Maqbool - Der Pate von Mumbai

I just watched this film and I must say I was stunned. A modern day adaptation of Macbeth, director Vishal Bharadwaj takes full advantage of his hugely talented cast, and full kudos to his direction. He is one to look out for! Performance-wise, Om Puri and Nasseruddin Shah are good, Tabu is great, and Irfan Khan is mind-blowing. But it is Pankaj Kapur who steals the show. He's such an amazing performer. Overall, Maqbool is a class act. Watch it right now!

Give Vishal Bharadwaj a solid pat on the back, and sit back waiting for his next movie. This man seethes brilliance in his film-making. His dialogues, his script, his music, and his direction - all are top-notch, and as I said, this movie proves that Makdi was no fluke.

The movie is based on Macbeth; and oh does it stay faithful to the story. For setting, Vishal trades the Lord & Lady for 'Bhai' (Gangster) and Mistress in today's Mumbai underworld complete with corrupt cops, loads of handguns and conniving politicians.

The story follows Maqbool (Macbeth: Irfan Khan), the right-hand man of Abbaji (King Duncan: Pankaj Kapoor) - the most powerful and influential ganglord in Mumbai. Abbaji's mistress Nimmi (Lady Macbeth: Tabu) falls in love with Maqbool & inspires him to kill Abbaji and take-over his empire. What they did not expect was the surfacing of guilt, and loyals to Abbaji.

Vishal projects the story from inside the crime-family, playing with the loyalties of the viewer. Every character is built deep; you can't find yourself rooting for or against anyone, so justified is each in his/her actions. Add to that the wonderful dialogues & screenplay hiding a mock to reality, society and movies. Watching this movie alone at home, I applauded on a regular basis - so fulfilling was the experience.

The best 'character translation' of the play for me was morphing the three witches that haunt Macbeth into the two corrupt cops, as played by the brilliant-to-a-fault Naseeruddin Shah & Om Puri. The two actors signed up for the smaller roles just to have a chance to work with each other after a long time, and oh are there sparks on screen. If this was Hollywood, we would see a spin-off on their characters. Most of the hum-our-draped satire comes from these two, and it is the kind of hum-our you shake your head at, not roll laughing at. Although I like Naseer more, Om gets and does the better part here.

Irfan Khan IS the successor of these two actors. He again portrays a character as if he was born to play it. From his matter-of-fact way of delivering lines to the screamingly clear eyes, he is a treat to watch. Tabu plays Lady Macbeth as her usual self. Nothing beyond competent, but nothing below either.

And Pankaj Kapoor: He again proves how under-rated he is. From the tormented scientist in Ek Doctor ki Maut to the hilarious possessive father in Chameli ki Shaadi, this guy has done all of the variety and is as good as the best, but never got the recognition that Naseer & Om got. Indeed, Kapoor redefines the Indian gang lord, and surpasses all previous attempts at such a role. His Abbaji is the most captivating character in the movie, yet the most firmly rooted in reality. It defines: If Mumbai has a Godfather, this is he or how he should be.

Each of the actors that have portrayed their respective characters, I can't think of even one major character being replaced by any other in bollywood.

I rate this film 4.5 of 5

----

Trivia: - The first scene of the movie shows a minion with Naseer & Om Puri. This thin faced bald actor is the co-screen-writer Abbas Tyrewala putting in a cameo. - Naseerudding Shah conducted a workshop for all actors in the movie for a few days before start of filming, to get everyone in character and for natural interactions. - Shekhar Kapoor saw this movie at a European (I forget which) Film Festival, and offered Vishal a movie then & there. They discussed plans till dawn. - Macbeth is Vishal's favourite play. He wanted to make a movie for mature audiences after his debut with the children's movie Makdee (Shabana Azmi played the witch for free in that one!)

Vishal Bhardwaj has proven Rudyard Kipling wrong. West does meet East.

I just came back after watching Maqbool directed by Vishal Bhardwaj (remember Makdee or the music director of Maachis?).

And i am stunned. In this brilliant film, Macbeth meets Mumbai with such ease that i didn't think it would be possible.

It is an adaptation of Shakespeare's MACBETH. Only Duncan is the king of underworld (Abbaji - Pankaj Kapoor). Macbeth is Mian Maqbool (Irfan Khan). Lady Macbeth is Nimmi (Tabu). Macduff is Kaka (Piyush Mishra)

And the kingdom is present-day Mumbai.

Around them are India's best acting talents: Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, and Ajay Gehi.

This film is slightly different from Macbeth though. Macbeth is driven by his love for the throne. Maqbool is driven by his love for Nimmi.

He murders Abbaji and declares himself the leader of the gang. The underworld is in a state of shock and everyone suspects Maqbool. But no one dares raise a voice against him. Maqbool then goes on to murder his close friend Kaka to gain absolute power.

He is led (or misled) in his endeavour by two corrupt cops. (Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah). They essay the role of the three witches in Macbeth.

The performances are of a high order. Pankaj Kapur delivers his career-best performance. Followed closely by Tabu. In fact it is a photo finish.

