A talented dancer’s inspiring showdown with dogmatic system
“Life today has a name-fear,
Fear is that ground on which,
Communalism grows, differences spread,
And waves leave the ocean to make their own way”
– Kaifi Azmi from Chameleon
Padma Shri awardee Kaifi Azmi was the illustrious son of India whose magnanimous contribution to the literary world is indescribable and Mee Raqsam (I dance) is a fitting tribute to this towering personality by his offsprings and family members on the occasion of his 101st birth anniversary. Dedicated by Shabana Azmi and Baba Azmi who produced and directed Mee Raqsam which is streaming now on Zee5 glorifies our culture and exposes the true colours of religious bigotry.
Storyline
Art has no religion. Dance has no community. Maryam (Aditi Subedi) along with her father Salim (Danish Husain) believes in this and gets trained in the Hindu dance form (as it used to be called) Bharatnatyam and excels in it drawing the inspiration from her deceased mother.
Maryam’s decision to pursue Bharatnatyam and her father’s unflinching support to her stirs a hornet’s nest in both communities. Hashim Seth (Naseeruddin Shah) and Jai Prakash (Rakesh Chaturvedi Om) who represent these communities try every trick in the book to discourage Maryam from taking up Bharatnatyam and even ostracizes Salim for encouraging his daughter to practice the ‘dance of devadasis’ as described by one of the community heads.
But art has no boundaries and it doesn’t discriminate as long as there are dedication and reverence to pursue it. Maryam has just done that by breaking herself free from the shackles created by her family members and community heads to prove her talent which ultimately leads her to glory.
Performances of Actors
Danish is spot on with his impeccable performance as a doting father. But full credit goes to Aditi for her apt portrayal of a difficult character which she has done with great ease and flamboyance.
Shah impresses in a short role with other actors like Sudeepta Singh as Uma in the pivotal role of the Bharatnatyam teacher along with Shraddha Kaul, Farrukh Jafar, Juhaina Ahsan, Shivangi Gautam, Rituraj Jadhav, and Kaustubh Shukla have chipped in with excellent performances.
Direction & Technical Aspects
Baba Azmi’s directorial debut is praiseworthy with a smooth narrative without deviating from the mainstream story. Even the love track between Kuslum (Juhaina Ahsan) and Ashfaque (Kaustubh Shukla) was underplayed so that it doesn’t affect the flow of the narrative. This demonstrates his command on the script penned brilliantly by writers Safdar Mir and Husain Mir and his undeterred focus on execution is commendable.
Moreover, the potential of Mee Raqsam lies in its content which clears the air and dispels many myths about various art forms prevailing in our country which is the redeeming feature of the whole film.
The music by Ripul Sharma is spell bounding and the climax song Dum Ali Ali sung aesthetically by Om Sharma and Pooja Gaitonde is one of the best fusion songs in recent days. The other situational song Yeh Jo Shahar Hai which was written and sung by Ripul himself is mellifluous and elevates the film effectively.
The cinematography of Mohsin Khan Pathan has effectively captured the locales of Mizwan, the home town of Kaifi Azmi where the entire shooting of the film took place and this added more authenticity to the narrative.
Verdict & Rating
Mee Raqsam is a sincere effort in eulogizing the rich cultural heritage comprising of various art forms of our country whose strength is its Unity in Diversity. Art or talent cannot be smothered by any religion, community, or any other force as clearly emphasized in the film which is a refreshing deviation from all the routine stuff that is flooding the OTT platforms.
Mee Raqsam needs to be watched, supported, and encouraged unconditionally so that its underlying message Art has no barriers reaches more people all over the world which would be the real homage to the legendary writer-poet Kaifi Azmi.
Rating:4/5
