Rani Mukerji On Laaga Chunari Mein Daag's Box Office Performance As Film Turns 17: Subject Was Too Controversial, Didn't Work
Pradeep Sarkar-directed Laaga Chunari Mein Daag is inspired by K Balachander’s Aaina. It is a stylishly told tale of a fallen woman's rise from matters of the flesh to the spirit. Whether it's Varanasi's hectic daytime flamboyance or Mumbai's steamy nightlife, cinematographer Sushir Rajpal lays out a sumptuous feast for the eyes. Despite telling the tale of a moral downfall, the film’s mood remains vibrant and authentic. It is the story of two sisters Badki (Rani Mukerji) and Chukti (Konkona Sensharma) dancing on the ghats of the Ganga in Varanasi. A magical connection between the audience and the protagonists builds the world of Pradeep Sarkar's decadent but dignified characters as they go from abject bankruptcy to unscheduled redemption. The scenes are written with an eye for inner detail. You'll love the initial scenes where a film crew from Mumbai descends on the family and provides the much-needed financial respite. You'll also love the kitchen cackle between mother Jaya Bachchan and her two bubbly daughters.
We watch Badki's transformation from an innocent small-town girl to a high-class prostitute with a mixture of dismay and admiration. Director Sarkar has cast every character with actors who look and feel right for the part. Laaga Chunari... has pace and grace. And it has Rani Mukerji who evolved into one of the most substantial actresses of today. Her interpretation of the character's heartbreaking change from innocence to reluctant compromise is fleshed out in glorious colours.
ALSO READ: When Rani Mukerji Opened Up About Director Pradeep Sarkar's Death: It's Like Losing Family Member
Rani Mukerji who led the cast of Laaga Chunari Mein Daag was defensive about playing a sex worker in two back-to-back films. “What’s wrong with that? So much has been made about it. What’s wrong with playing a prostitute? After playing one in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Saawariya I’ve started looking at people who occupy that cubicle space with more respect. Forget about being a threat to society, sex workers actually prevent a lot of rapes from happening. And if they’re doing their job decently, not committing any crime, why should we look down upon them? What’s the difference between selling bodies and selling brains? What worries me is human trafficking. The thought of girls being forced into the flesh trade appals me. Otherwise, I believe in the dignity of labour."
She also pointed out that the characters of the two sex workers in Saawariya and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag were radically opposed. “The woman in Saawariya has no problem with her profession whereas in the other film it’s completely different. No one goes into prostitution willingly. But there’re compulsions and compulsions. In Laaga Chunari Mein Daag I had three very different looks to carry off. In order to feel like a character you’ve to look like her specially when she’s true to life which she is in many of my films. In Laga Chunri… it was very important for me to look completely different as the innocent carefree girl in Varanasi and then this prostitute in Mumbai. The shock value had to come through. My director Pradeep Sarkar, my hair stylist and my costume designer and I got together and spent hours creating contrasting looks for me as ‘Badki’ in Varanasi and Natasha in Laga Chunri…It’s so important to have a team that make your character look convincing.”
Rani felt she was manifesting the insecurities of every working woman. “The working class regardless of its gender is under tremendous pressures. I think it’s easy for both men and women to identify with my character. I’ve noticed a tendency in myself to bring in a social cause in most of my films. Ek koi cause to pakadna hi chahiye, though in an entertaining way. I love playing marginalized characters like the ones in Black, Bunty Aur Babli and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag….I’ve noticed this tendency in Mumbai to shun people who don’t speak fluent English. I feel for such people. Does one have to be respected for one’s cool quotient instead of more intrinsic values? I think being cool isn’t about the way you dress and talk but about what you are from within. And I hope to get the more privileged classes more sensitized to the middleclass by playing such characters. What I really liked about my character in Laga Chunri Mein Daag is it addresses itself to the trauma of being a girl -child and that too the first born when you’ve to behave like the son of the family. It’s disgusting. For me what worked is the way Pradeep Sarkar has handled the delicate subject.”
Sadly Laaga Chunari Mein Daag didn’t work at the box office. Mumtaz who played the sex worker breadwinner of her family in Aaina says, “Aaina didn’t work. Laaga Chunari Mein Daag also didn’t work. The subject was too controversial.”
Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Bollywood, Entertainment News and around the world.