Kalank

"When someone else's loss seems like our victory, then there's no one in the world who's as lost as us."

Set in 1944 pre-partition Lahore. When a wife learns she is dying she asks a young woman to join the household to give her husband support after she's gone. The young woman not unreasonably insists on being married as a second wife so that she won't be cast off when the wife has died. (These being the days when you could have more than one wife.) This sets events into motion which will cause not just one but two love triangles to intersect. Intertwined with this is the story of general unrest over industrialization and possible partition.

Lush, well acted romantic piece set against the backdrop of pre-Partition unrest. In that sense, it made me think of Doctor Zhivago, which I've never seen but know the basics about.

Lavish sets, swirling fabric, and several large dance numbers with 500 performers made this a visual feast. The performances from everyone were wonderful, especially from Varun who I'd only seen as the younger brother in Dilwale (not my favorite movie specifically because of his subplot). Not to mention Madhuri Dixit's spectacular dance (she did have some other dancers swirling around her but it felt as if it were an amazing solo piece).

We were interested to see some of the conversations happening that argued different sides of the partition question. We've seen enough movies to show the results with Pakistan and India divided by barbed wire and steady hostility. But this early history was new to us and sent us to research the events of partition themselves.

The critics gave this so-so reviews overall. We didn't agree. Taken as love stories, taken as a look at people determined to control events (with results they never intended), taken as a movie-going experience - we liked it a lot. As did the six Indian teenage girls behind us at the theater who were sniffling and clapping as it ended.

Rating — for viewers with medium Indian film experience. (It's not rocket science, but without any cultural background at all you might feel kind of lost.)