelle from Black,are uniquely fascinating. And strong. But his version of Juliet,a far cry from the coy female protagonists,the Sati-Savitri or the bubbly,vivacious type so common to our films,surpasses all others for its layered complexity. Leela is a romantic with a spin. She is not part of her family’s legacy of violence and is not even remotely interested in it unlike Zoya of Ishaqzaade who took immense pride in it.
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Leela is different. She is a bit of a spitfire,different from the bubbly outspoken oft-used cliches in our movies. In many ways she is like a regular Indian girl,who,when in love can throw caution to the winds and follow her heart. Leela is plucky enough to take pride in her own sensuality and match every amorous overture with a fitting reply. But above all she prefers the straightforward direct approach of saying it like it is,suggesting a clear departure from both the Hindi film heroine and the quintessential Indian girl. Most certainly she is a welcome break from the coy coquette batting her eyelids at suitors and yet denying any interest in them.
Good Indian girls are usually not allowed to wear their hearts on their sleeves in reel and real life, but this one does and with such dignity and natural ease that it is endearing. Bhansali’s version of Juliet is dignified,brave,innocent and principled,all at once lending her a certain nobility that puts her in a league completely her own. Popular art at large and cinema in particular rely so heavily on stereotypes and broad generalisation that every standout female character in our films is a yeoman’s service to the cause of both films and feminism.
Whatever may be the other flaws in …Ram-leela,Bhansali,just for its powerful portrayal of women — Supriya Pathak as the mother is brilliant too — liberating them of gender specific hypocrisies,deserves a huge pat on the back.
