Laila Majnu Review: Imtiaz Merges Various Versions Of Laila Majnu To Paint His Own On The Silver Screen

My Verdict: Imitiaz repeats his existentialist approach; Avinash plays Majnu with his heart – Go Watch it

3.5 out of 5 stars

Laila Manju (the actual poem by Nizami Ganjavi) has seen a lot many adaptations and interpretations as far as the text is concerned. The story was passed on through generations. Be it the Turks or the Persians or the Azerbaijanis. There were several versions to the story and this 2018 Sajid Ali directorial seems to be a version of its own. Retaining some of the major elements of the original story, the writing of the film has incorporated many new aspects which have been done deliberately to give a contemporary feel to it!

Laila is shown to be a carefree adventurous girl who wants to ‘experience’ the thrill of life and love. Qais who is shown to be a London return is a Casanova and has a mind of his own. Touted in his neighbourhood to be a whacked-out persona, he doesn’t have much of a good reputation in the milieu he is part of. Parmeet Sethi plays the stern and obstinate father of Laila who is at loggerheads with Qais’s father due to a land dispute. This becomes the reason for the former to not let her daughter be close to Qais.

Sumit Kaul plays the man who marries Laila because he wants to usurp her father’s property and also gain a political stronghold. Out of the entire cast, it is Sumit’s Kashmiri accent that stands out.

Imitiaz through his writing did try to hold on to the authentic story by not letting mobile phones be part of the initial conversation and by using pigeons to play emissaries for the lovers. Having said that, it doesn’t really take time for the both of them to speak hours on end over the mobile phones. The last scene is again authentic, In Nizami’s poetry, Majnun dies at Laila’s grave and in the film as well, Qais (Majnun is shown to die at a graveyard, as his head smashes on a grave, now whether the grave is Laila’s or not hasn’t been established)

The first half of the film is replete with puppy-love romance between Qais and Laila and it gradually builds up to a climax that is at once overwhelming and at once liberating.

Avinash Tewari is too good with his character. He understands the madness that he portrays and he plays his role to the T. His expressions, his dialogue delivery, his smiles, his silences are brilliant. He understands the psyche of the character and it shows in his performance. I can not forget the scene where he is sitting on the bonnet of his car overlooking Laila in her balcony, talking to her on the phone staring constantly at her, (thinking perhaps about how much he loves her) and Laila asks him, “Kya hua?” he answers – “Kuch Nahi,” and then again in one of their romantic rendezvous when they are canoodling in what looks like the Chaar Chinar Baag, Qais stares at Laila, she asks him, “Kya Hua?” and he replies yet again with a smile and a pain in his eyes, “Kuch Nahi.”

Tripti Dimri is good as Laila and she looks ethereal especially in the last scene, she could have done much better. Laila’s character is very layered. She is torn between a lot of things besides her love for Qais. It is not her, it is the writing that doesn’t really give her much scope for performing. The scene where she bursts out at her husband is her highlight in the film.

Sajid Ali’s direction is good, but at times unbalanced. He has done a swell job considering this was his first film. The part from where the real madness begins (the transition from Qais to Majnun) is the part I loved. Having said that, the beginning of it was a bit abrupt. As it had been established that Qais had not met her for four years and now that Laila wanted just a few more days’ time to get united, the former unable to bear the separation any further starts to personify her in everything that is around him. He starts talking to the flowers of the meadows, the bricks of the walls, the grass, the tree trunks because he sees (or perhaps wants to see and believe Laila in everything). This gradually meanders towards the morbid and he loses himself.

In the actual poem, Majnun does exactly the same thing, when he is separated from Laila, he starts reciting poetries seething with pain and love to the walls, the flowers, the skies, the earth and finally he dies unable to bear the pangs of love. He sees her everywhere, so much so that he doesn’t realise there are other living beings one earth as well. He dismisses anything and everything - this state of his mind is ‘Macnuniyat’. In the same way, in the film, Majnun becomes oblivious to everything else and doesn’t give a damn about people, he becomes ‘Mecnun’, he doesn’t want to think about anyone else other than his Laila.

Merging many versions of “Laila and Majnu” together - in the film, it is shown Laila comes for a visit to Manju and realises that he is no longer what he used to be and has surpassed the materialistic world and has reached a realm that is beyond good or bad, beyond love and hatred, beyond trivial losses and victories, beyond substance and nothingness -  so she decides to put an end to her physical self as well. Majnu runs frantically after her other-worldly apparition through the graveyard and hits his head hard against a tombstone and dies. – The research behind the writing is good, the last part is beautiful. Imtiaz has retained his existentialist approach in this film as well, just like in his previous films.

The cinematography by Sayak Bhattacharya is beautiful as it captures the beauty of Kashmir like nnever before, be it the Dal Lake, the Chaar Chinar, Hazrat Bal or the gorgeous valleys of Pahalgam.  The music of the film by Niladri Kumar and Joy Barua didn’t do much for me, having said that the lyrics by Irshad Kamil is A CLASS APART! A special mention to the Kashmiri folk song Katyu Chuko by Alif beautifully sung by Mohammad Muneem was bewitching and it went so nicely with the narrative. (Most of the songs were woven carefully into the screenplay and neither of them looked forced!)

All in all, the film is a beautiful rendition of the age-old romance between Laila and Majnu and shouldn’t be missed.