Mammo

Shyam Bengal and Khalid Mohammed's brainchild - Mammo - leaves an everlasting impact on one's mind. Being born and brought up in a Muslim household in Lucknow, I related to Mammo on multiple levels. Every scene, dialogue, background score gave me something to relish. A feeling that one does not get these days, a feeling that makes you remember your childhood and old women that you called nanis and dadis.

The simple truth about partition showed in this movie hits the viewers to the core. Mammo is an experience that will be acknowledges and adored by the viewers who have spent a significant chunk of their childhood under the guidance of their grand moms and their sisters. Farida Jalal gave wings to the character while Surekha Sikri left no stone unturned to portray the complex character of Fijji and she aced it. Indian Cinema can't get better than this.

Shyam Benegal does it again.. with slow pace and original lighting - with it, without it, in-spite of it the director cum story writer conquers hearts at will. Without poetic dialog and without any song and dance sequence, Mr. Benegal is able to do what most other people haven't quite succeeded. Show to someone who doesn't know anything at all about the Partition - not why it occurred (now this is no political commentary) but rather what came out of one of the most painful episodes in the history of India. Mammo basically manages to paint a picture of the emotions - estranged ones go through. It shows, what happens when people and places we take so often for granted... become lost forever..

Shyam Benegal and Khalid Mohamed create a tender, beautiful account of a Muslim boy's childhood in post-partition India.

On the surface this is the story of a woman like millions others, uprooted by partition - probably the greatest tragedy of our times - trying to get back to her roots. Mammo absolutely refuses to let any politician take away from her what makes her life worth living - her sister, her grandson and her city.

On another, more charming level, it is a lovingly detailed depiction of the world seen through the eyes of the adolescent Riyaz. A sense of shame for one's background, the first time one was moved by poetry (for Riyaz its Kahlil Gibran), a budding fascination with the world of cinema, first experiences with cigarettes and porn, its all there. The atmosphere is made rich by references to Beethoven, Faiz, Gibran and movies like Psycho, Bobby and Garm Hawa.

Farida Jalal and Surekha Sikri turn in great performances. There is a beautiful ghazal sung by Jagjit Sing and written by Gulzar that adds depth and poignancy to the film each time it plays. Gulzar fans will value the use of his jolting story 'Ravi Paar'.

Though I saw Mammo quite a long time back, many scenes of this brilliant movie are still fresh in my memory. Farida Jala puffing the cigarette, her scenes with the police, her interactions with the old nani...it feels sad that she has not been utilized int his manner before. Shyam benegal extracts her best. Though Farida has been doing many 'character roles' for a long time now, only 'Dekh Bhai Dekh', a television series, comes to my mind in her recent avatar and movies like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, raja Hindustani and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Not having seen much of her earlier acting ( she's been acting for ages, I guess ), she will remain for me 'Mammo', the aunt.

Though I saw Mammo quite a long time back, many scenes of this brilliant movie are still fresh in my memory. Farida Jala puffing the cigarette, her scenes with the police, her interactions with the old nani...it feels sad that she has not been utilized int his manner before. Shyam benegal extracts her best. Though Farida has been doing many 'character roles' for a long time now, only 'Dekh Bhai Dekh', a television series, comes to my mind in her recent avatar and movies like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, raja Hindustani and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Not having seen much of her earlier acting ( she's been acting for ages, I guess ), she will remain for me 'Mammo', the aunt. (2 February 2006)