I saw MAYA MEMSAAB some two years after I read the book it is based upon. Gustave Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary'. The English translation of it from Bantam Classics. I had heard about MAYA MEMSAAB a long time back, sometime around when it was released. That was in 1992 or 1993. I was very young then. 10 years old. So technically I couldn't see a film like MAYA MEMSAAB, nor read a book like 'Madame Bovary', classic or whatever.
Though I couldn't see MAYA MEMSAAB, the film intrigued me a lot. Whatever I learnt about it from the media was enough to stir me. There was Shah Rukh Khan, a rising star. There was Deepa Sahi, who I had seen in her husband Ketan Mehta's earlier film 'Hero Hiralal'. I didn't quite understand what role she played. She was this mysterious woman who wore this huge cape and wielded a Mandarake-like wand. But that intrigued me. And I was like – What is MAYA MEMSAAB What is MAYA MEMSAAB? I saw a scene from this film on the weekly news-show 'The World This Week' on Doordarshan. It was a time when satellite channels had not invaded India and Doordarshan was the only TV channel and Prannoy Roy-hosted 'The World This Week' was the only English-language news-show in the country and all thanks to 'The World This Week' I came to know of brands like Gillette, Cathay Pacific and Van Heusen. Next, I read about it in the Sunday magazine of The Telegraph newspaper. Deepa Sahi wearing a white salwar-kameez, lying on a bed of rose petals. Wow! I was just waiting to grow up so that I could see MAYA MEMSAAB or at least read 'Madame Bovary'.
I read 'Madame Bovary'. When I turned twenty. It is one of the best books I've read so far. I liked its honesty. Its openness. I liked how this book calls a spade a spade without beating around the bush. And I liked its ending. It is very sad. Emma dies, her father dies, Charles dies, and Emma's little daughter is sent to work in a factory. A very suitable ending. Sad – for one couldn't help feeling sorry for the little child – yet, justified.
I saw MAYA MEMSAAB and found out that it is a very fantastic version of a sad book. Though it is fantastic, with some magical elements thrown in – hence, the name 'Maya', I guess – it, in some places, retains the darkness of the novel. There is this questioning feeling. What happened? What was supposed to happen? Sort of.
The acting is good. I liked Deepa Sahi. I liked Paresh Rawal. But I didn't like SRK at all. He looks like a fool. And I liked Farooque Sheikh in places.
The cinematography is nice. It brings out the fantasy element very well. The chemist's lab, the houses are very well done.
And I loved the songs. Just loved them. "Ek Haseen Nigaah Ka Dil Pe Saaya Hai", "O Dil Banjaaray", and "Yeh Shehar Bada Purana Hai" are songs I am constantly listening to on my mobile phone and laptop. Plus, there is this song-like conversation between Deepa Sahi and Farooque Sheikh. I don't have it and I couldn't find it anywhere. So, through my comment, I'd like to ask the readers if they could help me find this song. MAYA MEMSAAB is a nice movie. Well-made, aesthetic, with a hint of sophistication. Quite art-house.
