B-8 | Friday, June 21, 2019 www.WeeklyVoice.com ‘Leila’: Terrifying, Mesmerising Vision Of Future Film: “Leila” on Netlix; Cast: for her missing daughter. Her face more than the fear of the corrod- Huma Qureshi, Siddharth, Rahul caught in tight close-ups displays ing spirit of radicalism that has Khanna, Seema Biswas and Arif enormous fortitude and hope in seeped into a social fabric. It’s Zakaria; Directors: Deepa Meh- the midst of abject despair. This isthe story of racial segregation ta, Shanker Raman and Pawan Huma’s moment of resurrection. and cultural nihilism told in a de- Kumar; Rating: **** In the second episode, she be- ceptively calm tone with a brutal friends a female street urchin with force and feral persuasiveness. In the beginning there is the whom she wades through heaps It is amazing how well Huma swimming pool. A splashy sym- of garbage to escape a seeming- holds the plot together, going bol of the upper crust’s afluence ly dangerous government agent from grieving mother to cunning that is rapidly making the poor, Bhanu (Siddharth) who, predict- survivor in the midst of religious, poorer. ably, seems to harbour a soft cor- cultural and political chaos. Deepa Mehta’s disturbingly ner for the woman he’s supposed “Leila” makes us think grimly devastating dystopian drama be- to capture and probably kill. about the future. Bleak and scary gins with a happy family: mother, Scene from the Huma Qureshi starrer ‘Leila’ Siddharth, habitually reliable as it may be, there is still hope in father, child splashing in the pool. (and quite effective in Mehta’s that smile that lights up Huma’s within the irst ive minutes, the ing the Nazi model of a concen- dalised characters inhabit, is far “Midnight’s Children”) here fails Shalini’s eyes every time she mood swerves away from joy and tration camp, Mehta’s futuristic more imminent and immediate to register his character’s tonal thinks of her husband (Rahul Shalini, the protagonist whose world of emotionless totalitarian- and catastrophic. Wisely, Mehta’s ambivalence. But the other Mehta Khanna) and child. journey we follow from episodeism is grim, joyless and utterly writers Urmi Juvekar, Suhani favourite Seema Biswas is excel- There is a moment when she to enrapturing episodes of acute terrifying. Those women in dull Kanwar and Patrick Graham lent as a wheeler dealer.. slaps a man who has betrayed her pain and limited joy, inds herself crimson saris moving around have avoided any true-life po- This is a series that keeps us trust. alone in a clinical ashram that re- zombie-like in a place of per- litical or religious references. But watching till the devastating ina- The sound of that slap rever- sembles the shelter home in Mu- verse puriication run by a slimythe colour saffron, though used le. I won’t say it’s done without berates across Mehta’s world, zaffarpur where young girls sim- religious freak (Arif Zakaria, sparingly, is ‘Om’nipresent, and emotional manipulation. There smothered in terror and treachery. ply disappeared when they didn’t breathing toxicity) reminded nowhere more so than in the irstare points in the plot where the “Leila” is a savage ode to a lost obey the elders’ salacious orders. me of Margaret Atwood’s “The episode. The cinematography is narrative cleverly modulates its world. It must be seen by every Except, that there is no sex in Handmaid’s Tale”. austere and colourless tone to hold our attention. But Indian as a timely warning. That this world of sterile religiosity The difference being, the world Huma Qureshi captures every we don’t mind. “Leila” is an glass of water that you are sip- and puerile puriication. emulat- that Mehta’s emotionally van- heartbeat of the mother’s search epic saga which conveys a lot ping right now could be your last. Ranveer’s World Cup Antics Create Mirth TMC Film Star MP Nusrat LONDON: ’s stint as a commentator grabbed Has Wedding In Turkey attention during the India-Paki- stan match at ICC Cricket World KOLKATASizzling in a de- Cup 2019, but what really got the signer lehenga, Bengali actress social media world talking was and newly-elected MP Nusrat Jahan tied the knot with her busi- his unique outit and a hug that actor shared with India skipper nessman beau Nikhil Jain late on Wednesday in the picturesque Virat Kohli after the team won. Turkish town of Bodrum. ranveer went over to the ield The duo got married in pres- and gave Virat a congratula- tory hug after India on Sunday ence of close relatives and friends beat Pakistan by 89 runs (via the in the port town in Mugla prov- Duckworth-Lewis method) in ince on the southern Aegean their rain-interrupted 2019 ICC coast of Turkey. Nusrat’s parents World Cup clash at Manchester’s and sister and other close rela- Old Trafford stadium. tives lew with her to Bodrum on June 16. The actress donned a The match also marked the de- Ranveer at Old Trafford. