Art Angst and Anvita. Review on Qala

It felt like a dream last night. It left me breathless and intoxicated at the same time. Qala, the movie, is mesmerising, cinematic and cathartic. Always a pleasure to watch cinema which weave various art forms to create a new language of its own.

Our woman, Anvita, had created this fragile, cold, colourless world full of damaged souls seeking redemption. For Qala, fame is not an option. She is hell bent to live up to her illustrious legacy under the guidance of her widowed mother. Urmila, the mother, is always in black grieving the untold past. She wants her daughter to achieve glory but questions her talent at every step mercilessly. Along came Jagan, an orphan with a voice which is God given. Impressed by his obvious talent, Urmila adapted him and brutally supressed Qala to be his second fiddle. How Qala rebelled and went on her own tortuous path to claim fame is the story.

While a plotline helps to structure a script, Qala is essentially cinema in all its glory. As a creative venture it is an exemplary demonstration of how all the departments in a cinema production can contribute to each frame. It includes cinematography, production design, costume, musical score, soundscape and performance of the actors. The conductor remain the director, but the richness of the symphony is due to the entire team.

Siddhart Diwan as the cinematographer did an encore after Bulbull with Anvita. Amit Trivedi is a genius when it comes to mood music. The score is actually extraordinary and will be remembered for long. Shauq is a personal favourite. Lyrics of Varun, Amitabh, Kausar and Anvita herself, redefine the phrase “poetry in motion”. Art design and costume by Meenal Agarwal and Veera Kapoor is precise, detailed and visible in every frame.

Tripti as the main protagonist was excellent. Every expression, every dialogue, every twitch in her face was visible to us due to closeups and she never faltered once. Swastika as the dark, melancholic mother also did a splendid job. Babil as Jagan was aptly cast and showed potential. Amit Sial as we know is always good. Varun brought the much needed humour.

In the end Qala will be toasted for its creative and evocative visuals, melancholic melodies and a tragic story told by strong women trapped in an unforgiving world.