LEELA
Of Neither Passion Nor Emotion

-by RM Nair

          Leela is a story of unresolved conflicts which surface when the East tries to fuse with the West. Directed by debutant Somnath Sen, who himself is an Indian-American immigrant, Leela is about the lives of expatriate Indians in that country. The film is awaiting release in Indian theatres. It has already been shown at the Toronto Reelworld Film Festival.

           The main plot is woven around new-comer Amol Mhatre's (Krishna) unusual feelings towards his teacher, an Indian married woman (Dimple Kapadia) who, with her celebrity husband (Vinod Khanna) back in India, is feeling lonely even in the midst of bustling Americal life around! And Krishna is the by-product of an immigrant, unhappy home. Deepti Naval and Gulshan Grover play as his parents.

           Though past her prime, Leela is charming, but emotionally stagnant, and develops an undefinable affection for the boy. Though she may have shunned intimacy with any other Indian or foreign male, whatever happens between her and Kris cannot be explained away as just being accidental. Kris is seized by something neither fully passion nor genuine emotion of love. The age of the partners and the propriety of the relationship are points at stake, but the emotional stress both are going through is more relevant. The film does neither justify nor condemn this.

           Leela's husband Nashaad accepts it as fait accompli. In fact, he is sensible enough not to throw tantrums over it, which he dismisses as a fling by his deprived wife. At the same time he is sensitive to her physical needs and gracefully mends matters with her.

           Vinod Khanna's portrait of a typical Indian Shaayar is close to a real one. Paired with another veteran of the Indian screen, Dimple Kapadia, he proves once again he has not forgotten his acting lessons; naturally, once an actor, always an actor. The complexity of the character Dimple is expected to sketch out does not deter the actress in her. She brings out the feelings, the pains and the desires of a woman longing for the love of a man with an intense conviction. She has been through it, after all, in real life.

           Deepti Naval, Krishna's mother, is another socially harassed woman. Her family life is not happy either. Incidents from her home give glimpses of emotional disturbances both mother and son are passing through. The irony is that Leela is her friend and that she let all that happen shocks her. One is not sure the movie will go down well with Indian audience tuned to Bollywood masala.