Maqbool

Maqbool and Nimmi

Maqbool (2003) is the first of director Vishal Bhardwaj’s forays into Shakespearian adaptation, to be followed by Omkara (2006) and Haider (2014). Omkara is the better film, but Macbeth is my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays. Maqbool is a great adaptation- it hews close to the fundamental plot points while setting the story in a completely different world. The adaptation and the original shine simultaneously- no small feat.

Set in Mumbai’s criminal underworld, director Bjardwaj skillfully combines street slang with courtly Urdu and treachery with religious imagery making the language and settings a glorious potpourri of sounds and subtleties. Fair warning: if you are familiar with Macbeth, you will probably enjoy this more, but the universality of these stories is what makes Shakespeare so popular. Moreover, the complete text of Macbeth  is available online.

   

Mumbai's fortune

The film opens to Mumbai’s fortune being read on the foggy windows of the back of a police van as a low-level criminal begs two officers for his life. A shot explodes, and Mumbai’s future is spattered in blood. From this symbolic opening to the closing credits, the film runs smoothly from one act of violence or misplaced mercy to another. In an early scene Maqbool (Irrfan Khan) attempts to shoot another gangster, and when his gun fails twice to go off, Kaka (Piyush Mishra), his colleague, just laughs. While leaving the room a third man fires his own gun in frustration, killing the cowering gangster and kicking off an underworld war. As predicted, Mumbai is bathed in blood.

The corrupt officers, played by Om Puri and Nasuradeen Shah, stand in for the three witches, predicting the fall of Don Jhangir Khan, referred to as Abbaji (honored father, played by Pankaj Kapoor) and the rise of his lieutenant Maqbool, enciting him to murderous plotting. Maqbool is further encouraged in this by Nimmi (Tabu), Abbaji’s wife. Abbaji is actively pursuing a younger aspiring actress and Nimmi- a woman with few options- knows her time near the throne is ending. She is also pursuing a dangerous liaison with Maqbool, who loves Abbaji as a father but is enamored of the alluring Nimmi. 

Tabu plays Nimmi/Lady MacBeth like a wild animal backed into a corner, unstable, desperate, and dangerous. Irrfan Khan delivers a performance that is by turns ruthless, weak, and melancholy.  Om Puri and Nasuradeen Shah, who “keep the world in balance”, play their rolls with glee and easy off-color banter. The final minutes of Maqbool are among the best in a satisfyingly cinematic film. The dead dancing in the courtyard is truly unsettling, and the moment when Maqbool realizes that Nimmi will never be free of her demons is performed as tragic inevitability by Tabu and Khan.

Nimmi

Religious imagery used throughout, from the fortunetelling Hindu police officers to the flowing blood of the sacrificial goats at the wedding. When Nimmi places the wreath of flowers around her neck after placing the same around the goats being led to the slaughter, she displays her plight within her religious context. Nimmi also forces Abbaji’s faithful bodyguard to drink alcohol for the first time in his life, counting on the fact that the devout teetotaler will become so inebriated he will fall asleep. 

The colloquialism goes, “A new Muslim prays five times a day”- new converts are the most devout. The same might be said of traitors; as the film progresses and Nimmi and Maqbool dig deeper into their affair and their crimes, both are shown performing namaaz. As their guilt grows, so do their efforts to expunge their sins.

The Mumbai of Maqbool is relentlessly commercial. Bollywood is for sale, stolen good are for sale, loyalty is for sale, sex is for sale, death is for sale, life is for sale. In this world of buying and selling, it is worth noting that although all of the characters are practicing Hindus or Muslims, and all are aware that religious violence too can be monetized- none are interested in religious hatred for its own sake. In a city with a history of communal violence, this cosmopolitan attitude is both cynical and refreshing.

A key scene is the visit of the key characters to the Haji Ali Dargah, a shrine on an islet off the coast of Mumbai. As quwaals sing of devotion to God, the various characters share stolen glances of more earthly devotion. It is while walking to the dargah Nimmi tells Maqbool that Abbaji is considering Guddu (Ajay Gehi) as his successor, infuriating Maqbool. She understands his character and his buttons, and uses the opportunity to be alone with him to push as many buttons as possible. It is on this walk that Abbaji's fate is sealed.

The Haji Ali Dargah is the tomb of Sufi Saint Ali Shah Bukhari. The dargah (tomb) appears in quite a few South Asian films, Fiza (2000) being one of them. The dargah features prominently in “Piya Haji Ali” from the film. Sufi shrines are open to visitors regardless of religion- anyone is welcome to visit the tomb. Women were briefly banned, but the resulting court case overturned the decision of the dargah's Trust. The ensuing court case was written about at length, but the article in the Indian Express is a place to start.

Film: Maqbool (2003)
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Writers: Vishal Bhardwaj and Abbas Tyrewala
Country: India
Runtime: 132 minutes
Languages: Urdu, Hindi

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