all of us have grown up with various kinds of stories that were told to us. some of them will be forgotten and some of them will die with us. and the story of qissa is here to stay. qissa - the tale of a lonely ghost is the first movie shot under indo-german co-production.
visually, this movie is an ensemble of very well put together surreal dream sequences. some scenes are so impactful and impressionable that they simulate your subconscious to conscious realism.
the movie starts off at the 1947 india-pakistan divide, and carries on in the same punjab which is in a different country now. after being displaced from home in pakistan and losing their peace of mind, a punjabi sikh family tries to stay solid as a unit under profound influences of emotions, desires and pride.
irrfan khan as umber singh, tisca chopra as mehar, tilotama shome as kanwar singh, rasika dugal as neeli are the main protagonists. all the four main leads actually pull off the subject brilliantly. the spoken language of the movie is punjabi with english subtitles.
magic realism is used as a tool to portray various characters, sexual preferences and how much of a difference sexual body parts make in a person's psyche. apart from that, it is not a sexual movie, but is definitely sensual. overall, the movie has a lot of grey sides, but you don't really miss colours while watching it.
after umber singh and mehar give birth to their fourth daughter, umber doesn't let the mother check its genitals, and under his command the baby, kanwar, is raised as a son, literally. the family tries to stay as a solid unit till the time kanwar realises and accepts his sexual identity. throughout the movie, umber neglects kanwar's sexuality, which makes the woman inside kanwar very lonely. the woman kanwar that could have been is not that different from the lonely ghost that longs to be seen.
the lesbian romance between kanwar and neeli is depicted very aesthetically. although it has all the ingredients of becoming a cliched movie, you will be amazed to see how common social issues are presented so meticulously. there is no attempt to impart any particular emotions to the audience. most of the sequences are left to interpretation.
edits in the movie are nicely done, which actually make the movie look earthy and organic. qissa transcends all the mental barriers with which one views sexuality. it's saddening to see how women's breasts are perceived in the society. kanwar was asked to tie a tight cloth around his chest, and later, the marks on her back, too, are shown on screen. but there are many females like kanwar who actually follow this practice because apparently breasts or big breasts are still considered a taboo in this country. in india, the rate of your freedom is determined by the flatness of your chest. sad, but true!
i, personally, was looking forward to the punjabi language these contemporary actors had used in the film. but i was a little disappointed. although they all did a great job, the movie could have been better, language wise. i was actually expecting to hear thet (raw) punjabi, which used to be spoken in the pre-independence era. the language sounds really sweet to the ears, but when it is used, especially by sardarnis, the language runs at the speed of light. that raw and crispy flavour of punjabi doesn't come across noticeably in the film. however, talking about the language in front of their a-class acting is just placing a candle in front of the sun.
qissa is only running in three theatres in delhi, but is a strongly recommended watch. this is like one of those few movies that will let you take away interpretations and much more. all the major edits have been left free to be interpreted by the audience. you might enter the hall with some set notions, but you may come out either blown away by it or with a lot of throbbing unanswered questions. but that's the beauty of this film - it has no clear-cut ending; it has no beginning - it just has a flawless flow.
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