Songs of Paradise

Renzu takes on the significant responsibility of portraying the story of an important artist on screen and succeeds in many respects. However, the lens is so shiny and pink that it only highlights the artist's appreciation, failing to convey the extent of the struggle she must have endured. Yes, the destination is Padma Shri, but her journey has been zeroed down to not make it look glorious but an effortless one, which doesn't do justice to Rani Begum. Songs of Paradise becomes so anti-climactic in its narrative that the fictionalised end doesn't do any favour to the film but takes away the real charm it should have uncovered eventually.

Yet, the screenplay, while engaging, is overly simplistic. Every hurdle, ridicule from society, shady contracts, the struggle for recognition, feels like a minor bump rather than a turning point. A guru overhears her singing and takes her under his wing. She wins a competition. Audiences are mesmerised. Opportunities line up neatly. Hindi cinema has a tendency to make everything gravitate toward the protagonist, and this predictability robs the story of real dramatic tension.