Tabu is GLORIOUS!

Ronjita Kulkarni | April 01, 2004 22:22 IST



Meenaxi is a poetry in colour. Painter-director M F Husain's mastery over colours makes the film look captivating.

It is, of course, not just a canvas for Husain, like his earlier film Gaja Gamini. This one goes deeper.

Writer Nawab (Raghuvir Yadav) is facing in a dilemma -- he cannot get the right subject for his next novel. He meets a stranger, Meenaxi (Tabu), who urges him to write a book on her. At first hesitant, he later agrees.

Meenaxi on rediff.com!




Meet the amazing Raghuvir Yadav!

Kunal Kapoor: hot, HOT, HOT!

Tabu: Husain's latest muse





Now, Nawab needs a male character for Meenaxi. He zeroes in on Kunal (Kunal Kapoor), his drunken car mechanic, who once wanted to become a singer.

In the novel, the two meet for the first time in Jaisalmer. The chemistry between the two is shown well. Meenaxi is the mysterious beauty, while Kameshwar (Kunal's name in the novel), is the shy youth. He is intrigued by her and cannot seem to get enough of her. Soon, Meenaxi is drawn to him too.

That is when a third character Karanvir (Sagar Arya), the 'villain', comes in. Though the part when he dumps his girlfriend and proposes to long-time friend Meenaxi came out of nowhere.

Back in Hyderabad, Meenaxi taunts Nawab about the 'boring' story and, finally, burns the manuscript in disgust.

So Nawab starts a new story with the same characters. This time it is set in Prague.

Maria (Meenaxi's new name in the new novel) is a free spirit who walks everywhere with her cycle. Walks, because she doesn't know how to cycle.

She holds a placard with Kameshwar's name at the railway station. When they meet, they hit it off immediately. He comes to the city to meet a Dr Crass, who is never shown or explained.

This time, Nawab introduces himself in the novel too. When he asks Meenaxi if there is any romance between Kameshwar and Meenaxi, she appears vague. She is drawn to Kameshwar too.

The moments leading to the climax may seem confusing but the last few minutes of the film puts things in perspective. And the exceptional dialogues by Husain and his son Owais, who assisted him on the film, take the film to another level.

Besides the climax, there are some parts that are well done. Meenaxi, in Hyderabad, is never fully convinced about the story in Jaisalmer. She always feels that the story lacks punch. Or rather, the intimacy that she yearns for. She hints at it first and later, tries to spell it out to Nawab, who is uncomfortable with the idea.

Tension grips the scene in Jaisalmer, when Meenaxi tries to meet Kameshwar late at night. While Meenaxi tries to pull forward and meet Kameshwar, Nawab's ink does not let her get beyond the front door. Finally, Nawab wins.

Husain never really explains who his characters are. Who really is Meenaxi? She claims that she sells ittar [fragrance], though you never see her doing so. She hovers around Nawab and is adamant that he write an interesting story on her. It is never explained why.

Who is Kunal? He is a car mechanic whose dream of becoming a singer was never fulfilled and so he took to the bottle. But who is he? Husain never explains his roots except for a stray comment about his father.

The characters are just there.

Tabu is brilliant. The way she teases the two men in the film is spectacular. She is aided, of course, by Husain's knack of presenting his women beautifully, like he did to Madhuri Dixit in Gaja Gamini.

Tabu looks breathtaking. This is probably the best looking Tabu you have seen. The accent sat uncomfortably on her, so did the babyish tone she adopts in Prague.

Newcomer Kunal Kapoor is a pleasant surprise. His freshness adds appeal to his character, yet he emotes like a seasoned actor. He seems rugged, yet vulnerable, in Hyderabad; confident, yet shy, in Jaisalmer and Prague.

No wonder the actor is going places. He has signed his second film with Aamir Khan, for Rakesh Mehra's bilingual, Rang De Basanti (Paint It Yellow in English).

Raghuvir Yadav is just perfect in his role, portraying all the tension, conflict and dilemma that Nawab feels. Admittedly, it had traces of his performance in Prawaal Raman's Darna Mana Hai.

A R Rahman's score is excellent. No wonder M F Husain waited a year to get the music! Apart from Yeh rishta and Chinnamma chilakkamma, Do kadam and Noor-un-ala-noor are a treat to the ears. There are far too many songs in the film, though.

