Bricklane by Monica Ali

So I spent the last week in Missisauga, Canada where not only did I have an amazing family reunion but also was able to acquire a well-located studio apartment at the heart of the central campus! I do not want to jinx it therefore, will not get into much details. Anyhow, I ended up reading Monica Ali's Bricklane while I was at vacation and just watched the movie yesterday. It was in one of the pending novels, which I had brought way back when I think in 2004 when I went through this phase to buy books and books and books and did I mention books during my stay there. I was a young girl, I can be forgiven:P.
Bricklane is a story of a married housewife called Nazneen, who envies the life her sister back home in Dhaka, Hasina, leads while Nazneen's life revolves around her husband, Chanu (In the movie, played by Satish Kaushik), and her two children, Sahana and Bibi until she has a torrid affair with Karim, her supposed boss who overlooks all the work she does at home. Bricklane is a story about a broken dream, a hope and faith in one's homeland. It is also a story of immigration, of assimiliation, of hopes and dreams, and the dynamics of an arranged marriage. In the beginning, one gets the impression that Ali is condoning the concept of the arranged marriage, where Nazneen, an older man, who has never looked at her or even met her but the novel and movie present a surprise to all the viewers making one question their own identity and place within the society. This story questions the definition of home? It is a question I face whenever I think in retrospect to my teenage years. There was a time I called Singapore my home away from home and now living in the states, my address, has become my home where I dedicated my high school years as well as commuted to and from my undergrad university. The saying, though, home is where the heart is holds true and it is what is portrayed in this movie/book. The movie however, cuts the most important premise in the novel, which showcases the comparisons of Nazneen and Hasina. Hasina is alive in the novel writing letters, but Haseena is only showed as a silhouette or a figment of Nazneen's imagination in the movie, which some times becomes disappointing and seems incomplete. Karim is portrayed as young as he is in the novel and his identity as a British muslim is prominent in his dialect as well as way of talking. He is a refreshing change to Nazneen's monotonous life. Nazneen's passions come alive in his arms and his seriousness towards his identity as a British muslim becomes prominent in both the media.
Through the lens of the Nazneen and her family, Ali comments on not only the societal issues, which Bengali muslims face in Bricklane, London (which I visited in Spring 2008) and the plight of Muslims and their treatment post 9/11. There is an interesting relationship, which takes place between Mrs. Islam (from whom Chanu borrows money for a computer). They change a lot in the movie, which sometimes works to the advantage of the visual portrayal of the movie, while sometimes damanges the poignancy of the situation. Nazneen who is demure and inarticulate as well as the dutiful wife in her household. I am tempted to give away the ending but I will keep my lips sealed. Satish Kaushik (director of many social Hindi movies mostly starring Anil Kapoor) is a must-watch. This is the first time I saw him in a serious role versus seeing him the comic roles, which I have seen throughout my childhood. He astonished me by his skils especially of anger, I have never seen a man so angry as him. His portrayal as Chanu is well-thought of and articulates Chanu's struggling character, who has ideas to help his life as well as his family's life better, but despite many attempts, circumstances do not favor him. He is educated man and yet struggles to keep his family. He also is a patriarch and does not give Nazneen an authority or even a space to implement her agency in her family. To him, she is his wife, his daughter's mother, and that is enough for him. He does not have think that she has an identity of her own. He does not allow her to start work until she herself pushes out of her cultural barriers. Overall, an informative story and a must-watch movie!
Today I crave Singaporean noodle soup and hence, I will be making it soon for lunch before flight to India at 3:30. Whenever I have internet access, I will update the blog especially in Chennai till I return here before going to my grad school!