http://www.letstalkaboutbollywood.com/article-33146764.html
Roja is an excellent little movie made by Mani Ratnam back in 1992, starring
Arvind Swami and Madhoo (Raghunath); it was a real pleasure to watch another of
Mani Ratnam’s works. His intelligence, his realism, his careful balance of
private and public issues which are typical of his works, all this provides a
cinematographic pleasure that makes you feel clever and informed.
This is the story: After an opening scene where soldiers, in the misty
half-light of a mountainous forest, encircle and catch a man whom we later come
to recognize as a separatist terrorist, the scene changes to the Indian
countryside, full of splendour and worthy of Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s views in
his film “Home”. We then follow the arrival of an educated young man, Rishi
Kumar, who comes (no less than as a local hero - very funny and touching scenes
of welcome) to visit a family where he hopes to find a wife. He wishes to marry
a “village belle”, he says, even though he’s always lived in the city. But when
he arrives in front of her, she has a secret: she cannot marry him, could he
please choose another girl? Upon arriving in the village, Rishi had been
spotted by the younger sister, Roja.
The spectator has already noticed her, this fiery, brown-eyed beauty, during
the bucolic opening. And while the young man was coming, she had spied on him,
they had exchanged looks (those knowing looks that lovers the world over
recognize immediately, but know as much how to reject because of social
realities). But when Rishi’s decision has to be made public, when they all ask
him whether he’s made up his mind, he points to Roja: “she’s the one I want”.
Of course this is a minor scandal, and for Roja most of all, but she doesn’t
have the choice, and must marry the nice-looking stranger. During the wedding
ceremonies and the song Rukmani rukmani which captures its joy and expresses
its social meaning, Mani Ratnam uses a remarkable background: a rushing
floodlit waterfall, symbol of the impetuousness of love perhaps, and makes old
women dance with the young, in a vibrant celebration of life. But Roja leaves
her home without her sister having
explained the quandary she put her in. This is nevertheless only momentary,
and the valiant little sister will soon have her heart filled beyond her dreams.
Then drama occurs; this newly found treasure of a hubbie is kidnapped, and
taken into hiding; the horrid battle of fighting, waiting, hoping, doubting,
despairing takes place, all too familiar in our modern world. Those who know
Mani Ratnam know he’s capable of great and efficient suspense there. But I
won’t tell you how the film’s story continues, only that it’s packed with
action and feeling, against a backdrop of breathtaking natural beauty.
That is what the film will be, in fact, a magnificent celebration of beauty,
life and love, in the best Bollywoodian tradition, the one that doesn’t base
itself on the star-system. Of course it’s Mani Ratnam, so there’s the political
purpose (see below), but first the film is simply a classic and perfect
Bollywood production, with all the necessary and well-balanced, well seasoned
ingredients: we have the intense love affair, the danger-filled and malevolent
obstacles to love, the charming and witty humour, which comes from the
situations themselves, and do not require a comedian’s antiques; the superb
songs (AR Rahman, needless to say), which emerge from the intensity of the
action, or the passion; and there are all the great emotions: generosity,
hatred, courage, determination, indignation, resistance, pity, silent love, and
the magical climax where the two lovers reunite and tears gush out.
Madhoo/Roja is the soul of the movie: her willpower, fuelled by a love which
never fails, her faith that Rishi Kumar, her adored husband, is alive in spite
of all odds: these feelings are so poignantly presented that it works, we
forget the little inconsistencies and the exaggerated story elements. She
appears to have forgotten herself, and becomes the fighting wife, the
astoundingly daring lover, whose youth serves as experience and aplomb. Her
self-confidence is such that she wins not only hearts but minds. And she sweeps
aside, not only all resistance, but all disbelief that we are watching a movie.
We are absorbed in the anguish of her quest, in the fearlessness of her
pursuit, and we fear with her, we hope with her, we cry with her. Such is the
strength of acting!
Arvind Swami’s character and personality touches also, because of his restraint
and solidity. He doesn’t emote a lot, perhaps, but I found I liked his acting,
which is at times almost expressionless: this lack of intensity struck me in
fact as a kind of strength, and the sign of a maturity which complements Roja’s
youthful and domineering character. Reviews on Imdb have noted the patriotism
of the scene where beaten and humiliated, Rishi Kumar manages to repeat his
“jai hind” to the face of the separatists, knowing full well he will incur the
consequence of their rage, and one of the movie’s weaknesses is apparent there,
in this vibrant and somewhat naïve nationalism. But then again, perhaps this is
a westerner’s view. Or it’s because the film was done back in 1992, when
certain illusions about the resolution of the Kashmir conflict could still be
nurtured.
So: what is Roja, then? A brilliantly made entertainer? A political movie using
the swallow-down virtue of boy meets girl? If we notice the two aspects deal
with separation and reunion, perhaps we could call it a hymn rooted in the love
of the land: its overall purpose is the refusal of separation, and the
assertion that love must and will reunite those who are separated. Separatists
are wrong, violent, and counter-nature. Roja fights for reunification with her
husband, just as Mani Ratnam films for the reconciliation between India and
Pakistan. Two reunification, and this, even if Roja is repeatedly criticised
for her naïve and selfish intentions: doesn’t she know, the general tells her,
that the exchange of her husband against the terrorist Wasim Khan has cost the
lives of many soldiers, who were certainly husbands and fathers? How dare she
demand her husband to be exchanged, when so many mothers and wives have
silently accepted their sacrifices?
The fact that the minister accepts her request shows that these two apparently
antagonistic realities can combine, and that reunification should be also
inspired by human values such as love, and not only through the hard facts of
negotiation and politics.
One last word from imdb reviewer Reachrajdream, who I think has a good point:
This movie is inspired from Italian movie De Sica's I Girasoli (1970),
neverthless no complaints because I don't believe in originality. The movie is
worth watching because of good story and flow of the story. (…) Even Vittoria
De Sica might have been happy watching this movie because such a solid,
positive enhancement of his work.
Rahman fever
His Music ~ My Mother Tongue
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