The Hindi Black Widow: 7 Khoon Maaf

Okay, so maybe Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes killed a few husbands. At least she had good reasons, most of the time. Frankly, she is not a bad person really, she just has bad moments—six or seven of them. Falling somewhere in the spectrum between Shirley MacLaine in What a Way to Go and Theresa Russell in Black Widow, Johannes is profoundly unlucky in love throughout Vishal Bhardwaj’s 7 Khoon Maaf (trailer here), which opens today in New York.

Her mother died in child birth and her beloved father tragically passed during her early formative years. Johannes will never have to worry about money, but love is a different story. Of course, the courtships always start out great, yet once hitched, her hubbies’ bad sides quickly reveal themselves. #1 was a military hero, but his war wounds made him bitter and cruel. Though he vents is frustration on Johannes loyal retainers, they will have the last laugh. This process will repeat.

Naturally, each husband is awful in his own unique way. It is not for a lack of effort on her part either. A devout Christian, Johannes even converts to Islam for Wasiullah Khan. Though his lyric poetry suggested a romantic soul, his violent sexual abuse turns her life into a nightmare. Truly, it will be the death of him. Over the decades, Johannes luck never improves. Even her sixth husband, a holistic doctor played by the great Naseeruddin Shah, turns out to be highly problematic. Eventually, the compounding tragedy of her serial mariticide threatens to engulf her very soul, a descent viewers witness in a series of Noir-style flashbacks.

Sort of a Hindi Anthony Hopkins, Shah is perfectly cast as the sophisticated and mysterious #6. However, Maaf is unquestionably a star vehicle for Priyanka Chopra as Johannes. Convincingly aging forty years, she also preserves a sense of Johannes’ vulnerability and fundamental Christian decency, despite her constant resorts to homicide. Indeed, the latter will take on renewed significance in the third act.

Bhardwaj has a reputation for straddling the boundary of Bollywood and India’s Parallel Cinema. Arguably, Maaf leans sixty-forty to the latter. While there are musical interludes, they usually happen in relatively realistic contexts, like Johannes’ wedding celebrations (of which there are plenty). Of course, there is also a lot of melodramatic messiness to satisfy Bollywood fans. While the tone can be a bit erratic, Bhardwaj keeps the pace brisk. In fact, his sly black humor and a surprisingly substantial emotional payoff give the film a distinctive character. As ambitious Bollywood or accessible Parallel Cinema, Maaf is a good introduction to Hindi films. Considerably better than many recent imports from the subcontinent, it opens today (2/18) in New York at the Big Cinemas Manhattan.

SAIFF ’10: That Girl in Yellow Boots

Legitimate massage therapists undergo rigorous training in human anatomy and physiology. However, Ruth Edscer is the sort of masseuse that gives the profession a bad name. She is not the sort of person who would ordinarily perform such dubious work. She just needs the money from her extra services to find her prodigal Indian father in Anurag Kashyap’s That Girl in Yellow Boots (trailer here), which screens this Wednesday as the opening night film of the 2010 South Asian International Film Festival.

Edscer comes from a broken home—shattered might be a better word. After her sister committed suicide, her father abandoned his British family for his home country, leaving his surviving daughter behind with her moralizing mother. Running away from home in search of the father she hardly knew Edscer finds herself immersed in the seamy side of Mumbai, while seeking elusive clues to his whereabouts. It does not help matters when her junkie boy friend runs afoul one of the local drug gangs. This might not be the romantic India Edscer envisioned, but at least she can accessorize.

Boots is so not Bollywood—and not just because it lacks a musical number. While not exactly explicit per se, it addresses sex and drugs in uncharacteristically frank terms. Of course, nobody is likely to spontaneously break out into song in the scummy red light districts Edscer navigates. (If you don’t know what she means by a “happy ending” you definitely shouldn’t be going to massage parlors by yourself.) Indeed, Kashyap creates a visceral sense of place that might not be to the liking of Mumbai’s tourism authority.

Though actually French-Indian, Kalki Koechlin looks and sounds the part as the British Edscer. It is a pretty fearless performance, as she endures some quite realistic looking humiliations with a pathos that is hard to shake. Likewise, the great Hindi actor Naseeruddin Shah supplies the film’s heart as Divakar, Edscer’s only straight client, making the most of his relatively limited screen time.

Boots also forgoes the easy redemption of most Bollywood melodramas, opting instead for a grim naturalism. Though the film has the odd thriller elements, Kashyap (and co-writer Koechlin) are clearly more interested in exploring Edscer’s character. They spare her little, making Boots an exhausting film. Yet there is something unsettlingly poetic about its closing scene.

In a sense, Boots is a bold selection for SAIFF’s opening film. It is not a feel good movie, nor is it an enticing showcase for Mumbai. Still, Kashyap has an international reputation to attract cineastes and fans of Indian cinema will certainly recognize Koechlin and Shah. Indeed, their work here is quite powerful, making Boots the sort of film that lingers with you well after the ending credits roll. Recommended to patrons of international cinema, provided they understand not to expect Bollywood, Boots opens this year’s SAIFF Wednesday night (10/27) at the SVA Theatre.