Margarita with a
Straw
Whew! What an experience!
To me the name Laila has always been synonymous with love
of epic proportions - picture this ……Zeenat Aman singing Laila mai Laila or the
Laila in the classical love story. Well rest assured that Kalki continues that
zestful tradition in her own way. She romances the hell out of life in this maelstrom
and teaches you to never, never, never judge a book by it’s cover.
This is an eye opening account of a woman who faces
herself and makes us realise that there exist normal feelings in each and every
individual no matter what their ability or disability.
The gist of this story is that everyone wants to try it all
at one point or another, just that do we have the guts to do so. In fact if you
remove the fact that the protagonist is differently abled it becomes a simple
story, much in the lines of Queen or Highway. We all have done or wanted to do something at
some point or another that we deemed forbidden. Well Laila just forges ahead
and does it, disabilities be damned! So
you can either view this story as a feministic tale of exploring sexuality like
The Fire ( Mira Nair, Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das) or you can sit back and
realise that this is the story of an individual who just wants to live every
moment.
The way Laila lives life in spite of being barely able to
speak or walk is inspirational. And the way Kalki has played Laila is beyond
words. It certainly helps that she has the most guileless face I have ever seen
cinematically. But let her physical appearance not blind you to the fact that
an extreme amount of preparation has gone into this role. Every floppy movement, every tremor, every
lisp, every head loll is superbly executed. It is so obvious that she got into
the skin of the character and lived it day and night, little wonder then that
personal relationships suffered.
Revathy playing Laila’s mom reminds you why she was such
a darling of the masses once. She has lost none of her charm and her acting
prowess has only gone from strength to strength.
The girl who plays Khanum – Laila’s girlfriend is super,
and she, one Ms. Sayani Gupta is going to be a casting favourite soon. The gentleman playing Laila’s friend Jared is
such eye candy!
And Shonali Ghosh – the director with her little touches
displays that not only is this story close to her heart, it is a story she has
lived in! It shows it in all the touches that manifest continuously in the
movie. Like the sippy cups, the electric powered tooth brushes, the modified matador
and of course the ever present straw!
A point of social interest subtly depicted here is the
lack of facilities we offer in our country to the differently abled. It is shameful
and this is highlighted with brutality when the landscape changes from Delhi to
New York. I remember going to a bookstore with a differently abled friend once,
and then her having to face the ignominy of either being carried up to the
first floor or the staying on the ground floor and having me cart the books
back and forth from the first floor to the ground floor.
Another singular feature is the almost complete lack of
background music. To all those of us conditioned from our conception to the
background music in all our movies and TV shows, this could be a little
unnerving. It was to me! And if you aren’t absolutely comfortable in your skin,
you shall be squirming and shifting in your seats. Imagine this … sitting along
with tens of strangers and staring at a screen with no sound on which some
randomly mundane stuff is happening! But the music when it is used is well
placed and you get the beats of a youth festival, or an impromptu bhangra rap
at home juxtaposed against the sultry tones of a jazz musician in downtown New
York. All in all I liked the movie and
would recommend that you watch it too.
And ladies do keep an eye on all the mouth-watering
earrings on display! Happy Viewing!
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