Nov 25, 2002 01:14 PM
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(Updated Nov 25, 2002 01:14 PM)
Lucky Ali the singer had never made any impression on me. And Lucky the actor … well nobody knew one bit of what he was capable or incapable of. Tanuja Chandra had impressed with Dushman; but that’s it. Her stock seemed to be fast depleting. Thus one can imagine how difficult it would have been for me to decide ‘to see or not to see’. And to compound my confusion, there was no one at the ticket window 15 minutes before the show. And considering that it was the 9 o clock show of a weekend, and more importantly, the movie’s very second day, I had 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 100th thoughts of buying the ticket. Luckily (this is no pun on the singer-actor’s name), I decided to go in, persuaded by the ticket vendor. I didn’t quite believe him, yet something within me said, ‘Go in. Don’t deliberate like Hamlet. You’ve seen so many trashy-corny stuff, another one wouldn’t hurt.’ The movie started after some time, and I found the first half to be one full of wasted potential. There were so many take-off points but Chandra just didn’t seem to capitalize on them. During the interval, I went out for the loo-cigarette-popcorn routine, preparing myself for the worst. And then, the movie did a complete turnaround. The second half had me sobbing with the characters, empathizing with each and very move that they made. The screenplay suddenly became taut, and the Chandra became the director everyone had lauded in Dushman. The story of a teacher who betrays his pupil acquires real meaning only post-interval. Lucky Ali plays the genius, mercurial music teacher who flinches his protégé’s tunes without a sense of remorse with great dignity. The best part of his performance was that he does not try to act. On the other hand, Gauri Karnik as the vivacious student who is left heartbroken after her guru’s treacherous act overplays her part. The story has a Thomas Hardesque feel to it, something that was quite evident in Gulzar’s Mausam. The concept of sin, guilt and redemption is all too evident in this story. How the music teacher gets jealous of his student’s progress, then steals her tunes, and finally, repents, forms the story quotient of Sur. But Sur… melody … what’s that? Apart from Aa Bhi Jaa, Sur has no hummable tunes to offer. Also, Chandra should have concentrated more on her screenplay. The direction, at places, leaves you distraught. But where she does come out trumps is in the characterizations of her lead parts and the sensitive portrayal of inter-personal human relationships. Go for it!
