Leela

About the film

Leela is a 2002 English-language drama film directed by Somnath Sen. The movie stars Dimple Kapadia and Deepti Naval. The film's story is loosely based on Summer of '42. The film premiered at Reel World Film Festivalm, Toronto, in 2005. It also was featured in the 2002 edition of the IAAC Film Festival, conducted by the Indian diaspora, which works to showcase the Indian films to the West.

Plot

Leela is a professor from Bombay. Married to a popular poet, her life has always been prefixed with the title 'Nashaad's wife'. She wins a chance to be sent as a visiting professor to California, where she rediscovers herself, the woman she is, beyond the duties of a wife that she had always devoted her life to. Kris comes as a bright sunshine in her life, who makes her realise her own desires, the desires of the body. Is it going to be an happily ever after fairy tale? Or another Bollywood melodrama?

Music

"Jabse Kareeb Ho Ke Chale" - Jagjit Singh

"Jabse Kareeb Ho Ke Chale v2" - Jagjit Singh

"Kanha Teri Bansuri" - Falguni Pathak, Dev Choudhury, Karsan Sagathia, K.K.

Production

The film was shot mostly in Los Angeles with funds raised by Kavita Munjal and Anjalika Mathur. This is the directorial debut of Somnath Sen. "It's a universal story that many women will be able to relate to," remarked Dimple Kapadia, on the sets.

Critical reception

The film was well received by critics. Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times called Leela "a worthy departure from the culture clash comedies that have marked an emerging Indian American cinema". Dave Kehr of The New York Times called it "an unusual combination of Bollywood and Hollywood sensibilities".

Anil. S. Arora, of Chowk, wrote that film could be considered "the first art film made on the Indian community in north America". He added that the film was about the taboo that sex still is to the Indian Community and their "inability to accept them as the basis for family relationships". He though was dissatisfied with the way Leela is portrayed as a faithful wife to a straying husband, which he wrote is quite outdated for a Mumbai woman who dwells on sexual equality.

The review in The Hindu was moderate, which mainly lauded Dimple Kapadia's acting, declared that the plot has many loose ends and signed off with a note that it is not a bad choice to watch "at the end of a long, lonely day". Deccan Herald wrote, "good performances, deft handling of a complex theme, unconventional method of storytelling, a crisp script, and of course, a taut storyline sure make Leela a movie that’s more than just a tale well told."

Recognition and awards

Special Jury Award - Reel World Film Festival, Toronto (2002)

Screened at the Commonwealth Film Festival, Manchester (2002)

Key details