Filhaal

Cast : Tabu, Sushmita SenDirector : Meghna GulzarRating : *** Synopsis UNQUESTIONABLY, Filhaal is a step in the right direction. While approaching a subject that requires sensitivity and restraint, debutante Meghna Gulzar sketches an intimate portrait of woman-bonding.The trip through an emotional terrain is fraught with hidden minefields of hurt, rejection and fragile egos.Fortuitously the writer-director, despite some glitches and hiccups, does succeed in relating a story that is contemporary, valid and yes, even informative.The topic of infertility and artificial insemination is vivified through the trauma of Rewa, a well-heeled young woman (Tabu) who suffers a miscarriage. She can never hope to become a mother and is consoled that life must go on normally by her doting husband (Sanjay Suri), family and friends.Friendship means Sia (Sushmita Sen). Rewa and she have been such close childhood chums that their disparate outlook and temperaments hardly make a difference. If Rewa is introverted and content with a life of marital bliss, Sia is vivacious and determined to make a go of her glam-photography career.Not surprisingly, Sia is willing to break all rules when it comes to ensuring the domestic happiness of her friend. She volunteers to have a child by proxy for the `barren' Rewa, not quite realising that her gesture will inevitably set off emotional turbulence.So far, so thoughtful. Both as a writer and director, for most of the film's length Meghna Gulzar narrates the plot with simplicity and clarity. On the downside, you're not quite sure what to make of the college sword-fencing sequence in which Sia inadvertently inflicts a stomach wound on Rewa. If Sia, consequently, suffered from guilt pangs over the incident, this aspect of the plot is left dangling in the air.Vis-a-vis the representation of the males, Rewa's husband is the quintessential nice guy to the point of being as sweet as peaches-`n'-cream. As for Sia's incredibly patient suitor (Palash Sen), oftentimes you want to shake him up strongly, and beg him to get real. Moony-`n'-swoony, Mr Patience keeps fiddling with a rejected engagement ring as if it were his eleventh finger.Anu Malik's music score is gentle on the years. Gulzar's lyrics, especially for the title song, are tenderness personified. But you do wonder why it was essential to fly off to foreign sea-and-clifftop locations for the song picturisations.Still, these are minor blemishes in an effort that is entirely supportable and judiciously aimed at woman empowerment.Expectedly, top-of-the line performances are extracted from the movie's soul sisters. In an infinitely more difficult part, Tabu succeeds in conveying the various mood swings and frailties of a childless mother. She is consistently credible and lifelike.Sushmita Sen is outstanding as the more giving friend, stealing some of the scenes with her larkish spontaneity and vivacity. In fact, just for Ms Sen, Filhaal is unmissable.