The Song Of Scorpions movie review: Irrfan Khan’s swan song is bittersweet, scattered

The 2013 ‘Qissa: The Tale Of A Lonely Ghost’, one of Irrfan’s best films, was the result of a close collaboration between Singh and Irrfan. This sophomore offering, which aims for the sweet spot between myth and reality, is not as impactful. ‘The Song Of Scorpions’ is beautifully shot, training its lens on the arid beauty of the desert, following the lugubrious loop of camels that the trader Aadam leads through the dunes as he dreams of possessing Nooran, the terrible fate that befalls a chief character, the scuttling scorpions captured in a box to be used for fatal purposes, and the consequences thereof. It also has a haunting score (credited to Thiriet Beatrice, and lyrics by Madan Gopal Singh); the film’s soundscape is pure pleasure.

On the whole, though, ‘The Song Of Scorpions’ feels scattered, its connective tissues between its characters– Shashank Arora as Irrfan’s partner-in-crime, Sara Arjun as Irrfan’s little daughter from an earlier marriage, presumably—not fused tightly enough. And as gorgeous as Farahani’s Nooran is– you can see why Aadam is besotted despite being shooed off multiple times– her lines in Hindi are stiff. She carries off the embroidered ‘ghagras-cholis’ well enough but you can never shake off the feeling that she’s an alien in this setting: why not an Indian actor for the part?

The film’s conclusion is bittersweet, the game of life and death being played out as the song of scorpions is sung. It mirrors the real-life realisation that people go, leaving behind memories. That’s also life.

The Song Of Scorpions movie cast: Irrfan Khan, Golshifteh Farahani, Shashank Arora, Waheeda Rehman, Sara Arjun
The Song Of Scorpions movie director: Anup Singh
The Song Of Scorpions movie rating: 2.5 stars