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Release
date:
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April 27, 2018
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Director:
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Ravi Jadhav
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Cast:
Language:
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Kalyanee Mulay,
Chhaya Kadam, Om Bhutkar, Madan Deodhar, Kishor Kadam, Naseeruddin Shah
Marathi
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Nude did not make as much news as S Durga nee Sexy Durga did
when the I&B Ministry barred both from the International Film Festival of
India (IFFI) last year. That is because S
Durga’s director Sanal Kumar Sashidharan made his displeasure public, challenged
the decision in court and waged a high-profile battle with the establishment. Marathi
director Ravi Jadhav and his producers chose a quieter, perhaps safer, path than
their fiery counterpart from the Malayalam film industry.
Fortunately for
cinephiles, their differing approaches to countering censorship have got the
same result in each case: a month after S.
Durga’s theatrical release, Nude
too is here.
Nude (Chitraa)
is the story of a poor woman who comes to Mumbai with her son to escape an
abusive, adulterous husband in her hometown.
After struggling to
find work in the big city, Yamuna lands a job as a nude model for art students
at the prestigious Sir J J School of Art. The film is based on a true story but
the identities of the actual individuals involved have been kept secret, as a
written statement from Jadhav on screen testifies at the start, “in keeping
with our commitment to the school’s protocol and related sensitivities”.
On the face of it, Nude is about Yamuna’s struggles against
poverty, patriarchy and conservatism. At a macro level though, it examines the
failure of social and political fundamentalists to understand art, and their conscienceless
denunciation of the very works they consume with a lustful gaze.
Like sanctimonious men
who masturbate to lovemaking scenes on screen, but condemn the actors they are
watching as whores, Nude’s villains
are all around us in real life. This film is a hard-hitting exposé of the fake
piety of such conservatives.
Despite the wistful
tone, there is a lot about Nude that
is positive and life-affirming, with even a flash of humour emerging
unexpectedly while Yamuna settles into her new profession. Jadhav has shown
extreme sensitivity in the way he portrays his heroine’s initial shame at the job
and how she overcomes that feeling. The bond she shares with Chandrakka, the
woman who introduces her to nude modelling, is heartwarming.
Although Yamuna’s
decision at the end of Nude does not
flow convincingly from her journey until then, so much else in the film is
credible and inspiring. The high point of Nude
for me is a scene in Yamuna and Chandrakka’s hovel right after Yamuna gets
her first payment, when we see a transformation in her body language, a melting
away of the fearful youngster who had entered the massive metropolis not long
back, and a shift in the very air around her. Yamuna at that moment embodies the
confidence that comes from financial independence – it is a marvellous thing to
behold.
Considering the
sophistication of the rest of the film, a crucial scene involving placard-bearing
protestors is written and directed with surprising awkwardness. I also could
not help but wonder if Jadhav was not taking too uncritical a view of the
artist community by not even mentioning the possibility of sexual violence
against women like Yamuna.
The care with which
she chooses people to pose for came across more as a general observation about
the safety of women in society and not a specific reference to those in
Yamuna’s situation. It would have helped to throw light on a question as
obvious as this.
DoP Amalendu
Chaudhary shoots the painting scenes in Nude
so delicately that voyeurs looking for flesh-and-blood bottoms and breasts to
peruse will be deeply disappointed. If in an early scene running alongside the
opening credits, the camera does appear to objectify Yamuna – the only time it
does so in Nude – it is to make a
point, as you will realise if you heed the lyrics of the soulful song Dis yeti playing alongside in Cyli Khare’s
ruggedly attractive voice. “Tell me, oh dear,” she sings as the lens travels
over Yamuna’s drenched body encased in a wet sari, “where all will your gaze
trail?”
Although the
cinematography in Nude is rarely
lavish (a choice well suited to the kind of film this is), a mention must be
made of a visually noteworthy scene featuring Yamuna on a beach. In closer
shots, as the ocean rages before her and a gusty wind blows, those mighty
waters look intimidatingly real. The camera keeps pulling out though to long
shots in which she and her companion appear like figures in a watercolour
painting.
The story of Nude (written by Jadhav) derives its
strength and substance from Yamuna and Chandrakka. Chhaya Kadam is a powerful
actor and paints Chandrakka as a feisty creature of immense mental muscle. Kalyanee
Mulay faithfully captures Yamuna’s passage from misery to upliftment and pain
again, not wilting once as the camera stays on her expressive face and body almost
from the first shot. Naseeruddin Shah makes a small but memorable appearance as
the renowned barefoot painter with a Picasso-esque style, Mallik Sahab, no
doubt an ode to the late M.F. Husain.
This of course
brings us to why the I&B Ministry objected to Nude being screened at IFFI 2017.
The reasons reported included that the film was not yet cleared by the Central
Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and that the title was deemed objectionable.
The reason assumed by many liberals was that the title hinting at the
possibility of naked people in a film was deemed offensive to India’s culture
police. Once you watch Nude you will
know that it does not feature a single shot in which we actually see an actor’s
unclothed body in its entirety. What we do see though is a Muslim painter
hounded by violent political goons so reminiscent of religious extremists who
harassed Husain for his goddess paintings. Draw your own conclusions now for
whether and why the present ruling party would have a bone to pick with Nude.
As we now know,
better sense has prevailed and the film was cleared with no cuts and an A (adults
only) rating from the CBFC. While these are small mercies in the present dismal
scenario we find ourselves in, the truth is it is ludicrous that such a thoughtful
feminist film has been given the strictest available rating, while ugly
commercial ventures glorifying violence against women get away with a mild UA (unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below 12) and even U
(unrestricted). This is a crying shame, because Nude is excellent material for children especially for the turn
Yamuna’s relationship with her son takes.
Nude’s journey to theatres then mirrors the very societal
double standards it explores. This is a lyrical film about human beings and the
arts struggling to survive in a hypocritical world.
Rating
(out of five stars): ***1/2
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CBFC Rating (India):
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A
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Running time:
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112 minutes
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This review has also been published on Firstpost:
Poster
courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nude_(2017_Marathi_film)
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