Vishal Bhardwaj is a great storyteller. He imbues the film with a number of sparkling sequences and dialogues. Bhardwaj and writer Abbas Tyrewala do not resort to gimmicks and instead have been as realistic as possible. The guilt pangs that Nimmi and Maqbool suffer after Abbaji's murder is one phase that takes the film to a different high altogether.

In the end, all i can say is, Maqbool has the potential to be a landmark film in Bollywood. In spite of its shabby marketing.

Here is a movie that makes you sit up and take notice of a brilliant director, who entered the film stream as music director. Vishal's progress as a director is astounding!

The film is adapted from Shakeaspere's "Macbeth", using Mumbai underworld as the backdrop. Charecterizations are brillaint, with the witches in Macbeth, being metamorphosed into two corrupt cops.

The screenplay, cinematography, sound design are dialogues are brilliant. The performances from all the 5 key players, Irrfan, Tabu, Pankaj Kapur, and the two cops, Naseer and Om Puri are out of the world. Music is imaginative with captive visualizations.

Credit for the entire movie should go to Vishal, for his outstanding conceptualization and execution. A special word, for cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi. His final shot of Irrfan falling on the ground in the hospital, with a slow motion of a pigeon, followed by a changing color from normal light to serene green, followed by the fall with a tilted camera is worth going miles for! Bravo!

I'll say this much, no one could possibly accuse filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj and co-writer Abbas Tyrewala of not being ambitious and daring. In one fell swoop they endeavored to tell an Indian story with some portion of the recognizable framework of a classic of English literature, and to shape the very familiar characters, scene writing, and plot of that classic of English literature into a discretely Indian film. Any filmmaker who seeks to adapt William Shakespeare faces the challenge of establishing their own unique vision while retaining the core substance of the source material; Bhardwaj and Tyrewala gave themselves an even greater challenge in transplanting the tale to a completely different setting - geographically, temporally, culturally - and necessarily altering the characters and dialogue, and in turn the scenes and narrative, in a manner that's sensible for the new rendition. The essence of 'Macbeth' remains in a saga of prophecy, ambition, conspiracy, and murder, but now in the criminal underworld of Mumbai rather than the heaths of Scotland. Can the result be satisfying for both fans of Indian cinema, and fans of The Bard? I think the answer is "yes," overall, but mileage will vary significantly from one viewer to the next, and to be honest, in some important ways 'Maqbool' is a rather rough ride.

No matter one's frame of reference I think there are definite, distinct issues that place major upper limits on what the movie could have been. The idea of changing the comings and goings and fates of characters from how they present in the Scottish play is not at issue; this is the nature of adaptation. However, independent of any consideration of inspiration or context, I think the screenplay is deeply troubled in fundamental ways. Too much of the scene writing, characterizations, overall plot, and plot development feel direly scattered, unfocused, and confused. Relationships between characters are meagerly established, and it's often hard to get a beat on who they are supposed to be to one another, or even in the grand scheme of the story (including even this film's Lord and Lady Macbeth, Miyan and Nimmi); the thrust of the narrative seems to shift wildly and unpredictably, with little to no cohesiveness or coherence, and I begin to wonder if the pieces of the puzzle truly even fit together; plot development is so sideways, and pacing so limp, that by the time half the length has elapsed it doesn't really feel that the tale has meaningfully progressed from where it began. If we then stop to consider all this in comparison to any other cinematic interpretation of the play from which Bhardwaj and Tyrewala drew influence, one can't help but be confounded.

'Maqbool' is well made in other regards, certainly. I love the music, both the original score and the specific songs that dot the length; the choreography is fantastic. The filming locations and art direction are equally lovely, not to mention the costume design, hair, and makeup. I don't necessarily agree that every choice here of editing or cinematography were the best ones, but I appreciate Aarif Sheikh and Hemant Chaturvedi's contributions nonetheless, as well as the stunts and effects that are employed. There is scarcely any more a one-to-one comportment between the performances, and the major scenes for actors, than there is between the narrative at large and 'Macbeth,' but still I don't think there's any arguing that the acting is strong, with Irrfan and Tabu naturally standing out in the chief roles - and they are hardly alone. Troubled as I believe the writing to be, I find no particular fault in Bhardwaj's direction as he ties all the various parts together. Truthfully, I think in total the title is surely better than not, and enjoyable; as much as I had my doubts, the narrative does gel more cogently in the second half, with the outcome of being compelling and satisfying. It's just so unfortunate that the writing is so messy in the first place, for if as much care had been applied to the storytelling as had been to every other facet, the finished product would have only benefited. As it stands, the favor we may bestow is heavily restricted after a point.

All told I do like this, and I think it's worth watching, on its own merits and whatever one's impetus. Why, there are even some bits and pieces here, Bhardwaj and Tyrewala's own takes on some critical story ideas, that are kind of brilliant. It also struggles with notable weaknesses, however, and all the most severe of these stem strictly from the writing that desperately needed to be tightened. For as incredibly well done as the film is at its best I want to like it more than I do; for the problems that hound it for far too much of the length, maybe I'm being too kind. One way or another 'Maqbool' stands solidly on its own legs, and I'm pleased to give it a recommendation; would that the skill and intelligence this demonstrates in its best moments had been more evenly administered all around so that I could speak of the flick with more enthusiasm.