Customer Reviews

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The way this film opens, with a carefree musical number, you'd think that Vibhavari (or Vibha) Sahay and her younger sister Shubhavari are living an idyllic existence in the pleasant city of Banaras. But things couldn't be further from the truth. Hard times have crept in for the Sahays, as they become besieged by rats for relatives and by crippling economic woes. Vibha and Shubha's mother slaves away as a seamstress while their ineffective father obsesses over lottery tickets yet is prickly about his destitute state. Vibha is fiercely protective of her sister and attempts to keep her in the dark regarding their financial straits. But, as debts and bills mount and the threat of eviction hangs over the Sahays, Vibha's father suffers a stroke. Vibha decides to go to metropolitan Mumbai to try to earn money for the family.

But Vibha is raw and unskilled, her curtailed education rendering her ill prepared for the work force. In Mumbai she's marked as provincial and has no luck at landing a steady job. Finally, in desperation, she becomes a high priced prostitute. Soon enough, Vibha (or "Natasha," her working name) is raking in the good money and sending it home. Then two things happen just before the film's intermission which ratchets up the plot. On a business flight to Zurich, Vibha meets Rohan, a charming corporate attorney - and sparks are set off. Then, returning to Mumbai, Vibha is surprised by her sister, who has come to stay...

Rani Mukherji, a lovely and talented actress, powers LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG (My Veil Is Stained), a 2007 Bollywood drama. Her very good performance overcomes the predictable, rather lackluster story; she makes the thing watchable. The filmmakers evidently were concerned about making this picture accessible and friendly to the Hindi movie-goers' sensibilities, as not too many hot buttons were pushed in this soiled dove premise. It's even tamer than PRETTY WOMAN. This is Bollywood, after all, a movie industry which frowns at kissing scenes, so you can guess how not explicit this one gets. What we see of Vibha, as she plies that oldest of professions, would lead us to believe that the life of an escort girl is about as harrowing and topical as an Amish barn-raising. To further shove reality out the window, it apparently doesn't take much effort to become a successful, exclusive and very expensive escort.

But, as I've said, Rani Mukherji makes it bearable. When watching her do her acting thing, it's easier to be more lenient towards the plot's implausibilities, its glaring holes. I couldn't quite believe that, when Vibha was really down in the dumps, her female Mumbai friend would immediately direct her towards prostitution (but, give the girlfriend credit, she does give sage call-girl advice). Meanwhile, Konkona Sen Sharma as Vibha's vibrant, impudent sister and Abhishek Bachchan as the quietly charming Rohan are both solid, with Konkona disspelling the gloom each time she's on camera. Anupam Kher and Jaya Bachchan (Abhishek's real life mom) have the thankless roles of Vibha's unsupportive parents. If these two actors meant for their roles to be unlikable, then they did their job, because I sure didn't like them.

One can't really diss how the film looks onscreen. Produced under the Yash Raj banner, the film boasts a lush cinematography. I am constantly amazed by the vibrant colors bursting from Bollywood cinema. So we're good in that department. Where LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG lets us down the most is in that it chooses to play it safe. Rife as it is with weepy moments and heartaches and a certain hard-bitten darkness (but not hard-bitten enough), the film never really leaves any doubt as to whether there's a convenient happy ending in the works. Of course, there is. LAAGA... isn't intended to be groundbreaking or to have much of a social impact. It certainly doesn't offer anything new. But I can't help but think that, just maybe, this film would've benefited tremendously only if it had had more of an edge to it.

Moving story of a Banaras family portrayed well. Financial problems of the family force the eldest daughter to quit school and look for a job in the big city of Mumbai. Unable to find a job, she becomes an escort/prostitute for the wealthy and takes care of all the family needs of paying debts and educating her sister. The sister finds a job and has a fiancé. After a turn of events, the movie ends happily with a double wedding of the sisters.

The touching scenes are the father's regrets when he finds out that the daughter was an escort. He expresses his apology for his irresponsibility and for leaving the wife alone to handle all crises. The wife was the only one who knew of the elder daughter's `job'.

