You think you have it bad?. Review on Chandni Bar

Let's do a word association test shall we? I give you a phrase and you tell me what first comes to your mind when you hear it, deal?

Bar - Drinks. Music. Smoke. Men.

Girl - Dainty. Sweet. Gentle.

Bar Girl - Indecent. Shameless. Cold-hearted. Brash. Rude. Whore?

A movie that dares to tell the story of bar girls without commodifying them. Without using their story to add some spice (read as sex) in the film. This is Chandni Bar.

The story

I would suggest you watch this movie. It's real.

Mumtaz (Tabu) is forced to become a bar girl to earn money since she has no parents and is looked after by her maternal uncle who lives with her. New to Mumbai, Mumtaz knows she has to make the most of whatever life throws at her. So here is Mumtaz, a simple girl who now finds herself surrounded by horny men who visit the bar. She is taught how to dance and how to entice customers. Does she do it? Or does she say 'Main mar jaoongi par apni izzat par aanch nahin aane doongi' (I will never sacrifice my honour). If this were an ordinary movie she'd go with the dramatic dialogue, but this movie is about reality. It's about what happens and not what ought to be. So Mumtaz does the dancing and the enticing.

In her life as a bar girl, she forms deep bonds with the other women in the bar who, like her, have been forced into the business by their men, by poverty or other reasons. These women stand by each other and never shy away to help. They understand each other's problems and look to each other for support.

As if working in a bar wasn't enough for Mumtaz, she is raped by her own maternal uncle who suddenly noticed that his niece has a vagina so why not make the most of it.

I know I would've wanted to die had I been in such a situation. But then, I am a coward. But not Mumtaz. Terribly exploited in every sense of the word, Mumtaz fights on and continues to live.

Eventually a local goon(Atul Kulkarni) shows interest in Mumtaz and sees potential in her to be his wife. He respects her in his own unconventional way. Mumtaz marries him and this means she can leave the bar business for good. As luck would have it, her husband is killed and she is left to fend for her children. Her teenage son is wrongly incriminated by the police and one wonders if Mumtaz's misery will ever end.

She makes compromise after compromise... earlier for her survival and now for that of her kids.

The Acting

I don't think I'm good at judging something like acting prowess, but I can tell you that the cast of this movie has done one hell of a job. Starting from Tabu, to her girl friends, to Atul Kulkarni. Fantastic. Probably a cast unheard of, but much better than all the Khans and Rais put together. Tabu excels in her role and she comes across as very real. The body language in the beginning fits her character very well. The nervous glances, the shame, the awkwardness of letting men gawk at you, or rather making them gawk at you. And then eventually the role of a mother and wife who is now confident and secure. She is an actress you might not fall in love with, but will definitely respect.

Take someone who's a big star and make them fit the part. Cakewalk? Think again. Remember how Shahrukh always is shahrukh whether he's ashoka or devdas? Not Tabu. Not once do you think of her as Tabu the star. She is Mumtaz, the bar girl.

Atul Kulkarni does his job well. He has a lot of talent and his dialogue delivery is good. This man has screen presence, if only he'd get the roles. Not the hero kind though.. but then this was no ordinary hero-heroine movie.

The roles of Mumtaz's friends at the bar are played by actresses who have acting in their blood. Especially Mumtaz's best buddy. I do not know her name but I will post it here as soon as I find out. This lady deserves special mention for her acting. She's second only to Tabu in this movie. (Fellow MSians have pointed out that her name is Ananya Khare aka Preeti Khare)

Why do I say this movie's real?

No where, and I mean no where, has the director compromised the story. He has used a popular actress and made sure she fit the part. The dialogues are not made 'nicer' nor does the director try to highlight the language to make it 'real'. He just picked up this slice from a bar and put it on 70 mm.

He shows you what really happens and doesn't try to show how a woman with the misery of the world rises like a phoenix. No. He shows her for who she is, weak, courageous, brave, exploited...

The scene that shook me

It’s amazing how scenes that without any dialogues seem to get to you the most.

Picture this. The camera comes in from behind a wall and you climb up the stairs in a dingy chawl as an old man comes out running. You enter this room and there she is. A girl sitting there hugging her knees and crying. No, not wailing. Tears just flowing down her cheeks. The man you saw, was her uncle. He just raped her. No playing up that incest issue. Just kept it real. The girl wipes her tears and gets back to work. That’s what happens you know, nobody really shouts from the rooftops or calls up NGOs.

What's so great about it? Glad you asked.

This movie by Madhur Bhandarkar is a must watch and I'll tell you why. It's honest. I've never seen anything like it. Sure, we have movies made on 'off beat' subjects, but rarely is a movie made to make you understand someone's way of life. It's usually just to make you feel sorry for them or for you to be attracted by their misery. Not this one. It tells you loud and clear that the bar girls don't need you sympathy. Heck they don't need anything from you. No women's lib, nothing. They just want you to let them be.

Don't judge them. No, they're not saying it, I am. They couldn't care less if you judge or not. Probably coz they know you're going to, anyway.

Verdict

I feel so stupid even giving a verdict. This movie to me was so real that it just put me in my place. Did I crib today about my life sucking coz I broke up with my guy or coz I hurt a dear friend? Gee... wasn't that a crisis! I don't know about you, but I respect these women now. I don't even want to give a verdict anymore. Just one thing though... when you hear 'bar girl' let it not be associated with 'Indecent. Shameless. Cold-hearted. Brash. Rude. Whore.'

She's a woman. She can never be those things anyway.