Movie Review: Anaarkali Of Aarah, A Shimmering Eye Opener

Movie Review: ‘Anaarkali Of Aarah’
Rating: 3/5
Director: Avinash Das
Cast: Swara Bhaskar,Sanjay Mishra, Pankaj Tripathi, Ishteyak Khan

Anaarkali Of Aarah Movie Trailer

Anaarkali of Aarah is an unexpected winner that stuns you with its authenticity. It is about a woman, who fights to uphold her right to dignity. Nothing in this unexpected storm-trooper of a film has prepared you for its high-velocity energy and fervent statement on female sexuality.  The film is many things at the same time. It is a shimmering sun-soaked mirror of small town values wherein every sneeze or fart is noted and evaluated across the communities . And yet the story of Anaarkali (Swara Bhaskar) is also the story of every woman urban or rural.

Given its risqué subject, the film could have gone awfully wrong if the execution had faltered or tilted on sleazy over substance. But writer, director Avinash Das’ execution lends gravitas to the proceedings, making you feel for the lead character.  Most importantly, this film finally gives Swara Bhaskar an opportunity to put her exemplary acting chops on display. She is a revelation as a pan-chewing, courageous woman, who won’t buckle under pressure. Ishtiyak Khan of ‘Tamasha’ fame is impressive too. The music compliments the film’s raw and rustic setting as well.

Anaarkali Of Aarah is the surprise of the season. It is stunning in thought, spellbinding in plot and utterly gripping in the way the story of a small-town dancer-singer’s adventures in lecher-land unfolds. This is a sublime film about the dignity of labor narrated with a raunchy rigor that is often appealing and at times exasperating. Swara Bhaskar brings out the feisty Bihari woman’s inner strength and an extremely appealing moral grounding even when confronted by the demons of her disreputable profession. It is a terrific premise for a post-feminist film. Sanjay Mishra as the sleazeball academician, Vijay Kumar as his murky cop in crime, Pankaj Tripathi as Anaarkali’s partner on stage, Mayor More as her callow infatuated utterly devoted lover-boy, Nitin Arora as backalley music baron and last but certainly not the least Ishteyak Khan as a small town man who knows how to respect a woman –these are not just performances. They are classrooms of impeccable characterizations. But above all there is Sawara Bhaskar giving what history will record as one of the bravest and most important performances by a female actor in post-modernist Bollywood.Writer-Director Avinash Das doesn’t focus on remaining fashionable about women’s empowerment.

As the protagonist’s destiny goes out of control so does the narrative. ​After a point this heroine’s tale has a will of its own. You suspect neither the writer-director nor the actress playing Anaarkali can control her destiny.They, like us, can only move back and gawk in amazement as this astounding female hero takes on the empowered goons co-powered by the louts LaLu Land.​It could be daunting for those who do not understand the sexual politics of the North Indian hinterland.​ The smell,the feel, the flavour and the emotions of the stiflingly patriarchal small-town is so palpable, you are swept into the vortex of the film’s vibrant vista. Full marks to the film’s cinematographer Arvind Kannabiran for making Aarah and Anarkali seem wedded to one another , and of course Rohit Kumar’s authentic folk songs ….they add so much value to the proceedings.

Giving you the other side of the picture, this captivating drama makes you think. Can we respect women, who perform Bhojpuri item songs? More often than not, you are quick to suspect if they are moonlighting as sex workers. They must be apologetic about themselves and if they aren’t, it’s the society’s ‘duty’ to slut-shame these audacious women on moral grounds. The film sheds light on this perception and reiterates what ‘Pink’ implied to the urban audience – No means no. Every woman has a right to say ‘no’, irrespective of who she is or what she does for a living.
However, what doesn’t work here is the absence of a strong antagonist. Sanjay Mishra’s comic villainry fails to unnerve you, making the climax look a tad convenient and underwhelming.

The patriarchal society has a way of holding women responsible for the atrocities they themselves face. This movie questions this very mind-set and offers a refreshing take on women and their sexuality.