Husain seems to have incorporated all of his knowledge and experience into this film. Watch it with an open mind. This is not the usual Hindi film you are used to.

CREDITS:
Cast: Tabu, Raghuvir Yadav, Kunal Kapoor
Director: M F Husain
Music: A R Rahman
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Welcome filmibuff, TABU surely brought u OUT OF CLOSET..LOL..

How u been? my friend!?

hi arsh bhai!!!!!!! i had been meaning to post for sometime but my account got deactivated and i created a new user......... i am great...... just got back a week ago from india....got married....... to kafi kucch ho gaya..........
aur aap bataye aap kaise hai? didnt get a chance to see any films in india...... but got to travel around rajasthan.......

Great!! yaar!! shadi mubarak!! aur hamare shaadi ke lado kiya huey? bhii :

Man, sunil, u did not see MAQBOOL..either?

arsh bhai ladoo khane to appko toronto aana padega ya phir CA ship kar dete hai...
No I havent seen Maqbool either...... I am hoping to see it this weekend......
I have been listening to the new music albums Yuva, Meenaxi, Main Hoon na........

off the topic yaar!! I dont think mAQBOOL got released!!

Secondally..2004 had been a good year for music..iMHO

Starting with Chameli, Maqbool. Paap, Meenaxi, MHN, and now YUVA

Well, I liked the first 5 better than yuva..then notch lower rank..Rudraksh, new Murder, and Lakeer

But to my surprise...SHADI KE LADOO was PRETTY GOOD TOO..give it a try..no kidding!

For MASSES..KISMAT!

WEll, aapke shadi ke ladoo ka intezar rahega!! yum yum..keep izzy away..he is drooling over my ladoos already!

Sunil, pls check ur pm? we r going way away from topic, so before MASTER YODDA strikes!! LOL

It is SO IRONICAL, in my local theater, SUNO SASUJI and CARRY ON PAPA is playing but not MEENAXI!!

I thought, i would wear MFHUSSAIN's GLASSES on the WEEKEND and ENJOY HIS SHOW!!

Par saala, apna naseeb hi kharab hai, eros ki crappy dvd dekhni padegi roenge aur dekhenge!!

'Meenaxi' - Flights of Fantasy
By Prema K. ©2004 Bollyvista.com


Credits
Producer/s: Reima-Faiza Husain
Director: M. F. Husain
Cast: Tabu, Raghuvir Yadav, Nadira Babbar and Introducing Kunnal Kapoor
Music: A. R. Rahman
Lyrics: Rahat Indori, M. F. Husain (Noor-un-ala), Sukhvindra Singh (Chinnamma)


Buy the DVD here
This is a film worth watching for its visuals. Santosh Sivan has captured the beautiful locales of Rajasthan, Jaisalmer, and Prague so brilliantly that it almost transforms the viewers to these locations. Tabu is looking breathtakingly beautiful. The choices of colours for her tastefully done clothes add to her sensual appeal. She is all woman; whether she is the regal Meenaxi of Jaisalmer, the mysterious ittarwali of Hyderabad or the orphaned Maria of Prague. As the beautiful woman of Jaisalmer, Tabu carries herself with a lot of poise and style. As the ittrawali, her Hyderabadi accent is a real treat. It gives the film its required light moments. Tabu as Maria, is a real surprise package. Not only is her look slightly westernized, but she also manages to speak with an accent that is so becoming of the character. She also looks very young with a little girl charm with this look. Having said all this, it might leave the average filmgoer wondering about the existence of three look-alikes in different cities. It is up to each one of the viewers to decipher the film their way.

Nawab (Raghvir Yadav), a popular novelist of Hyderabad, is suffering from the writer's block. It's almost five years since he has not produced something. He comes across Meenaxi (Tabu) at a qawwali as part of his sister's wedding ceremony. Meenaxi assumes different personae. Does this explain the three girls in three different cities? They are three different facets of the same woman. Meenaxi is brought to life by the power of the writer's pen. It is fun to enter the writer's world of imagination but it is frightening when one thinks of most people not being able to relate to the goings-on on screen. Tabu's love interest in the film, Kameshwar Mathur (newcomer Kunnal Kapoor), fits the role perfectly. A.R. Rahman's music is brilliant. The songs are well choreographed. There is a suggestion of eroticism (very tastefully done) in some of the songs.

