'Qala': Dissecting the artist behind the art
A complicated mother-daughter relationship, an artist's personal and professional lives, morality and mental health--deeply interesting issues come together to form the brilliant mix that is "Qala". This latest Netflix original, written and directed by Anvita Dutt, has been widely acclaimed. With engaging performances, soulful music and nuanced storytelling, the movie is certainly one of the best works done in the Hindi language this year.
Revolving around the female protagonist Qala (Tripti Dimri), her mother (Swastika Mukherjee) and a rising male singer (Babil Khan);the movie explores what it means to be an artist, through the parlances of gender and industrialisation. While some artistes may find purpose and identity in their art, many may see this as an opportunity to establish themselves socially.
"Qala" delicately depicts a conundrum that society faces on a regular basis. Are people, and surely parents, the products of their time? How much of their actions bearing negative consequences come from a place of good intention?
One feels aghast seeing the rejection Qala endures, simply for being a girl child, but they surely can't ignore the layers of imposed notions of motherhood and bloodlines. An individual might feel pain seeing Qala hurt, when her mother insists her real home is that of her in-laws, but they can't deny that this is not the first time they have heard this. Hence, the question around freewill and owning actions keeps humming in the background. Alongside, the degradation of women in performing arts and their exploitation in modern day industry is also portrayed carefully.
Additionally, the movie does a brilliant job at depicting mental health concerns. The brilliant cinematography captures the emotions a mentally disturbed person goes through, and the hallucinations, manic episodes are vastly different from the typical melodramatic portrayals seen in cinema.
Despite witnessing numerous examples of this, we often tend to turn particularly ruthless when it comes to mental health issues of seemingly successful people. Shrugging off their concerns as unnecessary stress often leads to severe deterioration, and "Qala'' aptly reminds us of that.
The movie has received much popularity for its original music. The star studded music team of Amit Trivedi, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Varun Grover and others, have prepared songs and scores which are deeply relevant to the movie and yet wonderful to listen to in their own right. Furthermore, Babil, the son of late Irrfan Khan, has received massive love and admiration for his debutant performance in the movie.
Director Anvita has spoken about how she was inspired by the urban legends she's heard over the years, when making the movie; which goes to show that Qala is not just some distant character. The familiarity and character nuances remind us to be cautious about the consequences our actions can have on others.