Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Qala’ on Netflix, An Indian Movie That Will Remind You Of ‘Black Swan’

A Netflix India original, Qala is the second feature from writer-director Anvita Dutt. Dutt’s first film Bulbbul was also released via Netflix and centered on women’s issues in ancient India. Qala moves the setting to 1930s India, but aims to tread similar themes. Does it succeed?

QALA: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Qala (Tripti Dimri) is born to a musical legend Urmila (Swastika Mukherjee), though the two have a tenuous relationship after Qala’s twin brother is stillborn. Over the years, Qala trains in classical music at the hands of her mother, but nothing she does ever seems to be enough to satisfy Urmila. One day, a fellow musician brings an orphan boy with a pristine voice named Jagan (Babil Khan, the late Irrfan Khan’s son) to study with Urmila and she is immediately taken with him — essentially adopting him — to the dismay of Qala. Jagan’s promising career is cut short due to a mysterious illness, and Qala takes the opportunity to launch her own career but loses her mother and herself in the process.

What Will It Remind You Of?: The dark side of artistry and obsession with perfection paired with filmmaking that plays with paranoia and psychosis will remind you of Black Swan.

Performance Worth Watching: Swastika Mukherjee as Urmila is at once domineering and loathsome, and loving and encouraging. Mukherjee masters the fine line of a conditional love with ease that makes you understand why Qala is so fragile.

Memorable Dialogue: In 1930s India, when this film is set, women did not have many paths in life, and when Qala’s music career seems to be slipping from her grasp, Urmila sets her up for marriage. Qala’s suitor tries to make small talk. “So you like music?” She responds truthfully — as it’s the reason she doesn’t feel worthy of her mother’s love, even though mastering the art consumes her. “No, I hate it.”

Sex and Skin: Nothing X-rated here.

Our Take: Qala is as much a meditation on parenting and women’s opportunities as it is on perfectionism in art, and the film deftly balances the three ideas. Urmila’s foul treatment of Qala, which can be seen immediately after Qala is born and Urmila is informed that her baby boy has died throughout the rest of the film, sets up her fragile persona that reaches for perfection because all she really wants is to be seen. Qala’s dream isn’t really to be a musician; she only strives for that because she is seeking acceptance from her mother, who will never give it to her because she views her as a “courtesan.”

The filmmaking is engrossing, as writer-director Anvita Dutt employs a variety of angles to convey Qala’s deteriorating sense of self and grasp on reality. The sets are both drab and lush at the same time, portraying a certain regality of 1930s upper crust circles, and the music is hauntingly beautiful.

I do wish there was more time spent on developing Qala and Jagan’s relationship because as it stands, the portrayal is colored solely by Qala’s jealousy. Had we as an audience understood more about how they interacted with one another and their bond, it would have made the final punch land with even more of an impact. Dimri’s central performance also wavered for me as she occasionally struggles to portray Qala as both a subservient daughter and a woman who will achieve her goals at all costs.

Though the ending is predictable, this film, like Black Swan before it, will have you thinking about it even after the credits roll.

Our Call: STREAM IT. With an engrossing story and beautiful music, Qala is worth the stream.

Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Vulture, Teen Vogue, Paste Magazine, and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.