BOTTOM LINE
Inspiring Story, Dull Biopic
PLATFORM
Amazon Prime Video
RUNTIME
110 minutes
What Is the Film About?
Songs of Paradise is a film based on the life and journey of Padma Shri awardee Raj Begum, the first female singer of Radio Kashmir. The story follows Noor Begum (name changed) who defies societal norms to pursue her passion for music. It is a tale of her resilience and the struggles she faced to break free from the shackles of a conservative society to become a celebrated artist.
Performances
Songs of Paradise has a solid lineup, but none of the familiar faces deliver any meaningful performances. Soni Razdan’s presence barely captures the aura of a legendary singer. Saba Azad looks mostly confused and struggles to embody the character’s rebellious spirit. Sheeba Chaddha is one of the major disappointments, saddled with a one-dimensional and unsubstantial role.
Analysis
It’s one thing to be inspired by a great story and another to make a good film out of it. Songs of Paradise is a clear case of a storyteller losing sight of his task at hand owing to his admiration for the subject, tinkering with the way it translates on the screen. When the idea is to tell the story of Radio Kashmir’s first female singer, it’s natural to be in awe of her, but all we get is a clunky, reverential biopic.
Noor Begum’s journey is pathbreaking in more ways than one. Though music comes naturally to her, it takes an accidental discovery at her workplace to let her dreams soar. From being a raw talent with a gifted voice, she hones her talent into that of a refined musician over time, as a stage performer, playback singer, thereby pushing many women to dream big and challenge their realities.
Interestingly in the story, the mother is more patriarchal than her father, who just wants to see her happy. The family is shamed for Noor’s ambition, the social stigma nearly eats up her career. Yet, she finds ample support from an acquaintance Azaad, who eventually marries her. When everything looks hunky dory, a fire at Radio Kashmir destroys all her initial recordings.
The film offers hints of the setbacks that Noor experiences in her journey as a musician – a conservative mother, a dogmatic society, consistent shaming – yet she overpowers them all to find her groove. At every stage, when it seems that her career has reached its dead end, she finds a way to bounce back, finding inspiration within and encouragement from others at the various phases of her life.
Why is music so integral to Noor’s identity since childhood? What possibly goes into her riyaz daily? What explains her mother’s sudden change of heart? What does marriage mean to her? The best part of the story is in the director’s head. The narrative is consistently patchy, struggling to piece together events in her journey coherently, failing to evoke any emotional impact.
The highs don’t infuse any sense of enthusiasm into the narrative, the songs come and leave without any context and the setbacks don’t affect you. All along, the storytelling has no head or tail, remains detached, directionless. The world is always at her doorstep, singing praises about her music. Noor is already a legend from day one and everyone else is just a sidekick, privileged to be around her.
Songs of Paradise brims with potential and it’s a shame that the poor writing and the hackneyed execution never allow it to soar enough.
Performances by Others Actors
Zain Khan Durrani looks his part, though he has nothing substantial to do in the context of the film. Lillete Dubey makes little impact with her blink-and-a-miss appearance. Taaruk Raina’s role could’ve changed the way one looked at the story; his interactions with Noor Begum are yawn-inducing at best.
Music and Other Departments?
The music, both the songs and the score, reeks of mediocrity and that’s unpardonable for a biopic of a musician, whose work should ideally contribute to the film’s appeal. Vincenzo Condorelli’s cinematography is the only silver-lining in the technical department. As a narrative, Songs of Paradise is all over the place, marred by poor writing and editing choices.
Highlights?
Solid story
Interesting conflicts
Drawbacks?
Poor writing, character establishment
Emotionally un-impactful
Mediocre performances
Did I Enjoy It?
Only as an idea
Will You Recommend It?
Not quite
Songs of Paradise Movie Review by M9
