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By Joginder Tuteja, February 24, 2009 - 13:48 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Shabana Azmi, Aruna Irani, Pariskshit Sahani, Ayesha Dharker, Raghuveer Yadav, Zakir Hussain
Director: Sai Paranjape
Producer: Amit Khanna, Sai Paranjape
Music: Raj Kamal, Bhupen Hazarika, Zakir Hussain
THE FILM
A little more than a decade back, a production house called PLUS FILMS had started doing something that today UTV SPOT BOY is doing i.e. make films that are between being hardcore commercial and truly offbeat. In this endeavor of theirs, they made films like Aur Ek Prem Kahani, Bhairavi, Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi and many more, some of which are finally seeing a DVD release for the first time ever. Saaz is one of them.
With it's base in real life rivalry of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle, Saaz sees Shabana Azmi play a character based on Asha Bhonsle while Aruna Irani is the face of Lata Mangeshkar in the film. Who plays R. D. Burman? Well, we will talk about it a little later.
The film is told from the point of view of Shabana Azmi who is pouring her heart out to a psychiatrist [Pariskshit Sahani] about the years gone by. In this story telling, Saaz takes it's own sweet time to come to the point. Reason? First 20-30 odd minutes are spent in explaining the childhood days of the two sisters, something that only makes it a really boring exercise. Agreed that a strong foundation about the germs of rivalry being sown between two sisters was the requirement of the script but how one wishes that the director may have got it all moving a little faster. In fact a couple of hardcore classical songs come out of nowhere (the ones pasteurized on Raghuveer Yadav) that bring you to the point of exasperation.
It is only when Shabana Azmi and Aruna Irani come to the scene that Saaz starts becoming a lot more interesting. During the initial duration, it is Aruna Irani's character that calls the shots with Shabana Azmi being a mute spectator. In fact for most of the scene featuring the two sisters, it is Aruna Irani who impresses more, something that is an achievement in itself considering the fact that for most of her career span, she has been relegated to playing the second fiddle. However, in Saaz, she eats up the frames each time around and it is the layered characterization and her capable portrayal that makes her come trumps.
Not that Shabana Azmi isn't in great form either. As a woman who is used to succumbing to the manipulative ways of her elder sister, she shows the growth of her character graph pretty well and reaches a point when she starts dictating terms in the industry. This is what makes the proceedings interesting as the film seems to be reaching a culmination with two sisters drifting apart, only to reunite later.
However, this is the point where the film takes a dip. Just when one thought that Saaz was nearing an end does the character of Zakir Hussain that is made to resemble R.D arrive. Burman. A love story between an elderly Shabana Azmi and a much younger Zakir Hussain gives the story a different dimension. Nothing wrong from the story point of view but it's just that the happenings from here on are just not engaging enough. Worse, the way Zakir Hussain acts gives a clear indication of why the maestro hasn't been seen in front of the camera ever again.
Leaving this blemish aside, Saaz turns out to be an engaging honest piece of cinema that gives insights into the psyche of two sisters who unfortunately turned out to be staunch rivals. Watch it for some superlative performances by Aruna Irani and Shabana Azmi and of course the fusion track 'Kya Tumne Yeh Keh Diya' that had made waves when it was released more than a decade back but still sounds so fresh.
PACKAGING
The DVD comes in a neat plastic packing
DURATION
The film's duration is 146 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
The DVD doesn't come with any special features
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 199/=
CONCLUSION
When released way back in 1997, the film was in controversy as it was a clear take on Lata-Asha rivalry. After watching the film you know that that the controversy wasn't ill placed since not just the background (a village from Maharashtra being the birthplace of the two sisters) was kept intact, even chapters around meteoric rise of Lata Mangeshkar followed by Asha Bhonsle's entry in the music industry, cold war between the two sisters, R.D. Burman entering the life of Asha etc. are incorporated in the narrative of Saaz.
 
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