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) but of the actor, who will be seen lehenga designed by fashion guru from the industry, was also in Bo- as former India skipper Kapil Dev “Video of the game? I think so! dancing away with Gavaskar to Sabyasachi Mukherjee. drum. On Thursday, the duo held Nikhil also wore a dress from a white wedding for which Nus- in “83”, a ilm about India’s 1983 So glad I managed to ilm this the retro number “Badan pe sita- World Cup victory, as a commen- moment of King Virat and King are” went viral on social media, Sabaysachi’s stable. rat chose a dress which is a mix tator. He did it for Star Sports Ranveer hugging after India ver- as did the comments on the ac- Nusrat’s social media account of mint green and white. alongside cricket stars Sunil Ga- sus Pakistan. .” tor’s quirky style at the match. is buzzing with sneak pics of the Nusrat’s to-be husband Nikhil gala destination wedding, while is a city-based entrepreneur, with vaskar and Virender Sehwag. Virat, proud of the team’s vic- His clothes and statement glasses He lent it an entertainment fac- tory, took to his Instagram page became much talked about. she looked stunning in the pic- a thriving textile business. tor with a segment where he in- and wrote: “Top performance by “The only winner today at In- tures of her pre-wedding ceremo- The 29-year-old actress was teracted with cricket stars such the team. Thanks to all the fans dia versus Pakistan is the optician nies like ‘haldi’ and ‘mehndi’. working as the face of his tex- Bengali actress and Jadavpur tile chain when the duo is said as Gavaskar, Sehwag, Harbhajan for turning out in large numbers.” who sold Ranveer Singh those Singh, Brian Lara and Ramiz Ranveer commented: “GI- glasses. Too much style,” one so- TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty, to have got acquainted with each who is one of Nusrat’s friends other last year. raja. At the end of the match,ANTS! Unforgettable team per- cial media user tweeted. Ranveer went over and gave an formance! Boss man Virat Kohli Of his oversized attire, one per- endearing hug to Virat. leading from the front, inspira- son said: “To all the moms -- this Anupam’s Son In ‘’ A fan, watching it all live, cap- tion to a whole generation. Bra- is how younger siblings look like - amples of great success through tured the moment and shared it vo, kaptaan!” when clothes of the older one get : Veteran actor Anu pam Kher visited his son Sikan- hard work and discipline. ‘Soory- on social media with a message: Another video of Ranveer handed down to them.” dar on the sets of “Sooryavan- avanshi’ will be a life changing shi”, and said that the ilm will bemovie and an eternal life lesson life changing for him. for you,” he captioned the image. Anupam on Monday shared a “Sooryavanshi” is the fourth photograph of Sikandar and him ilm of Shetty’s cop drama - uni along with actor verse in which Akshay is essay- and ilmmaker rohit Shetty, ing the role of Veer Suryavanshi, whom the 64-year-old veteran a character that was introduced as described as his “favourite self an anti-terrorist squad oficer in made people”. the Ranveer Singh-starrer 2018 “Dear Sikandar! It was won- ilm “”. derful to see you working with The movie, which is scheduled two of my favourite self made to hit the screens on March 27, people. Both Rohit Shetty and 2020, also stars and Akshay Kumar are prime ex- Gulshan Grover. ‘Article 15’ Intends To Reach Out To Rural India

MUMBAI: As the upcoming told media on Saturday. ilm “Article 15” is set to- re “But we can bring a change in lease on June 28, the makers of the thought process of people if the movie are planning to screen we reach out to them,” he added. the ilm in the rural parts of the Director Anubhav Sinha said, country, where caste-based social “We are planning to host mobile discrimination is still prevalent. screenings. Special screening of “...If we make an art house the ilm that everyone can get -ac ilm and travel to internationalcess to.” In the ilm Ayushmann ilm festivals, we will only reachis playing the role of a police of- to the audience who are already icer, who visits a village for the aware of the discrimination,” investigation of the rape and mur- lead actor der of two dalit women.