Morning Raga * Shabana Azmi,Prakash Rao, Perizaad Zorabian, Lillete Dubey

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Article Updated 29 October, 2004 08:17:10 PM IST

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'Morning Raga' - 'Mellifluous'

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Credits
Producer/s:	K Raghavendra Rao
Director:	Mahesh Dattani
Cast:	Shabana Azmi,Prakash Rao, Perizaad Zorabian, Lillete Dubey
Music:	Mani Sharma, Amit Heri

There is merriment in a small village in South India. Seems like some sort of celebration. The next morning two women and their little sons board a bus that will take them to the city. There is happiness written all over their faces. One is Swarnalatha (Shabana Azmi), a talented Carnatic singer with a burning ambition to perform in the city, and the other is her friend, a talented violinist. As the film progresses we learn that they are going to perform at a function in the city. Soon tragedy strikes. Their bus meets with a major accident after a face to face collision with a car coming from the opposite direction. Swarnalatha loses her son and friend in the accident. A lot of other villagers are also killed. A devastated Swarnalatha, blames herself for the unfortunate incident as she had forced her friend to accompany her. She now spends her time in a self-imposed exile and never dares to cross that ill-fated bridge ever, where the gory incident occurred.

Twenty years later. Cut to Abhinay (Prakash Rao), Swarnalatha's friend's son, who survived the accident. He has just quit a lucrative job as a composer of ad jingles. He harbours ambitions of forming his own music group and compose memorable music. He is almost run over by Pinkie (Perizaad Zorabian), on a visit to his village. Yes, these are the three main characters in the film, whose lives are interwoven with each other in a strange manner. What really breaks Pinkie emotionally is her mother's revelation that it was her drunk father who was responsible for the accident. He was driving the car that collided with the ill-fated bus. Then on, she makes it her mission in life to help Abhinay in his musical endeavours. This is her way of making up the loss of his mother to him. The common love for music brings our three main characters together.

The best part about the film is that it does not digress from its subject and venture into unwanted territories. This film appeals even more as not much was expected from writer-director Mahesh Dattani's after his disastrous debut film, 'Mango Soufflé'. But surprisingly this one is packed with emotional moments without any melodrama. The artistic and creative vision of director of photography Rajiv Menon enhances the visual experience. Music by Mani Sharma and Amit Heri is very pleasant to the ears. However, the villagers speaking in English is a little jarring to the senses.

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