Tehzeeb

The film is a pathetic attempt to remake Ingmar Bergman's "Autumn Sonata"(1978) starring Ingrid Bergman,Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson.It did not take me more than 5 minutes to figure that out.

It is time Film journalists like Khalid Mohammad took out time to do some creative thinking. It makes me sad when potentially good film-makers waste their talents by making substandard remakes of Hollywood and European films.

You've got to give the film-maker something though. The film he picked for copying is one of Bergman's classics, and easily one of the finest instances of the portrayal of a strained human relationship in European cinema.

Urmaila is a great actress. It was nice to see Shabana Azmi in this film because I like her old films such as Amar,Akbar,Anthony. Arjun Rampal was good in this film and Dia Mirza was good at playing a dramatic character in this film who shoots herself but hopefully does not die because her sister Urmila,brother in law Arjun Rampal pray.I liked the way that most of the main characters were Muslims.The songs were O.K. and I give the storyline on it's own a 9/10 and I give the acting a 9/10 as well.The songs get an 7/10.This film is interesting so thats why I gave the film a 9/10 overall.I found the ending sad because Shabana Azmi dies.

The legendary Shabana Azmi and the immensely talented Urmila Matondkar reunite after 20 years, again as mother and daughter, in Khalid Mohamed's tribute to Ingmar Bergman's 'Autumn Sonata'. 'Tehzeeb' seems to be either a movie one hates or one loves. I love it for its sincerity. There is no hidden agenda. It's about a Muslim family but unlike almost every recent Indian film this one does not attempt to bring out the conflict between Muslims and people of other religion. It's a story about relationships: the relationship between mother and daughter, between two sisters and between a husband and a wife, period.

However, 'Tehzeeb' isn't without its share of flaws. Khalid Mohamed's script could have done without a few unnecessary subplots. The whole Diana Hayden track should have been left out as it contributes nothing. Perhaps the director's intention was to show Salim's loyalty towards his wife (or to give Arjun Rampal a larger part) but the track was irrelevant. The Namrata Shirodkar track does offer some comic relief (although Satish Kaushik is irritating) and her sensational item number is beautifully executed. But, this too could have been left out as it does take away focus from the main story. I wish they had left the entire last song, 'Mujhpe Toofan Uthaye Logon Ney' of which we only see a couple of minutes before it breaks to closing credits. This one song marvelously summarizes Rukhsana Jamal's life.

'Tehzeeb' is a very well executed film. I did not like the director's directorial debut 'Fiza' but here he does a better job overall. Javed Siddiqui's dialogues are very poetic and playful and particularly the last dialogue delivered by Urmila to Shabana is very moving. Santosh Sivan's cinematography and Sharmishta Roy's art direction are superb. A.R. Rahman's music (songs and background score) are phenomenal. It is perhaps one of his most underrated scores. Javed Akhtar's beautiful lyrics deserve mention too.

In terms of acting, 'Tehzeeb' belongs to Shabana Azmi and Urmila Matondkar. It was great to see them work together as mother and daughter again. Both actresses are phenomenal in their roles and I hope they work again soon. Shabana Azmi looks very glamorous as singing sensation Rukhsana Jamal. She acts like a star but at the same time is very convincing as the helplessly loving mother. Urmila Matonkar easily pulls off the role of the loving but conflicted daughter, the unconditionally caring sister and the lovely wife.

Arjun Rampal is excellent as he holds more than his own opposite the two more accomplished ladies. He's the one who lightens the tense atmosphere between the mother and daughter and provides wonderful comic relief. Diya Mirza is convincing as the mentally underdeveloped Nazo and kudos to her for choosing such a risky role at an early stage of her career. All four actors share a warm chemistry and are believable as a family. They seem to have been very comfortable working with each other. Diana Hayden needs to work on her dialogue delivery.

'Tehzeeb' could have been a better film but I still think it's great and love it for its authentic portrayal of the family, the music, the performances and the message it brings across. It's emotionally engaging and moving, one that feels close to heart. It's a beautiful movie about acceptance, forgiveness, appreciation, sacrifice and love.

Tehzeeb is the story of Rukhsana Jamal (Azmi), a singer drunk in the fame she has attained. She doesn't care for her husband (Rishi Kapoor) and two young daughters (Tehzeeb played by Matondkar and Nazneen essayed by Mirza). Her failed businessman husband suspects her of an illicit relationship (shown only through a flip-second image) and creates a scene, which ends in his death.

Their elder daughter Tehzeeb watches it and 'sees' her mother with a revolver. She grows up suspecting her mother of her father's murder. Nazneen grows into a child-woman whom Rukhsana puts in a hospital, to be rescued later by Tehzeeb and her husband Salim (Rampal).

