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Women In Jubilee Carve Their Own Paths With Grit And Glamour
An ode to the women of Jubilee: Jubilee - an OTT series on Amazon Prime - took time to sink in. There was so much to be admired, observed and loved in the series. Its aesthetics, old-world charismatic music and the breathtaking looks of the actors. One gets absorbed into the world of Roy Talkies, the partition of 1947, the glaring economic divide amongst other things.
Revisiting the series a second time and after listening to the songs for the umpteenth time, I was forced to sit and reflect about the women in the series. Though the name "Madan Kumar" predominantly highlighted the series, the women in this saga were equally layered, feisty in within the shackles of the opportunities they are given and extremely graceful in their worlds.
Feisty, Gorgeous and Powerful
Aditi Rao Hydari, who I always felt was not given her fair share of praise in Hindi movies, held the story together being given a very critical role of a yesteryear superstar Sumitra Kumari. Sumitra is dainty yet feisty, holds her own in a world where she is told that the man is the superstar. She is craftly conniving yet one gets glimpses of this woman who yearns for that normalcy. When given a choice to have a life of normalcy with the extremely gorgeous yet detached from the idea of stardom Jamshed Khan; Sumitra is willing to run away with him for that normal life. But till the time she stays in-charge of Roy Talkies, she walks the talk and talks business.
Unshakable, Troubled and Beautiful
Then there is Nilofer, who has very little choices and is hence unapologetic of the choices she makes to build her career in the big, bad glitzy world. She is unafraid to yearn for everything big, and the men who swoon over her, are made to wait, work their way to get her. One sees a fiery Nilofer fire everyone around her when she is made to use a washroom that has already been littered - because she fights to be treated with respect. However, when Nilofer, beautifully played by Wamiqa Gabbi, has a heartbreak, one feels the loneliness and despair. Nilofer in today's world whether corporate or cinema, would be unshakable and gutsy, because how can you break someone who has already witnessed it all and made her way through the storm. She oscillates between two personas - one that can charm you with seductive voice and also let go of tiffs by feeding you some amazing kababs!
Docile, Keepers and Forgiving
A little under the radar is Ratna Das, wife of Binod Das. She is that obedient house wife who can make a castle for herself and her loved ones with paper or marble. She is that quiet strength who stands by Binod who later becomes Madan Kumar; she hears his vulnerable moments and is secret keeper. She isn't given the respect she deserves from Sumitra Kumari, yet she stands by her man - only to later realize that he has failed to be faithful. Her resilience and silence could come across as weakness, but considering her circumstances and choices, one fails to see that she actually makes Madan Kumar feel guilty and ashamed in a soundless way. Her obedience does not make her go against her husband to help her brother in law, who aspires to run away from the clutches of his dominating brother.
The one that left me a little puzzled was Kiran Singh Sethi, who marries Jay Khanna despite knowing that he probably was never in love with her. She was means to a resource he wanted and later a reconciliation made to bury past wrong doings. A marriage of compromise, Kiran, who is shown to be a health worker, probably was a strong believer of her own feelings for Jay and the power of family ties. I would imagine her to be a keeper of the family and fortune, who wants very little in turn.
The series showcases a range of conflicted yet strong women who at that time in the 1950s - 60s were just marching towards wanting to change things, battling multiple societal prejudices and norms, and yet craving for things that didn't come easy for any of them. Privileged or not, the world continued to test them continuously.
Jubilee is a ten episode series which released in the first week of April on Amazon Prime.
