And all that Jazz......... Review on Morning Raga

A simple definition of raaga is a group of musical notes in the Indian Classical Music. Traditionally, ragas are based on an intricate Vedic philosophy of sound. Every time of the day, morning, afternoon, evening and night, has its specific ragas.

What can you expect when a veteran actress (Shabana Azmi), a contemporary English playwright and director (Mahesh Dattani) and an amazing cinematographer (Rajiv Menon) come together? - A jugalbandi of meaningful cinema.

This movie is about the effect of past on our present life. It is a concoction of Western music and South Indian Carnatic Music.A confluence of urban and rural India.

Swarnalata (Shabana at her best), a Carnatic musician in a small village of Andhra Pradesh, is overwhelmed when she gets a call to perform in the city. She convinces her friend and violinist Vaishnavi to accompany her. Alas fate has something else in store for them!

Twenty years later, Vaishnavi?s son, Abhinay (newcomer Prakash Rao) returns to his native village in search of soul stirring music. He tries his best to revive Swarnalata?s ambition to perform at a concert. Meanwhile City girl Priyanka (Perizad) has a past that she is trying to forget. The lives of the three are entwined in a single incident, which would unwind ultimately.

The plot by Dattani is perceptive without getting into romantic intricacies or meaningless fights. Though it is only the second movie for Dattani as a director, he seems to be a pro at delivering the goods.

Shabana gives a wonderful performance once again which doesn?t surprise us since she is the Queen of Parallel cinema in India.

What takes us by surprise is the acting prowess of Prakash Rao - slipping easily into the skin of Abhinay portraying very subtle emotions without being melodramatic. Perizad is her usual bubbly self but seems to go slightly overboard when she sings.

Thanks to Rajiv Menon for capturing rural Andhra so beautifully ?the flowing Godavari, the lush green paddy fields and the typical houses in the village.

Though English did look a little out of place in the village scenes, it is a necessary evil for reaching out to wider audience. However the attempts at humour by Lillette Dubey and the guitarist could have been avoided.

The highlight of the film is the blend of Indian Classical music and Western music by Composers Mani Sarma and Amit Heri.Having learnt Carnatic music specifically for this movie, Shabana excels in all the songs ? esp. ?MahaGanapathy? or ?Thaaye Yashodha?.

The background score is very soothing and the grand finale of ?Thaaye Yashodha? is very apt since it is in Todi raaga (which is the morning melody) and also metamorphosizes the relationship between Abhinay and Swarnalata.An excellent blend of Indian Classical and Jazz!

Yes this is not a movie for those who want to sit back and relax, also not for those who want fast paced action ? it is for those who are patrons of parallel cinema and it is to those I appeal ?do not miss this one.