Meenaxi - Running poetry

Ever considered seeing poetry unfold itself, verse by verse, on the celluloid? In case you have, but have never seen it in 'reality', watch Meenaxi - A tale of three cities. The second feature by the noctogenerian artist of the country, M F Hussain, Meenaxi is a far-removed and far more engrossing movie than his first attempt, Gaja Gamini. Though the visual spectacle of the two is accutely mesmerising, Meenaxi deals with a far larger dilemma that it did in Gaja Gamini. And then, the question that everyone who has watched this movie asks, is what does it mean, where does it end .... Precisely, the movie neither begins and neither does it end and through this abstract and unsatisfying closing, it draws in us a greater catharsis than that could be ever drawn by any other movie with a prominent ending.

Keeping with what I earlier said - where does Meenaxi begin? It shows itslef to us through the eyes of an author, Nawab (Raghubir Yadav), using his opera glasses to see things which are right next to him and yet missing out on what could be the subject of his new novel. He is at the moment faced with a terrible case of a writer's block and ponders over myriad possibilities that could absolve him of his drawback. The publisher, his friend, is hounding away for further drafts and all he can do is sit through a cycle rickshaw and peep into the world of Hyderabad.

It's his sister's engagement and preparations are on in full spate. He, as usual, moves around through the crowd, there but not there, till he comes across a woman. Things spark of in him and he tries to move towards her, but she keeps eluding him. He still tries to search her, but fails. And when he fails, she suddenly surrenders herself to him. She is Meenaxi (Tabu), a perfume seller in the city of Hyderabad. She declares herself to be a great fan of his and demands that he write a story about her.

Nawab tries to break free from his block and brings pen to paper. He sets his story around the beautiful sand dunes of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan and narrates the journey of Kameshwar Mathur (Kunal Kapoor), who also happens to be his car mechanic in 'reality', and his affections for a girl, Meenaxi. The story continues towards a love story between the two and time seems to stand still. Then how does the story progress? It doesn't .... An existential theme mocks at us when we try to decipher how this Jaisalmer story will end. And with the muse's 'real' presence the author also looses control of his own thoughts. He can't bring about a conclusion in his own imagination, because his 'reality' is made directionless by an inconstant inspiration.

The papers are burnt and Nawab now picks up his pen again to cast a new setting before us - this time in Prague and his character now is a lonely girl called Maria. Kameshwar Mathur arrives there also and another story unfolds itself to us. This time, Maria is more commitent in the relationship and the viewer tries to forsee the future between themselves and the 'real' imaginary characters. But then even a new setting and a new affair seems to wind its way into obscurity. This story also ends without an ending.

What Meenaxi deals with, are the binary opposites of reality and imagination,or perhaps their contrast that we have created in our minds. The story actually speaks of the thin line between the two abstract terms in the mind of a creative artist. Nawab loses himself in his characters and also in Meenaxi, the simple girl who sells perfumes in Hyderabad. Then the question remains that what is real and what is imagination? If both quarters of the author's mind release him into the same obscurity, then where is the difference? Is Meenaxi more real, or Maria? Is Kameshwar more real or the car mechanic? Or is Nawab the person more real than Nawab the writer?

And when we realise this aspect, we are once again taken back to Nawab's sister's wedding and we see Nawab following a girl dressed in white, a contrast to Meenaxi in a black saree a few minutes back. This time he comes up to her and has the opportunity to see her face. His eyes light up as he asks her for her name. She looks at him quizically and replies - Meenaxi.

Magnificently told and shown, Meenaxi, could well be the magnum-opus of the director. The essence of colour to wash away the difference between real and unreal is a delight to watch. The camera movements and angles are simply breath-taking. The opening shot of the Nawab on a cycle-rickshaw will perhaps never be seen in the history of Indian cinema. Santosh Sivan has amazingly given life to the three cities and the five principle characters in the movie. The characters are so well constituted that they feel absolutely real and not just shadows on celluloid.

I feel special mention should be made about the music in the movie. Composed by A R Rahman, they too blend in with the chief objective of the movie. Every city is percieved differently by the changes in the music pattern alone. The songs are mesmerising and absolute. The background score is stunning.

Meenaxi - tale of three cities is a must watch for people who love art as a whole, not just cinema. Not just because each aspect of film-making is beautifully arranged in it, but because the dilemma of art is finally resolved in one of the greatest movies of the Indian film industry.