Leila Review: Huma Qureshi's measured performance improves Netflix's scary narrative



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Huma Qureshi in a still of Leila . (Image Credit: Netflix)

Distribution: Huma Qureshi, Rahul Khanna, Arif Zakaria, Sanjay Suri, Seema Biswas, Ashwath Bhatt, Anupam Bhattacharya, Akash Khurana, Jagjeet Sandhu

Shanker Raman, and Pawan Kumar [19659003] Note: 4 stars (out of 5)

Set in the Predictable Future, Leila premiered on Netflix on June 14, looks like a nation where the abuse of power political, nationalist illusions, women's oppression arising from obsessive exceptionalism and from tensions between clbades and castes took root. The scenario of nightmare that it builds seems neither distant nor imaginary because the hot spots – scarcity of serious water, systematic segregation of the populations, rackets of organ harvesting, attacks of intellectuals – are easy to understand at this difficult time. that we live.

A burning and immersive series touches our worst fears. We would prefer to look away from writing on the wall, but can not because the distant warning signals are rooted in the realm of the possible and the most palpable. A combination of tense handwriting, sustained technical finesse and measured performance of Huma Qureshi underlies Leila's performance and reinforces the acuity of her exploration of the scary ramifications of totalitarianism.

This scary story does not play too much with his hands. Gradually leads the public into an obscure and monumental universe where humanity has been submerged by an oligarchy that has arrogated to itself the power to divinize who is pure and who is not.

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an alambic of Leila . (Courtesy of image: YouTube / Netflix) [19659010] The color scheme is toned down. The bluish-gray frames are sometimes punctuated with golden felted flashes and create a visual ambiance perfectly suited to the dystopian vision of the six-episode series, directed by Deepa Mehta, Shanker Raman and Pawan. Kumar (two episodes each), Mehta also playing the role of creative executive producer

The year is 2047. The story takes place in a country called Aryavarta. Under an authoritarian and brutal regime, the nation was divided into sectors and categories according to clbad, caste and religion. A married woman out of her religious community looking for a girl who was abducted as part of an official campaign to cleanse the country of mixed race children is officially sentenced.

however, the only trigger for deep and insuperable social divides in Aryavarta; Sex and economic status also determine who lives in which sector and who belongs to which category of citizens. The most vulnerable are the least protected here, a fact underscored by the interactions of the protagonist (in episode 2) with an orphan banished to the misery of a slum because her father was a rebel who dared to rise against the power of the oppressors.

This story of a distraught mother, yet determined, and of a child missing in a world invaded by the forces of darkness is studded with twists and wraps in a frightful and disquieting manner. 39; apprehension. While the protagonist negotiates serious obstacles, finds lies and secrets and finds difficult agreements that could help her find her daughter, Leila has enough surprises for us (not only in terms of conspiracy, but also in which concerns the devices that she uses) to be instantly edible

The inspiring adaptation of the novel of the same name published by Prayaag Akbar in 2017 by Urmi Juvekar arouses intrigue and anticipation, generating the type of latent energy that spreads like a threatening ripple beneath the surface rather than a bubble, a crack and an overflow. Leila is quick to place his key elements of the plot on the table without revealing too much. But from the start, this unambiguously indicates the infernal nature of the world.

Episode 1, Scene 1 – This is a sequence of pre-credits in the posh house of a wealthy couple and their daughter, where the action takes place in and around a pool. – reveals the main fault lines that will determine the protagonist's immediate future. The names of the three characters are used to define the outline of the story.

The man at the pool is Rizwan Chaudhury (Rahul Khanna), his wife is Shalini (Huma Qureshi) and his daughter, three years old. Elderly girl, meets the neutral name of Leila's religious identity. A fourth individual, the housekeeper Sapna, an outsider in this enchanted cocoon, completes the picture.

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A still from Leila . (courtesy of image: YouTube / Netflix)

Everything is deceptively serene on the surface: the father teaches his daughter how to swim, the uncle of the girl Naz (Adarsh ​​Gaurav) chats with his niece during from a video chat, and Shalini orders Sapna to bring him wine "in a glbad, not a mug". But something tells us that there will be blood.

The cracks The pool is a curiosity because water is a precious commodity not to buy, sell or share without permission. A deadly clbad confrontation is strikingly reflected in the exchanges between Shalini and Sapna. And a serious danger He hides behind the walls around what appears to be a completely secure home.

The little family is torn apart. in one fell swoop. The security guards burst into the house and remind the wealthy couple that people are dying without water – but this is certainly not their only grouse – and the baton Rice. They hit and slap Shalini and push her to the back of a vehicle. Leila is left at the mercy of the moral and social police.

Two years later. Shalini is now an inmate apparently apprehended from a women's welfare center. Social welfare is the last thing women expect here. They are given pills that precipitate submission to the diet and make them sing the Aryavarta mantra, extolling the sanctity of one's lineage and the greatness of the earth.

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an alambic of Leila . (Courtesy of Image: YouTube / Netflix)

Progress and Prosperity are twin goals by the ruler Joshiji (Sanjay Suri, whose faces, portraits and masks were the first episodes) and the burden falls to the head the social welfare center (Arif Zakaria) and a ruthless group of androgynous guards to enforce the vision. [19659005] But nothing here is more precious than purity. In an environment straight out of The Handmaid's Margaret Atwood's Tale, women who have gone astray must pay the price. Expectations are clearly expressed by a poster on the wall: an ideal woman is one who is a "domestic goddess, reveres her family and spends her life in service". Women who do not pbad a purity test are packed into a labor camp from which they can not escape.

Shalini, her daughter and her deceased husband, choose the most difficult path. get out of this hole from hell because that is his only hope to unravel the mystery of Leila's disappearance. Her path crosses that of the security officer of Bhanu Labor Camp (Siddharth) and an engineer (Ashwath Bhatt) in the home of her high security area where she gets the job of nanny. She is on the run, she and her wife push her to a serious danger in which is the possibility of a breakthrough.

Huma Qureshi kisses Shalini with all his strength. Drawing on the complexities of the woman's personal struggle, she expresses a range of emotional states – from perplexity to resolution, from calm that affirms life to threatening doubts – with restraint. commendable. She focuses on gestures and silent looks rather than on external physical or vocal manifestations of inner turmoil.

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a photo from Leila . (courtesy of image: YouTube / Netflix)

The cinematography of Johan Heurlin Aidt is first-rate, as is the musical score of Alokananda Dasgupta, which reinforces the backbone of Leila's soundscape. Other key technical inputs, including production design, are of the highest level.

(Leila is broadcast on Netflix on June 14)

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