A fresh one...!!!. Review on Morning Raga

Director: Mahesh Dattani ....Cinematographer: Rajiv Menon ....Music: Mani Sharma and Amit Heri is chiefly Carnatic (with a dash of jazz) .....AND a star cast including the oh-so-talented Shabana Azmi and a potential performer like Perizaad Zorabian with Prakash Rao, a promising debutante...no prizes for guessing the movie which is so aptly titled ''MORNING RAGA''.

Morning Raga is as dewy in subject and alluring in treatment as the title suggests. It narrates the story of Swarnalata (Shabana Azmi), a gifted Carnatic vocalist, whose ambition of performing in the city gets aborted due to a pallid accident on her village bridge, in which she loses her only child as well as her dear friend, who plays the violin.

Blaming herself for the mishap, Swarnalata spends her time in self-imposed exile confining her existence within the village bridge.

Twenty years later, the common craving for music brings three people together......three people who are bound, apart from music, by their pasts. Abhinay (Prakash Rao) and Priyanka (Perizaad Zorabian) are two young people who astride tradition and modernity with remarkable ease. Like their music, village life and traditional music mingle with modern sounds and rhythms. Abhinay and Priyanka start a music group, but soon realize that something is missing. Abhinay bumps into Swarnalata in his village and persuades her to sing for his group. She turns down the offer initially, but relents subsequently.

Undoubtedly, the movie belongs to Shabana Azmi..who is simply amazing in her portrayal of a grief-stricken Carnatic singer. Perizaad....for the movie (and always) acts a refreshing coffee in a winter afternoon...simply lovable is the word for her. As regards Prakash Rao, one is left impressed by his sensitive depiction of Abhinay.

The simple movie with a seemingly fragile plot involving the complex lives of the protagonists, is held together by some wonderful performances and sequences and is garnished with breath-taking, exotic cinematography by Rajiv Menon. One is left spellbound with his picturesque frames. ...which serves as a treat for the eyes...feeding them with the lush village look...(as fresh as MORNING).

However, a flick of this genre caters to a select audience....those appreciating this kind of cinema is probably limited to the metropolitan thinking crowd...which in itself, is quite a tiny segment of cinegoers. As for the final words on the movie, Morning Raga is definitely a commendable piece of art by Mahesh Dattani, who has effectively crafted a story which is emotionally-involving and entertaining....together at the same time.