Bar Chandni

What worked:

• an inner view of the life of the bar girl in Mumbai; some of the plots seemed stereotypical but indeed true to the fact
• strong screenplay and lead actors

What did not work:

• maybe the ending was necessary the way it was, but we could hope for some alternative endings with something optimistic. However, the ending is still as powerful as it should have been

Final verdict: Recommended.

This is one of the movies that allows to peek at the life of the people who have suffered and haven't seen the light at the end of the tunnel. The movie is very effective for it takes us into the life of a beer bar dancing girl (Mumtaz) in the city of Bombay, and shows us the rut that she is in and any attempts made by her to rise are in vain. The movie is both dark in content and in the lighting which is symbolic of the hopelessness and is very effective. Tabu's performance is noteworthy as she depicts the life of Mumtaz with absolute sincerity. Details, such as, her twirling the cord of the phone when she is in a state of hopelessness shows she has really immersed herself into the character. With her performance you never feel that she is putting on a show. The movie neither glamourizes nor demeans the profession of these girls and the director deserves praise for that. The lack of songs is highly appropriate for this movie as this is not a "feel good" movie. As a warning to the faint of heart, this movie is highly disturbing and should be avoided when depressed.

Although I rented this movie on Video, I am still very moved by it. It was quite an experience. Hats off to the director and all the actors especially Tabu & Atul Kulkarni are very effective. The director has done a lot of non-routine stuff like the narration, the lights, the bar songs and background music etc. Hopefully the people get the right message the director wants to convey.

Thanks to the plethora of movie and music channels, the 'non-commercial' movies of today get enough and sometimes, extra publicity. Hyderabad Blues gave some distributors the confidence to venture out with such movies.

As is obvious from the title of the movie and from the promos on TV channels, the story revolves around the central character, Mumtaz, and her life and times as a "beer-bar" dancer. Rather than just narrating one particular story, the movie tries to document the misery in the lives of such people.

Hats off to Madhur Bhandarkar for boldly doing a movie the way he wanted to do it. The movie hits you on your face even more than Satya (to which it has drawn comparisons), primarily because of the absence of commercial elements (including songs). The movie is raw yet clean.

But the other half of the credit should go to Tabu, who stakes her claim for a second National Award, with a sensitive portrayal. The only problem is that she tends to maintain a kind of laziness in all her roles. The other actors are adequate and play characters which move in and out of Mumtaz's life. Raju Singh's background score is a good supplement to the movie, though it sounds eerie at times.

This movie is strictly not for entertainment. Just go out and get the satisfaction of watching a good movie.

After you have seen Chandni Bar, your perception of any prostitutes around the world will change drastically. Instead of looking at a prostitute as a sexually satisfying object, you will look deeper into her and realize "why she ever became a prostitute in the first place". It is too easy to say that "there is no excuse for being a prostitute, and one can choose his/her own career in life", but after you have seen Chandni Bar, your view point will change completely and you will want to help many women who are helpless/poor/prostitutes around the globe.

Chandni Bar starts by introducing the main character's traumatic beginnings that locks her into doing things she willingly doesn't want to. Throughout the film, the "change room door" in the bar signifies the actual life of helplessly trapped women on one side of the door, and the "pretentious women" on the other side of the door who make a living by selling themselves.

In conclusion the film has been very well put together, and has an excellent direction (worthy of film awards).

I have had tears rolling down my cheeks over ten times when I watched this film, and I suggest you view it with someone who has very little respect for women or views them as sex object. This is a very hard hitting film that will touch you deep within.

My Score: 10 / 10 (for all the ten tears I had)

Watch, listen and understand !

NEIL BHATIA