Qala: a beautiful tragedy

Set in 1940s Pre-independent India, 'Qala' is a psychological thriller directed by Anvita Dutt Guptan. It follows Qala's journey as a female singer in a Himachal Pradesh village, navigating societal resistance. The film boasts a phenomenal screenplay, complemented by exceptional acting, cinematography, and mise-en-scène. Together, these elements intricately weave a compelling narrative, making 'Qala' an outstanding cinematic experience.

The three main characters in the film are Qala Manjushree, the protagonist who has a respected ancestry of talented Hindustani classical musicians and singers, Urmila Manjushree, Qala’s mother who always longed for a boy child to carry the family legacy ahead, and lastly Jagan, a poor orphan who Urmila adopts after seeing his talent on stage. Throughout the film, Urmila has toxically high expectations from Qala since her childhood and any mistake she makes is punished heavily. For instance, when Qala is a teenager and practising for her debut on stage, she mixes up certain Swaras which angers her mother. Urmila then throws her out of the house in the middle of a snowstorm and keeps her out all night. 

One key moment that sparked Urmila’s resentment towards Qala was that she was born with a stillborn twin brother and the doctor stated that it was because in the womb they had to compete for nutrition and often one child draws all the nutrients of the other to survive. Further in the story, when she adopts Jagan thus making him “the son she never had”. Urmila focuses only on Jagan and wants to marry Qala off to get rid of her. 

Qala on the other hand becomes jealous of the limelight her new brother is getting, making her go to the extent of poisoning him with Mercury. This takes an unexpected twist when Jagan commits suicide for losing his voice. With this Qala gets all the opportunities that Jagan was supposed to get but not without her fair share of guilt and her mother’s spiteful words- “He called you a cuckoo. He is right. A bird that never makes her own nest. Always steals what belongs to others. Never puts in any effort to create something of her own” With this traumatic and haunted past, she climbs her music career but ultimately succumbs to her demons, committing suicide. 

The movie starts with Qala at the pinnacle of her career and winning the Imperial Golden Vinyl. The narrative then suddenly shifts to the time when she was born and her life as a girl child born into a house of great singers. It keeps oscillating between her present and past till the viewers are all caught up with the traumatic childhood Qala experienced. This oscillation helps create a better understanding of the character in present. Whenever there is a shift from the past to the present we can recognize a few of her habits as responses to the past trauma she carries and start to make sense of it. For eg. she demands that she be paid more than any male colleague even if it is by just a rupee because all of her childhood her mother demeaned her and blamed her for not being as talented because she was a girl.

As the protagonist of the movie is a classical singer, music plays a major role in the narrative. The songs depict the emotion of the particular scene aptly. For example, when Qala sings her debut only a few people are sitting in the audience but when Jagan enters to sing his debut the entire auditorium starts filling with people. The robust singing voice of Jagan is a testament to the fact that he is free and he sings as he loves to do so. On the other hand, Qala’s performance, though very sweetly sung, lacked soul and feel. This was because she had always been pressurised to focus on technique rather than understand her music. Another example is when she records her first song, it becomes such a hit that she becomes a sensation overnight. Thus she rises above the malicious music director who was sexually exploiting her in return for allowing her to sing for a film. The song gives a very victorious feel.

The film heavily works on themes of trauma, psychological illnesses, hallucinations and guilt. Tripti Dimri who plays Qala beautifully portrays it with her nuanced soft acting even down to a lip quiver. Jagan is played by Babil Khan, his debut in fact, and he does a wonderful job in showcasing the character arc from a cheerful robust boy to a hopeless and grim suicidal person. I felt like throwing something whenever the mother said or did something indifferent which is a sign of a job well done by Swastika Mukherjee who brilliantly plays Urmila. Siddharth Diwan’s cinematography elevates the whole story. By using unstable shots during the character’s inner turmoil. He frequently highlights only half of the faces of characters in a movie full of two-faced persons. In addition, the characters are seen from a side angle, which makes us feel apart from them even when they are near. 

The mise-en-scene of the film is breathtaking. The use of soft pastels and vintage colours is evident in the film. Symmetry is key in the visuals which try and give some sort of order in the chaos of Qala’s character.

 From the costume of both Qala and her mother to the traditional Pahadi jewellery she wears, it immediately indicates the rich culture and legacy she belongs to. 

Qala is therefore a visual fairytale ironically narrating a tragic tale. Here are a few more visuals from Qala to feast your eyes upon.