Film review/ Songs Of Paradise

 

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Film review/ Songs Of Paradise

Director: Danish Renzu

Cast: Saba Azad, Soni Razdan, Zain Khan Durrani, Taaruk Raina, Sheeba Chadha

Platform: Amazon Prime

Rating: *** 1/2

Followers of Kashmiri music would know of the enormous contribution of Raj Begum, the first singer on Radio Kashmir Srinagar in the early 1950s. Danish Renzu's film Songs Of Paradise is loosely inspired by her life.

The film begins in.1954. The singer here is Zeba Akhtar (played by Saba Azad), who later changes her name to Noor Begum to hide her true identity. Her father (Bashir Lone) is a small-time tailor and her mother (Sheeba Chadha) is someone who follows societal norms, thereby opposing the idea of women singing in public.

Zeba is enormously talented but it takes the observation of a respected guru (Shishir Sharma) to notice it and develop it further. A foreign-returned poet Azaad (Zain Khan Durrani, of Mukhbir fame) also hears her In a competition, which she wins, and guides her on words and their expression. Of course, there is opposition and criticism from her mother, neighbours and many male singers who feel women have no place in music.

Zeba narrates her story when she has grown older (the role is played by Soni Razdan) to a young music researcher Rumi (Taaruk Raina) who wants to feature her in his thesis. The transition from an apprehensive artiste to a confident lady who inspires other women to pursue music is smoothly depicted.

It's a simple story and the film progresses at a slow pace, without much drama. Everything seems goody-goody and there are no side-plots about scheming and ambitious musicians, or violent incidents in the neighbourhood. Maybe the idea was to play safe, and not attract controversy.

One of the film's highlights is Vincenzo Condorelli's cinematography, which captures different regions of Kashmir. Musically, there are many gems, and this is a good introduction to the beauty of Kashmiri music. Two songs were initially available on the streaming platforms - 'Dil Tsooran' and 'Karsa Myon', both sung by Masrat Un Nissa and composed by Abhay Rustom Sopori. The entire soundtrack was put out on September 7.

Both Saba Azad and Soni Razdan put up fabulous performances as Noor Begum. The former is shown as a shy artiste who is scared of being photographed. The latter is a confident lady who has become a role model for other female singers. While the evolution is natural, one wishes the broader speaking style stayed the same. While the younger Zeba speaks in a rustic dialect, the elder one has a more urban feel. They sound like two different people.

The film is a good reflection of the musical culture of the Kashmiri region, and the songs are used perfectly. They could also tempt one to check out some of the few recordings of Raj Begum and her contemporary Naseem Akhtar available on YouTube.