Ruksana's colorful character builds up with such negative shades in the first half that you almost begin to wonder ? what kind of a mother is she? Feminists might feel that a career woman is being assassinated just because she is successful in her career.

However, that is not to be as you discover later. The mother visits Tehzeeb and then the tension between the two unfolds in bits and pieces, through caustic comments, stifled praises and formal acknowledgment of love, till Tehzeeb can't take it anymore and bursts. The burst carries into the second half and then loses its bite. And so does the film.

Mohamed has proved himself as a storyteller with Sardari Begum, Mammo and Zubeida but sadly, he has punctured Tehzeeb with unnecessary baggage like Diana Hayden, Namrata Shirodkar and endless love scenes between Matondkar and Rampal after interval.

As expected, the movie belongs to Azmi and she is charming as a successful woman. Rampal too has done a good job as a rich author, and a doting husband and brother-in-law.

Tehzeeb is a good step over Fiza for Mohammed, and hopefully, whatever he does next, will deliver more.

Khalid Mohammed's Tehzeeb is a tribute to Ingmar Bergman's Autumn Sonata, and he officially acknowledges Bergman for being the inspiration for this film. Mohammed is a good director, but his attempts to make an art film and add all the possible ingredients of Hindi commercial cinema trip him a bit up this time. In his wonderful 2000 film Fiza he did the same, but much more delicately, and while Tehzeeb is definitely a good film, he tends to go a bit overboard with all the appearances, subplots and redundant characters. Having said that, Tehzeeb is still a great watch, and due credit goes to Mohammed's fine script and direction, Javed Siddiqui's realistic dialogues, A.R. Rahman's soundtrack which gives life to the movie, and of course the credible acting by the leading actors.

Starting with the flaws, the entire Diana Hayden story could and should have been deleted. What does it have to do with the film and its story? I did not really understand the purpose of her appearance and what actually it was all about. And besides that, she is such a non-actor! Her accent is terrible and she is annoying throughout. The Namrata Shirodkar one was redundant as well, though more bearable because of the nice song and the wonderful scene that follows it (the advice Shabana gave Namrata about the rules of success in showbiz). There were several other instances, like Diya Mirza's ridiculous disco dance. That was apparently a take-off on the exceptional "nervous breakdown" dance numbers of Sridevi and Meenakshi Sheshadri in the films Lamhe and Damini, respectively, but in this film, it's just pathetic.

Now to the film: Shabana Azmi and Urmila Matondkar star as a mother and her daughter (second time after Masoom in 1983. 20 years ago, can you believe it?!). Urmila is Tehzeeb, a young married woman who looks after her mentally ill young sister, and Shabana is Rukhsana Jamal, a popular singer and her estranged mother. Although she does love her mother and misses her, Tehzeeb has always considered her mother the cause of her father's death and her younger sister's (Dia Mirza) mental disability. All of a sudden, Mrs. Jamal calls Tehzeeb to inform her that she is going to visit her. Both women are excited towards the meeting. Here the story actually deepens. The film brilliantly follows and depicts this mother-daughter relationship, its ups and downs, and finally shows how they come to terms with each other.

Quite expectedly, while the film is titled after Urmila's character, it belongs to Shabana Azmi, who is natural, credible and charming as the vivacious and colourful star Rukhsana. It's a pleasure watching her delivering these witty dialogues in her own inimitable style. Urmila, while always a talented and intense performer, tries to do more than required at some scenes. She is too impulsive, and while it's an integral part of her acting and always interesting to watch, I think she should have tried some restraint in this role. Arjun Rampal, playing Tehzeeb's loving and supportive husband Salim, is also the film's narrator, and he succeeds on both accounts. Mohammed rightly tries to give his role as much substance as possible, and Rampal performs exceedingly well; he plays Salim with utmost sincerity and humour and makes him thoroughly likable and entertaining. Dia Mirza is cute and effective as the mentally disabled and love-seeking Nazo.

Tehzeeb is aided by a great technical crew and is excellent in cinematography, editing and particularly music. A.R. Rahman scores once again with a terrific background score and equally great songs, among which I especially loved "Na Shiqwa Hota", a soulful number which efficiently summarises the mother-daughter relationship on-screen. Mohammed wonderfully portrays the lifestyle of modern Muslim families, and this is yet another factor which warrants a fascinating watch. The film's ending is unexpected and surprising. Some may like it, some may not. I was disappointed by it, but it's actually what makes Hindi movies so unique and special, no? Tehzeeb is not without its flaws, but after all I still think it is an interesting and moving film and an altogether worthy effort. I recommend.