The wife is not flawless. She forbids the elder daughter from attending the wedding of her sister, apprehensive of scandals and probable cancellation of the wedding as a result. Their phone conversation scene captures the injustice the daughter faces from her own mother.

The opening dance is beautiful with a great song and photography.

There is a new trend in Hindi movies. As part of many senseless aping of the Western culture Indians have been practicing, the word they have been using in the recent years in movies is `s--t'. It is as though they could not learn anything else from the West. Street words are nothing but repulsive, especially in a serious story like Laaga Chunari, and takes away the beauty of the film.

I'm going to go ahead and say this. There is nothing more tiresome on movie night with the family, than popping in a rented DVD, and having the family being forced to watch all kinds of movie previews before the movie begins.

This is another DVD that you cannot just bypass all the previews so we can start the movie. This was already expected to be a nearly three hour movie, so it's hard to keep the family's interest in watching a film when they are already bored with all those previews.

I'd rather it be my option to watch other movie previews. Perhaps I'd watch them after the movie.

Needless to say, we pulled out this DVD during the forced previewing of other films, and watched the other movie that we rented and, as a result, I just took this movie back to the store without ever having watched it.

Bollywood is notorious for doing this to people.

UPDATE: Well, I rented it again with the intent of just watching it by myself. I turned the disc on and then went upstairs to take a shower while the movie previews played in my absence. After a 15 minute shower, I returned and the movie was ready for me to click on "play" so I could watch it.

I love any movie that has Rani Mukherji. This is why I have a little more patience than some people for waiting to watch a movie withy multiple movie previews before the movie will begin.

I like most Yash Raj films. This one starred Rani Mukerji, and Abhishek Bachchan (the current husband of international Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai) and his mother Jaya Bachchan, and Anapham Kher (who ends up being in most all the important Bollywood films).

This is your basic story of a financially struggling family, whose daughter goes to the big city to find a job, but ends up in the world of the escort service (high class prostitution), just to send money home to help the family survive. She is the source of all their wealth and gain, but yet she is the shame of the family for selling herself as a high class prostitute. But, all is well in the end. This was an enjoyable movie. One to watch once, but I wouldn't need to own it unless they come out with it on Blu-Ray. I'd buy any Blu-Ray disc if it had Rani Mukherji in it. I've bought Veer-Zaara, and I really enjoy it's beauty and all it's true colors in High Definition.

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag begins with dancing in the lanes and commons much like Bunty aur Babli with a must hear bright and beautiful song - Hum Tu Aise Hain. Two sisters, played by Rani and Konkona, are blessed with an unbreakable bond growing up with breakable parrents. Why is it that children in Indian films are often devoted and loving to bad parents (Jaya Bhaduri and Anupam Kher are both excellent at being bad parents) and children in American films often hate good parents?

You may recognize the voice of Shreya Ghosha during the whispering Laaga Chunari Mein Daag song that is really mystical, but you can't dance to it. I'm becoming a big fan of Shreya. Curiously, two of the songs run out of words and end with dun dun dun ...or la la la... but it's okay. After a confrontational beginning between the boys and girls, the big wedding dance takes off with Kunal and Abhishek adding spice through their antics.

Anyway, there are many wonderful scenes and the story is more or less believable. In the context of why I buy Indian films, this movie is a easy 4 but my wife loved it no doubt due to Kunal Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan. So, I have to give it a 5.

This was a great movie that takes you on a journey where you feel emotions of the main character on how she needs to provided for her family. The movie starts out this journey very happy and innocent then takes a turn to disappointment, failure, and self loathing then back to a balance. Watch this movie if you want to ride an emotional roller coaster.

said it would come in 6 business days and got here in 3. plays great, good quality and great price. love this movie great story and songs

Great storyline.... deep insights were given in this movie. I received this DVD in good time and in perfect condition. Thanks!

It was a very great movie, but I just felt like something was lacking in the plot. I would recommend it.