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ESCAPE FROM TALEBAN - (Reviewed By Komal Nahta)

Starring: Manisha Koirala, Nawab Khan & Vineeta Malik
Director/s: Ujjal Chatterjee & Vijay Nopani
Producer/s: Ashok Khemka & Vijay Nopani
Music: Babul Bose
Lyrics: Mehboob

RATING: 0.5/10

ESC Films' Escape From Taliban (UA; English) is based on a true story of an Indian Hindu girl who elopes with an Afghan Muslim and marries him. He takes her to his country, promising her all comforts. But to her horror, she realises that Afghanistan under the Taliban rule is anything but the heaven he had promised her. It is strife-torn and, worse still, women are not allowed to move out freely and have to lead a captive life there. To top all her miseries, she learns that her husband already has a wife and she is his second wife.

After a lot of crying and bickering, she reconciles herself to her fate. But she is unable to bear it anymore when the Taliban fanatics won't let her live in peace till she converts herself into a Muslim. With her husband having gone to India to earn for the large joint family, she faces opposition from most of the male members of her family when she herself revolts against oppression of women of the house or tries to educate the womenfolk of their rights. Frustrated and totally at her wits' end, she tries to run away from home and flee the country but with the household men on her trail on the one hand and the fanatic Taliban extremists on the other, her plans are aborted twice. Ultimately, an uncle in her house helps her flee Afghanistan but she has to leave behind a little daughter whom she had adopted from one of the family members after her abortion.

The story is depressing from the word 'go' and it's anybody's guess whether people would pay money to buy such nerve-shattering depression. The protagonist is shown to be tolerating too much nonsense in the first half. In fact, her attempt to flee the country comes too late in the day. Old-fashioned as it may sound, the audience sympathy also does not go to her because she has married the Afghan Muslim against the wishes of her Hindu parents, making her less of a heroine in that sense.

There's not a single moment of entertainment in the entire film which abounds in tension, action and violence. The screenplay, therefore, offers very little variety. Susmita Bandopadhyay's scripting of her life's account may be heart-rending to read but it is extremely weak for the film medium.

Manisha Koirala does a fine job as the captive bride in Afghanistan. She lives her role and is excellent in emotional scenes and those of revolt. Nawab Khan, as her husband, is quite good. Ferozeh also does well. Prithvi Zutshi gives a restrained account of himself. Aly Khan is extremely nice as the villain. The others, including Preetam Singh, Benika, Amit Bajaj, Vineeta Malik, Jahangir Khan, Subhrajyoti, Shabnam Kapoor and baby Krupa, support well.

Ujjal Chatterjee's direction in one-dimensional, like the script. He has not been able to make a drama that would pull at the heart-strings of the audience. While it depresses the viewer terribly, it doesn't draw too many tears - and that's where the film fails! However, some scenes have been shot very effectively. An instance in point is the scene in which Manisha sees her husband making love to another woman of the household and is then informed that the woman is her own husband's first wife! Music is a letdown. Background score is alright. Action scenes are average. Camerawork and other technical values are fair. Production values are ordinary. Dialogues are okay.

On the whole, Escape From Taliban is a dry and depressing drama and will only add to the miseries of and depression in the trade.

RELEASE DATE: 14th February 2003

REVIEWED BY KOMAL NAHTA