Now for the performances. Tabu is excellent as usual. She has never looked so gorgeous before on screen. Raghuvir Yadav is good. Nadira Babbar is endearing. Newcomer Kunnal Kapoor is a real find. There is an earnestness about him and he seems to be a natural performer. This leaner and refined version of Abhishek Bachchan is very confident and carries his own despite being pitted against seasoned actors. Wonder where Husain found him? Meenaxi is not a film for the masses that has been fed an overdose of sex and sleaze in films. It is surely a film for people with an esoteric taste. M. F. Husain's film speaks a completely different language and is worth watching for its visuals, rich hues and colours. It is a Husain painting coming to life on screen but the run of this film at the box-office seems doubtful.

** (TWO STARS)

*poor; **average; ***good; ****very good; *****excellent

yaar khiladi where are my meenaxi posters man? thnx

MEENAXI

Cast : Raghuvir Yadav, Tabu, Kunnal Kapoor, Samir Arya, Nadeera Babbar, Sharat Saxena
Directors : Owais and M.F. Husain
Music : A.R. Rahman
Cinematography: Santosh Sivan

RS RATING: 3/10

It was with a lot of dread that I stepped into the theatre to watch Meenaxi. The horror of Husain's previous venture “Gaja Gamini” was still fresh in my mind. Though not as abstract as “Gaja Gamini”, this movie is still a painting more than a story.

Synopsis :
Writer Nawab (the inimitable Raghuvir Yadav) is suffering from the oldest disease known to affect writers. He has writer's block. He finds a muse Meenaxi (Tabu looking divinely beautiful) during a qawwali, and takes her as his inspiration. The problem is, she is not a passive person. She has a mind of her own, and is ready to ridicule, criticise or plain deride the stories Raghuvir tries to create.

When in need of a male character to portray the lead in his story, he brings on Kunal (Kunnal Kapoor), a drunken car mechanic, who dreams of being a singer. He names Kunnal Kameshwar for his novel, which is deemed old fashioned by Tabu. In the novel, Tabu meets Kunnal in Jaisalmer, and starts getting attracted to him. A villain comes into the story, and tries to separate them.

Tabu is unimpressed by this story, and burns Raghuvir's manuscript. This makes him set the story for the second time with the same characters, but in Prague. Tabu is named Maria here and is a carefree girl who moves around on a cycle (not driving it, but carrying it along). She meets Kunnal here, and promptly fall in love. The difference in this story is that Raghuvir too gets introduced as a character in the scheme of things. The novelist Raghuvir tries to keep the characters of Kunnal and Tabu away from physical intimacy in spite of their attraction towards each other and the insistence of Tabu.

The climax tries to get the threads of the story together, but fails miserably. If you haven't understood the gist of the story yet, do not panic. There is no need to call the medics yet. I am sane and this is the stuff that passes for a story in this creation by M. F. Husain which he tries to pass off as a movie.

Analysis :
Tabu is heavenly, and each frame containing her looks divine. She has never looked better than this; the camera seems to be unconditionally in love with her. Kunnal Kapoor does not betray the fact that this is his first movie, and is pretty camera friendly and at ease with the attention. Raghuvir Yadav, the amazing parallel stream actor last seen in one of the episodes of RGV's “Darna Mana Hai” seems a little ill at ease carrying out the abstract role, but he still manages to give an amazing performance.

Technique :
The film has been jointly directed by M.F. Husain and his son Owais. Though Owais tries to bring in a semblance of a story, the basic theme itself does not adapt to a movie. It is more of a painting than a movie. The Husains need to understand the basic need for a story when they plan to make a movie. The canvas of a film and that of a painting are totally diverse, and what seems extraordinarily creative as a painting could come out as incomprehensible rubbish as a movie. Such is the case with this feature, and the attempt at storytelling fails in all its aspects. The father-son duo has also collaborated on the script, and paint a disaster with multiple threads left dangling. The screenplay seems to be one of convenience, and has been clearly modified a number of times during the shooting.

Music by A.R. Rehman is good keeping in view that he spent an entire year to score it. The songs though do not have any occasion to crop up and come in as pace breakers in an already crawling script. The cinematography by Santosh Sivan is breathtaking. The locales of Prague and Jaisalmer are splendidly captured by his camera, and this film should at least act as a travelogue if nothing else.


