Femme fatales (Arth)

Mahesh Bhatt's films have always been subtly hardhitting. That is, before he started experimenting with Pakistani exports (bombshells who consider little or no clothes and titillating scenes their ticket to Bollywood glory). His earlier films (read Saaransh, Daddy and Arth) deftly balance arthouse and commercial cinema. With well etched characters, convincing plots and soulful music, these films have carved a niche for themselves in the history of meaningful cinema.
Not to forget, his women characters. Bhatt always made them stand out, amidst the veritable talents in his films. Here, we come to the two women artists in Arth, his semi-autobiograhical treatise on infidelity. This 1982 film depicted human emotions like never before. With an extra-marital affair forming the core, Bhatt weaves a fine drama that is as disturbing as gripping.
With an end that is quite unpredictable, it's the treatment of the film that makes it such a noir classic.
Arth's storyline is no secret. Inder, a struggling filmmaker (a young and handsome Kulbhushan Kharbanda) bluntly reveals to Pooja, his loving wife (Shabana Azmi) that he loves Kavita (Smita Patil), the filmstar. Since the revelation is too much to handle for any self-respecting woman who loves and trusts her spouse completely, Pooja's world comes crashing down. But she maintains her composure. She does not go ballistic demanding explanations. Pooja stays put in her bedroom, weeping quietly. This is where Azmi's repertoire comes of use. Her expressions win you over. Even when she shuns her cheating husband's touch, Pooja's voice does not tremble. You only see her breaking down before her friends and once, before Inder, when she pleads him to give her another chance. But, otherwise she is no weeping willow. She does not want favours, mercies and can live on her own terms. She is out to start afresh...
Bhatt chooses Azmi for Pooja's role and is bang on target. Azmi is kickass. She is the ideal model for every woman who desires to chart a self-respecting route and, leaves an indelible impression. In the scene where she enters into a fistfight with her husband, you can sense her desperation, her loss. When she forces herself to turn away from Raj (Raj Kiran), you know that she is not ready to commit because of her past. She is gearing up to live life on her own terms and realises that a commitment might weaken her. Azmi makes Kharbanda look lame (not that he is bad. He is a perfect grey.) when she is signing the divorce papers. In the party scene where she confronts Inder and his mistress, you almost feel that it is Azmi and not Pooja who is ranting out in a drunken stupor. Her eyes are mellow as well as questioning when Raj professes love with the beautiful ghazal Jhuki jhuki si nazar. She lambasts with fire, cries her heart out, fights with gusto... There is a tightrope balance between reel and real when Azmi is performing...What a blessing to the film world...
If Azmi's top notch, Patil is the other end of the talent spectrum. She is the mistress (not many scenes however). Though you know that Kavita is a homebreaker, you can't help but empathise with her schizophrenic self. In the scene where she is talking to her mother over the phone about Inder, you can sense that she craves for nothing but security and the promise of love. She is a unstable spirit always hunting for assurance. Even after she gets Inder, her newfound fear stems from the fact that she will never find peace because she has ruined another woman's life. Patil is spot on as the hallucinating Kavita. Her eyes perfectly mirror her guilt-ridden soul. She is very different in this film. Considering I've almost worshipped her prowess after watching Ketan Mehta's Mirch Masala (she fights like a tigress for her honour), it was a tad difficult to accept her as the weak Kavita, an infidel who suffers from a persecution complex. But perhaps it was the truth in her part that made me feel so. Her depression is indeed depressing. You almost feel like telling her to not be a party to this illicit affair, but then she loves Inder like crazy...
There is a discrepency, I feel, regarding Kavita's end decision. A woman, who blindly loved Inder, should not be in the mental capacity of taking the right decision (to end the affair). When Pooja assures Kavita that she needn't suffer from guilt pangs, a woman like Kavita (insecure and desperate to say the least) should run and secure her man. But, she emerges strong and dumps Inder because she does not find him trustworthy!!! How come sanity prevails in Kavita's depressed mind???
Notwithstanding these miniscule details, I found Arth thoroughly engaging. Even though I would have loved Pooja and Raj's union (can't help if I'm a sucker for mush), that Pooja emerges a strong free spirit after the gloom, gives the ending a sweeter aftertaste. A taste of hope, of renewal and of incredible woman power...