Pyaar Ka Sindoor

Pyaar Ka Sindoor -- Sindoor of Love

MAIN CAST:
Anil Kapoor -- Anil Kapoor
Jyoti -- Saraswati

BRIEF PLOT OVERVIEW:
Saraswati is heartbroken when her beloved husband Madhav dies in a tragic boating accident, leaving her a widowed mother. Then Anil comes in to her life, and somehow, when nobody is looking, love blooms. Nothing is ever easy, of course, and Saraswati is eventually torn between her love for her child and her desire for freedom and happiness.

FILM -- 3.5/5
First, let me get this off of my chest: the physical quality of this film is absolute shit. The movie is grainy and smeary; the film is loaded with little white break lines and grain. It looks like it came out of the 60s. On top of that, the dialogue is badly dubbed, and you will constantly see a character's mouth move in the opposite direction of their words. All that aside, Pyaar Ka Sindoor strikes me as a wonderfully-crafted film. The dialogue is good, and the story as a whole is filled with little nuances that make your heart catch in your throat, although the ocassionally mistimed jumps in the plot may make your "WTF" sensors chime in as well. There's some melodrama, of course, but not enough to push the film beyond the realm of believability. There is also a distinctly Indian flavor about the film, with buildings and customs both ancient and beautiful. Really, beyond a few of Anil Kapoor's costumes, there's next to nothing non-Indian about this film. And oh, did I mention? This is a pro-widow's rights, women's empowerment film! Saraswati and how she handles the confines of society, that's the focus of the film, and every time the patriarchy rears its ugly head, its either shot down by a character or carefully demonized by the director. I thought the ending would turn around and snap all of that good pro-woman stuff in jaws of cultural righteousness, but instead, I ended up crying buckets. Even if you don't appreciate the film as a whole, its wonderfully feminist message earns a few kudos. Fair warning, however: this film is roughly 2 hours in length, which is short as far as Bollywood goes, but for some odd reason, it feels VERY long, probably because it focuses on the characters' slow developments rather than a grandiose plot.

CHARACTERS -- 4/5
Jyoti is the heroine of the film and its true star. Really, I was surprised by how well she acted...well, beyond her super-fake laughing. When she remembers her husband, her face and her body fill with so much sadness, it's impossible not to feel for her. Pyaar Ka Sindoor was apparently her only film, which is I shame, because I would love to see her in other films. Lord, Anil Kapoor is young and super-scrawny in this movie! His dialogue delivery is a little stilted, but his body language is lovely, and everything about him just seems so sincere and genuine. But oh, how I hate it when Bollywood movies just use the actors' real name! It really grates on me. The JyotiAnil chemistry is slow to develop, but it's very believable. The supporting cast is pretty good, although there's so little information on this film that I'm having difficulty figuring out their names.

SOUNDTRACK -- 3.5/5
The opening track, "Bansi Bajeya," is full of classical Indian instruments and gorgeous vocals, all working harmony. I adored it. "Dhruvam Mritu" is so sad, so beautiful, so melancholy, layered over images of the widowed Saraswati remembering her husband. "Anjaan Sur" is...well, it's a really nice traditionally-styled song with some awesomely crazy costumes, don't get me wrong, but I need the image of Anil Kapoor's scrawny legs in tights permanently wiped from my brain. "Ghulshan Se Phool" is a cute love song about flowers and gardens and what-not, but it's nothing special. The background music is dated, but that's to be expected, and it generally suits the situations. The various chants and traditional Indian songs are lovely and help flesh out the otherwise short soundtrack.

OVERALL -- 4/5
Pyaar Ka Sindoor, for all of its flaws, really is a film about women's empowerment. It constantly tries to nudge the viewer to Saraswati's side, and her relationship with Anil is so delicately planned out that it's nigh on impossible to be angry at her for what some may consider "selfishness." After all, as a widow in the heart of India, what other options did she have, short of becoming a shell of herself? The "sneaking," the shyness, all of the pain and happiness and guilt and uncertainty...the writers and directors welded refreshing feminism and honesty in to what could have been an ordinary melodrama. And of course, the aforementioned "Indian flavor" greatly added to my enjoyment of the film and made it all the more real for me. Pyaar Ka Sindoor is a very simple story, but it works. It IS an agonizingly slow film, despite its relatively short run-time, and therefore I don't think I'll watch it very often. But it's pro-woman stance, cute soundtrack, and touching moments make it well worth a viewing.

TOTAL SCORE -- 15/20 (great)