Zubeidaa

Zubeidaa

MAIN CAST:
Karisma Kapoor -- Zubeidaa
Manoj Bajpai -- Vijaendra ("Victor")
Rekha -- Mandira
Surekha Sikri -- Fayyazi
Lillete Dubey -- Rose Davenport

FILM -- 4/5
Zubeidaa is a tale about dreams crashing in to reality, about duty and its ability to uproot love, and about searching for one's roots amidst perceived scandal and endless melancholy. It's a very beautiful film, one that I hold close to my heart, having myself once fallen in love with someone who was already promised to another. There are a few flow and pacing issues, however; namely, the opening 10 minutes of the film are rushed and confusing, while there are slight lags in the story every hour or so. The script isn't incredible by any means, but it's an interesting story with good dialogue and some gorgeous scenes. The classical choreography and costumes are beautiful.

CHARACTERS -- 4.5/5
None of the actors give the absolute best performance of their lives, but they all do very well. I was especially pleased with Karisma Kapoor's portrayal of Zubeidaa. Karisma is known primarily as a dancer and the "uniquely pretty face" of the 90s, but this film shows that she can act. She'll never best actresses like Shabana Azmi and Rekha (the latter of whom I will discuss in a moment), but she has a few tricks up her choli sleeve. Manoj Bajpai is my favorite actor, and Zubeidaa continues to show me why. His Victor may not match his Rashid or his Bheeku, but he is still a well-crafted character. Manoj/Karisma isn't my favorite jodi, nor is it one of the most convincing I've seen, but they work well together and have a very cute, warm on-screen relationship. Rekha also hasn't topped her best here, but let's be fair: it's hard to beat her performance in the original Umrao Jaan. Her Mandira is so intense, she actually makes the viewer nervous! The supporting cast is very good and includes Amrish Puri, Surekha Sikri, and Lillete Dubey.

SOUNDTRACK -- 3/5
Zubeidaa is full of music, but it generally takes a back seat to the rest of the film, and a lot of the song breaks seem really tacked on. With the exception of the songs used as background music and the lullaby at the beginning of the film, the song breaks are somewhat jarring, and they tend to interrupt the film as a whole. It's not that the soundtrack is BAD, because it's actually very pretty, with generally well-written lyrics. Zubeidaa is just one of those soundtrack's that you probably won't listen to very much outside of the film, with the possible exception of "Pyaara Sa Gaon". That song is truly gorgeous.

OVERALL -- 3.5/5
I really enjoyed Zubeidaa. Sure, there are some slow parts in the story, and there are quite a few flaws that prevent it from being one of the best movies I've ever seen, but I'm glad to have it in my collection. If you're a fan of any of the principal actors, especially Karisma Kapoor or Rekha, this is a must-have movie with a fair amount of replay value.

TOTAL SCORE -- 15/20 (really good)