Meenaxi: A tale of three 'ceetees'

K V Seetharamaiah / TNN / Mar 31, 2004, 11:12 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

If Gajgamini was embarrassing, Meenaxi is dazzling. A filmmaker comes of age at 88, says Shobhaa De.

<arttitle><i>Meenaxi</i>: A tale of three 'ceetees'</arttitle>

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script> Shobhaa De is bowled over by the poetry in Husain''s latest film starring Tabu in the lead. <img align="left" src="/photo/592216.cms" alt="/photo/592216.cms" border="0" />The claps, whistles and high fives began before the film did. At a private screening of M F Husain''s magnificent Meenaxi, the mood was upbeat from the word go.Husain himself was the first to applaud as the titles rolled. Why not? At 88, he is entitled to revel in his own genius. As he himself stated after his last effort (Gajgamini), "It is my vision, my dream, my money. I am entitled to do as I please with it." Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities has been produced by ''Culture of the Street Films''. But it is essentially a baap-beta show with Husain''s mercurial son Owais taking the credit as ''associate director/writer'', with Owais''s wife Reima Faiza billed as ''producer''. Perhaps one should not make the mistake of comparing Meenaxi with Gajgamini, or Tabu with Madhuri. But comparisons are inevitable. Both are a labour of love, and an extension of an artist''s divine sensibility that obviously drives him to explore the limitless possibilities of the medium he loves the most â€” the visual one. As cinema, Meenaxi works far better than Gajgamini. Meenaxi is a far more cohesive and coherent narrative which holds viewer-interest sufficiently to make you anticipate the next unexpected turn in the loosely-constructed storyline. If at times, you find yourself as bewildered as poor Raghubir Yadav who plays the protagonist (a writer), in search of his Ultimate Muse, with a certain befuddled, throw away charm, it''s all right. For what takes a viewers'' breath away is the stunning visual poetry of each sequence. Master cinematographer, Santosh Sivan, bathes each frame in a light, so lyrical, there are no other words to describe it, but the one Husain himself has used in his lyrics Noor-unala-noor â€” Kya roshni! The 3 cities from the title, Hyderabad, Jaisalmer and Prague look almost as ravishing as Tabu - the Mysterious Muse, who assumes three distinct identities, as she seamlessly moves from one context to the next, challenging you to keep pace with her shifting identities. Mickey Contractor, the make-up wizard, deserves credit for transforming India''s most beguiling actress so beautifully â€” from a gawky, rough-speaking, ittar-seller in Hyderabad, to a Rajasthani aristocrat in Jaisalmer, and finally, a waitress/actress in Prague. Never mind that critics are likely to be mean about Meenaxi. It has to be seen just to take in the visual splendour of the film which devours you. A R Rahman is glorious once again, with a soundtrack that haunts and haunts, particularly the extraordinary quawali sung by Murtaza and Qadir Khan. The dance sequences enchant you. If Gajgamini was embarrassing, Meenaxi is dazzling. A filmmaker comes of age at 88 â€” that''s a feat enough for me. <formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>

End of Article