Review: Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007)

_Laaga_Chunari_Mein_Daag:_Journey_of_a_Woman_ ** (out of ****)


As in his impressive 2005 debut
_Parineeta_(Married_Woman)_, writer-director
Pradeep Sarkar's sophomore effort tells the story
of a well-meaning young woman who commits an act
of great self-sacrifice for the benefit of those
she loves. Here, it's Vibha (Rani Mukerji),
innocent small town girl who moves to the big
city of Mumbai/Bombay in pursuit of work to help
support her struggling family. That, of course,
is easier said than done, and it isn't long
before Vibha's pure spirit is confronted by the
evils and immorality that lie in wait--and her
only means of survival is to not defend herself
from those forces but rather embrace them for her
own power. As Vibha takes on a new and highly
profitable new life as high-class call girl
Natasha, Vibha's family finally earns a sense of
security, but in the case of the woman herself,
"laaga chunari mein daag"--literally, "my veil is
stained"; or "I have fallen from grace."

Watching the two halves of
_Laaga_Chunari_Mein_Daag_, one can't help but
sense an edgier, braver film fighting to break
free before intermission only to have things
Sarkar settle into a more traditional romantic
Bollywood groove post-interval. This is all the
more disappointing considering Sarkar depicts
Vibha's descent rather effectively; the sequence
where she makes her fateful decision and begins
sleeping her way to the top is rather chilling,
and a game Mukerji seems primed to plumb some
dark depths. But all of this, including some
intriguing hints at a psychological break, pretty
much go out the window with the second
half. Vibha's rather complex plight is also
rather glossed over as if it were a common movie
obstacle; when she is courted by a charming
lawyer (a too-briefly seen Abhishek Bachchan),
her secret could have easily been a secret
engagement, a poor background, etc. given its
shallow treatment. Then there is the large
amount of time on Vibha's younger sister Shubha's
(Konkona Sen Sharma, largely wasted) romance with
a co-worker (Kunal Kapoor)--all the better to set
up a typically Bollywood matrimonial
climax--which then pushes Vibha to the background
for long stretches. Throughout all the rote
plot mechanics and rather forgettable song
numbers (tellingly, the one tune to make an
impression--the stark, haunting title number--is
a licensed track not written expressly for the
film), the actors do commendable work (it's
especially nice to see the great Jaya Bachchan,
playing Vibha and Shubha's mother, return to the
screen for the first time since her
multiple-award-winning work in 2003's
_Kal_Ho_Naa_Ho_), which makes it all the more
aggravating that their efforts are not in service
of an equally consistent film.



(c)2007 Michael Dequina




Michael Dequina
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