Jugni (Hindi)
Director: Shefali Bhushan
Cast: Sugandha Garg, Siddhant Behl, Sadhana Singh, Samir Sharma, Anuritta K. Jha
Jugni is a fabulous idea, but only on paper. Vibhavari (Sugandha Garg), a mercurial, tempestuous, free bird of a talented young musician, leaves her mechanical urban bearings in search of fresh, organic folk sounds in the narrow lanes of a village in Punjab. A cue to music composer Sneha Khanwalkar and MTV’s Sound Trippin? It would appear so.
Vibhavari goes looking for singer Bibi Saroop in Hassanpur and discovers her son Mastana (Siddhant Behl) as well. A shared passion for music brings her close to the young rural singer and an indefinable relationship is born. However, what could have been a compelling story of two distinct worlds clashing, yet coming together, fails to come alive with any passion on screen, largely because the execution lacks the fire which this film and its subject deserve. There could have been interesting layers to the story-telling but the film ends up a straight, flat and insipid affair. A likeable set of performers is handled awkwardly.
Take the self-conscious, knit-eyebrows expression of Sugandha that is used to communicate her going into a trance during a Sufi song in a remote dargah. The essential fervour and feeling just don’t come across. Siddhant is great when singing/performing but inconsistent in the dramatic sequences. The casual sex, the separation, and the fight and makeup with the boyfriend feel too gawky.
The soundtrack is the backbone of the film. Call me a purist but even here, an unadulterated Bulle Shah works magic more than the attempt at fusion with English pop.
The most effective thing about the film is its glimpse of the fecund Punjabi pop/folk industry, and how the unassuming kings of that world could lose their identity and be exploited when they head to the city. That is a story deserves its own film.
NAMRATA JOSHI
