Runtime: 132 minutes
Genre: Crime |Drama| Thriller
Film Language: Hindi, Urdu
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Screenplay Writer: Vishal Bhardwaj, Abbas Tyrewala
Cinematography: Hemant Chaturvedi
Editor: Aarif Sheikh
Vishal Bhardwaj's Maqbool (2003) starring Irfan khan leaves you pondering over this question. An emotional ride, Maqbool is a lot more than what meets the eye.
With stalwarts like Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Pankaj Kapur, Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah on the screen, the film was star-studded with talent justifying each role.
The screenplay revolves around Maqbool (Irfan khan) the right-hand man of ganglord Abba Ji( Pankaj Kapur) and his mistress Nimmi (Tabu). The movie carves its way when Maqbool reciprocates his love for Nimmi who was always fascinated by the former.
An aloof and devout Maqbool with no connection to emotions has to confront love so intense he struggles to own it. However, love brings along the dread of vulnerability leaving behind attachment. This hankering which he resisted for so long was finally discernible.
Nimmi who wasn’t fond of Abba Ji plants a seed of murder in Maqbools head. The reward for which wasn’t just power but intimacy for a lifetime. It was a promise to fill the soreness of wounds with affection.
Human nature tends to cradle onto something it is inexperienced of. Born into ruthlessness and autonomy over life, it was the tsunami of tenderness that the protagonist wanted to cherish.
Restraint and loyalty lost their way and the underworld got its new master, when Maqbool blinded by Nimmi’s love does away with Abba Ji, drowned in culpability and self-regret. It was ambition that gave Maqbool the throne, the ambition of achieving inveterate intimacy. An ambition to get the ocean of love where power was just a drop!
Emotions control a person and it's ironic how the same emotions can destroy the person. However, This assorted bag of sentiments adapted from Shakespeare's lurid tragedy, Macbeth wasn't just about ambition, love, or power.
It was also about the repercussions of our decisions, what seems unerring may not be the finest. It is about sustaining a parity in life because it's not the weight of things that matters, it's about the balance within.
A balance which was subdued and left maqbool pyrrhic. The things he solely desired were all in vain when only failure slipped through his hands.
It's then when he realised “Shakti ka santulan bahut zaroori hai sansaar mein, aag ke liye paani ka dar bane rehna chahiye”.