Search of Susanna

Search of Susanna
Anindita Kuity

How far would you go in your search for meaning of 'true love' in life? How would you react, if your quest remains unfulfilled and shrouded in reversion and betrayal? Vishal Bhardwaj, throwing moral precept, seems to unlock the hidden answers in our sub-conscious, portrays a surly star, which vindicates the above questionnaire in a human pyramid of noir. In 7 Khoon Maaf, the film maker creates an intensely dark tale of crime and passion in celluloid, taking a leap from his earlier adaptation of Shakespearean tragedies.

The film is a fascinating tale of a beautiful woman, Susanna, who over the course of thirty-five years got entangled in 7 marriages, due to the mysterious deaths of her husbands. In depicting Susanna's story, the avant-garde director shows a rare understanding of gender dynamics and sexual tensions as he successfully brings life to the wretchedly unfulfilled, deeply dysfunctional Susanna (played by Priyanka Chopra), who has discovered that in this world there's no true love to offer her.

In her endeavour in seeking 'true love', she was rived with unpalatable miscarriage of justice. Her face shows the intense shock and grief of a tortured soul, when she discovers the betrayal of each of her husbands. Resting on her body on the thick rope of an old bell tower, Susanna's blank face seems to suggest a life of sinister suppression and unspoken thoughts.

She cringes and almost draws her audience into agreeing with her actions of killing her husbands as the only way of getting rid from the socio-physical torment, opprobrium, as for her the death of a relationship means the death of the person, quite literally. She creates a paradox, an obnoxious moral fulcrum: 'She may be a murderer but is she evil?'

In her dreary dangerously destructive journey from a loving woman to an incorrigibly petulant lady and serial killer, Susanna sheds light to the plight of every woman wronged, who have pledged by their spouses eternal love and happiness- ''Either by a two timing husband, a wife beating husband, a murderous husband, a husband who treats his wife as a sex-object. The poor soul has no option but to end her anguish, any way.''

Her journey of finding true love and her failed marriages makes her realize the futility of an impossible ideal, yet her attempts of seducing the person who is almost like a son to her, as a last recourse shows her desperation and insatiable hunger for love and affection.

At the end she cries out in epiphany- '' This heart of mine, it is to blame.'' Amidst the hubbub of 'moral justice', she brings a profound sense of tragic grandeur, as she slips from self-gratification to delusional spirituality. She is not a villain, but neither a 'hero'- she is merely a victim of the illusion and emotion that life creates around her.

Bibliography
1) The Times of India : 7 Khoon Maaf Review
2) Subhash K Jha : 7 Khoon Maaf Review

Memories of Lifetime

There are some moments which re-define and re-evaluate the basic identity of an individual. Not many occasion where you bore the brunt of being patriotic, to get permeated in the holy blue wave of euphoria- Such morsel of moment was all we needed; to be a part of glory, to be a part of revolution and to be a part of History.

1983 had all but myths for me, heard it many a times from my parents, and saw highlights of that historic final too, but it never sent shivers down my spine and rightly so. 2003, was special in its own way. The way we progressed to the final, plus the love-affair with Ganguly staged the set for another history to be repeated. The heart break was hard to endure, but losing to a dominating Aussie side was never a shame.

Anticipation of doing better /winning the trophy was high prior to the WC, as India did exceptionally well in every format of the game under MSD. India playing the role of a host was enough for being agog to the tournament. Sub-continent pitches and full backing of fan power- can’t get better than this.

2011 didn’t disappoint us, and India rightly did justice to the tag of favourites by winning the World Cup. Yes, I may sound stiff here but that’s it- mission WC accomplished in a graceful way, Indian cricket wrote their own doctrine of power and dreamy eyes of every Indian found a reason to wipe out their faintest tears of joy. I, sitting thousand miles away from my motherland reading feeds on the social network, watching the game on the internet missed the buzz of street joy carnivals. My heart was dying for one go at the crackers. I missed the passion of an Indian among the Indians, but at the bottom of my heart few indelible memories will shine forever- Dhoni’s helicopter shot, Sachin in tears, Virat Kohli’s speech and Team India lifting the trophy.