Sidelights :
• M.F. Husain had earlier titled his 'Meenaxi', 'Do Kadam Aur Sahi', to signify two more steps taken after his debut film 'Gaja Gamini'.

• Husain wrote the 'Noorun Allah' song in 'Meenaxi' on his own, while he was in the hospital.

• He is planning a comedy next with Urmila Matondkar. Now that will be something to dread again.

• Husain called up Raghuvir Yadav to play a role in this movie, but pleaded with him not to see his earlier “Gaja Gamini” as he was sure that Raghuvir would reject the film if he saw that one.

Verdict :
A major disaster, the only saving graces are the beautifully shot locales and Tabu, looking absolutely ravishing. A strict no for normal human beings without an abstract inclination.
REVIEWED BY YASHDEEP PATIL


radiosargam..?????

REVIEW | MEENAXI: TALE OF 3 CITIES

Painting On Celluloid

Sukanya Venkatraghavan



Cast and Credits


Producer
Reima-Faiza Hussain
Director
M.F.Husain
Music
A.R.Rahman
Cast
Tabu, Raghubir Yadav, Kunnal Kapoor






writer...and his muse. She emerges from the silvery depths of a mystifying qawwali and offers to clear his writer’s block. That is Meenaxi, a perfume seller from Hyderabad. Guttural yet sensuous, and taunting...

Unrelenting in the pursuit of self, Meenaxi offers herself as the ‘Muse’, the source for Nawab’s(Raghuvir Yadav) book which has struggled to come to light for five long years. Through her he creates his ephemeral Meenaxi whose soul stirs in the sandy dunes of Jaisalmer... Inspired by an encounter with a drunken, uncouth mechanic (Kunnal Kapoor) whom he incorporates into the book as Kameshwar, the dreamy, awkward hero who is mesmerised by Meenaxi’s beauty, as much as the writer himself. But Meenaxi trashes the story and rejects Kameshwar. Leaving Nawab with no choice but to start all over again, this time in Prague...

In Prague Meenaxi becomes Maria who lives in a nunnery, works in a cafe and escapes under the arclights by night...

And so the viewer embarks on a journey that is emphatic yet illusionary... through life, art and varied imageries. Reality takes on a startlingly new shape. Abandoning all traditional norms of story-telling, MF Husain compels his characters (and in turn the viewer) to waft seamlessly in space and time.

The dialogue is poetic, though rambling at times. The vivid colours of the streets of Hyderabad, the deserts of Jaisalmer and the romanticism of Prague streak Husain’s visual canvas, even as the film-maker takes us from the real to the surreal with e-clat.



Santosh Sivan’s camera works as a metaphor for Hussain’s brush strokes. Each form and figure is bathed in incandescence, characteristic of Sivan’s brilliance. Never has Tabu looked more alive and vibrant as she effortlessly imprints her effect upon the story and its intricate handiwork. Raghuvir Yadav is splendid as the perplexed writer, reminding us of his still vastly untapped potential. Not displaying mandatory gawkiness of a newcomer, Kunnal Kapoor is an apt casting choice. A.R Rahman’s score for Meenaxi is captivating, turning light and life into musical strains.

A word of advice for the group of youngsters in the back row of the theatre who cribbed endlessly, “Can’t make out head or tail.’” Meenaxi... is meant to be experienced, not understood.






-*** Verdict is CONSISTENT:Painting On Celluloid--

This reviewer is a perfect example of a person living in a little comfortable box - where things must always be what they have always seemed. If he hadn't been drilled since childhood that paintings are art, he'd be calling them rubbish too.

As far as I care, a film may or may not need a story at all. Some of the best films I've ever seen are character-centred instead of plot-centred. In fact, strong plots are the cheapest trick in the book to get a profitable but dumb audience. Sure, there are good films with strong plots - e.g. The Sixth Sense, Lagaan - but not all need to be.

A film can be about form, pacing, colour, light/shade, characters and anything else that has the ability to evoke emotions.

The filmmakers are finally beginning to think out of the box - but is the audience ready to crawl out of its comfort zone?

I don't put much stock into Indian movie reviews these days, not after being disappointed in or disliking a few well-reviewed films for which I paid $8 to see.