An ambitious romance set in the waning years of the British Raj, Draupadi Unleashed screened at the 2019 New York Indian Film Festival before heading to Cannes. Distributor Hello Desi planned to open the film in six cities on March 20. The COVID-19 pandemic has consigned this to the expanding limbo of unreleased theatrical titles.
Based on a novel by Nisha Sabharwal (who narrates and co-directs), Draupadi Unleashed follows the women from three generations of an upper-crust Indian family as they navigate a world dominated by men. Arranged marriages are still the norm, as is total submission to the dictates of fathers and husbands.
The script, by director Tony Stopperan, makes a few nods towards social criticism, and throws in wisps of mysticism, but never pretends Draupadi Unleashed is anything more than a high-toned soap opera. It’s main focus is on Indira (Salena Qureshi), a sheltered, lonely girl living in a largely empty mansion with her mother Sita (Melanie Chandra) and grandmother Amma (Anna George).
As foretold by a magical being, Sita lost her husband on their wedding night, forcing her to move in with his mother Amma. Subservient despite her own desires, Sita kowtows to Amma, and encourages the rebellious Indira to do the same. But Indira is confused by Sita’s attentions to her “uncle” Dev (Saad Siddiqui), who offers cryptic advice about dealing with men.
Cousin Masumi (Azita Ghanizada) visits with her son Gautam (Taaha Shah), Indira’s childhood playmate and now an ineffective aesthete. Indira then meets her intended fiancée Amar (Dominic Rains), an overbearing heir to a sugar mill.
Passions ebb and flow over cocktails, dinners, furtive meetings in hallways, midnight assignations. Indira spies on illicit embraces through doorways, and takes part in them herself with Gautam. She runs away, returns abashed, is cruelly used and manipulated by Amar, Gautam, Amma and even Masumi.
That’s before Manu (Cas Anvar), a swami, arrives to establish his own cult-like hold over the mansion. All this as tremors hint at a coming earthquake in Quetta that will leave 45,000 dead.
The plotting in Draupadi Unleashed is never more than generic, its narrative as predictable as a Harlequin romance even with its exotic locations and cultural references. But at the same time, the movie lacks the passion and eroticism that are the guilty pleasures of the genre.
While the production design is splendid, there’s almost no sense of the outside world, of the social structure and economics that enabled these characters to indulge in servants and expensive clothes and cars. For that matter, the sense of period is so thin the story might as well be taking place wherever Hallmark movies are made. Stopperan’s direction is functional, but without a clear style.
About the only thing setting Draupadi Unleashed apart is its sensational cast of women performers. Salena Qureshi, who has appeared in Madam Secretary and on Netflix’s The Society, might actually be the weakest link here. In a part that calls for inflamed passions, her Indira is always a bit too restrained and naïve. But she is never less than appealing, especially in a succession of dazzling outfits.
As Indira’s mother Situ, Melanie Chandra (known for her recurring role in Code Black) makes an indelible impression in a relatively small role. So do Anna George (God Friended Me) as the doomed Amma and Azita Ghanizada (The Friend with Casey Affleck) as the desperate Masumi. They are framed exceptionally well by cinematographer Brandon D. Hyde. Watching them enliven and expand what could have been stereotypes is the best reason to seek out Draupadi Unleashed.
