Huma Qureshi starring Netflix series ‘Leila’ is exactly what we need to watch this election season
Set in a year future the series promises to deal with a contemporary issue of discrimination
and social structure that has been the ruling cause of agitation in the country.
Netflix has given Bollywood a whole new do-over and as audience we absolutely love it. While toxic masculinity, male gaze, and conservatism have seeped into the veins of big screen cinema, and it is unlikely that any of it will leave any time soon, Netflix movies and TV shows have given the millennials a reason to hold on to Bollywood. With shows such as ‘Little Things’, ‘Love Per Square Foot’, ‘Sacred Games’, and the most recent ‘Delhi Crimes’, Bollywood has showed that if given the chance it can very much create content which will be admired by a global audience.
Now taking a step ahead, in a year when Indian democracy is fearing the results of its election, Netflix is giving the audience a gift right before the results are announced. The Huma Qureshi starring ‘Leila’ is like the most suitable descendant of the 2017 Nawazuddin Siddiqui - starring ‘Carbon’. The dystopian short film had been a revolution, although not a perfect one, in the filmmaking aspect of the industry which has considerably failed in its futuristic storytelling. Set in 2067, ‘Carbon’ was a socially conscious short film which brought out the significant matter of environmental degradation, and although there were several errors in the movie, it was an attempt that should not be overlooked.
If not perfect, ‘Carbon’ was a much needed attempt for Bollywood. (IMDb)
Like ‘Carbon’, ‘Leila’ promises to bring out the many immoralities of conservatism, and as the TV series will arrive soon, here’s everything you need to know:
Release Date:
The six-episode long series is set to release on June 14 on Netflix.
Plot:
Based on Prayag Akbar’s 2017 titular dystopian novel, the series follows Shalini who is not ready to give up on her missing daughter. Married to a Muslim as a Hindu, she changes her religion after marriage. However, living in a society where communities reside in restricted colonies according to their caste, religion, and income, Leila falls under the radar of a totalitarian government who strive for purity. Since her daughter is a mix of Hindu and Muslim, she is deemed as impure and taken away at a little age of three-year-old. Leila refusing to give up on her daughter sets out on a journey where she is compelled to test her endurance, as the government’s consistent pursuit to divide and rule looms large upon the background of the story.
Cast:
Qureshi plays the leading role as Leila’s mother Shalini who actually is the unannounced protagonist of the story. This is certainly not the first time that Qureshi is playing a character who finds herself in the suppressing rule of a tyrannical government. She was one of the leading actors in the 2017 movie, ‘Viceroy’s House’, were her character is a rebel in disguise who falls in love with a Hindu boy at the outbreak of India’s partition in 1947. She had won the South African Film and Television Awards for Debut Actor of the Year for her role in the ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ series.
Qureshi plays the unannounced protagonist of the story. (Netflix/ Twitter)
Like Qureshi, Siddharth Suryanarayan will also appear in yet another rebellious role in ‘Leila’ where he will play the character of Bhanu. Siddharth rose as a somewhat typecast rebel in cinema after he was seen as Karan Singhania, the son of a minister who turns against his father when his best friend is killed in a plane crash, in ‘Rang De Basanti’. He too had won the Screen Awards for Best Male Debut for this role.
‘Leila’ will also see Arif Zakaria playing yet another villainous role as he acts as the ruling chief of the totalitarian government. Zakaria will be joined by other stars including Seema Biswas, Rahul Khanna, Sanjay Suri, and Anupam Bhattacharya.
Director:
Expectations are already pretty high since the series will be directed by the Indo-Canadian director, Deepa Mehta. Mehta is best known for her ‘Elements Trilogy’ where the three main elements fire, earth and water were used to symbolise the many social evils that are still prevalent in the Indian society. With ‘Fire’ (1996) she brought out the problems of homosexuality in a patriarchal Indian society, and ‘Earth’ (1998) spoke about the religious strife during the partition. However, ‘Water’ (2005) was the most critically acclaimed of the three where she told the story of the mistreatment of widows in rural India.
‘Water’ was Mehta’s most critically acclaimed work. (IMDb)
Considering that Mehta is directing and executive producing ‘Leila’, the stakes are already pretty high and with the trailer it seems Mehta will once again hit the audience with a stark realism that otherwise escapes the silver screen.
Trailer:
The trailer, which dropped today touches upon the surface of the storyline of Leila. We are introduced to a dazed and confused Shalini who fights to find her daughter against a system that is highly intolerant of anything that does not go by the book. As the trailer moves forward we hear the government brainwashing the residents of a fictional dystopian town named Aryabhata, as it urges them to maintain the distinction between every religion and caste. The trailer also shows a brilliant play of mute colours chiefly dominated by brown and grey tone, with Qureshi almost sparkling like a midnight star. Watch the trailer here.
