Sanchita
Irrfan Khan’s last movie – The Song Of Scorpions is very aesthetic and starts off on a hypnotic, mesmerizing note but the languid pace of the film ends up being an overkill. Sadly, this scorpion doesn’t have a stinger.
Read The Song Of Scorpions Full Review –
Rating: 2.5/5
Director:: Anup Singh
Cast: Golshifteh Farahani, Irrfan Khan, Waheeda Rehman, Shashank Arora
Runtime: 1h 59m
Storyline:
A mysterious young tribal woman Nooran (Golshifteh Farahani) is training under her grandmother Zubaida (Waheeda Rehman) to continue her legacy as a scorpion singer. As per the established lore in the film, apparently, the song of an accomplished scorpion singer can counter the venom of the scorpion and cure anyone who’s been stung.
A camel trader named Aadam (Irrfan Khan) is obsessed with Nooran and has even repeatedly offered to marry her despite her obvious nonchalance regarding his proposal. One dark fateful night – Nooran loses it all after being the victim of a sexual assault. Her grandmother has disappeared and so has Nooran’s will to sing in the aftermath of the double tragedy.
Aadam steps in to save the day but after Nooran learns the dark secret that lurks behind his nice-guy facade, the sting of betrayal invokes a spiral of self-destruction and revenge.
What Do We Think:
The Song Of Scorpions is late Irrfan Khan’s swansong – and it has an almost surreal, mythical air to it. However, this melancholic fare is not going to be easily digestible for the average movie-goer.
The Song Of Scorpions starts off on an almost hypnotic note – with hauntingly beautiful, poignant vocals drifting across the aesthetic moonlit sandy dunes of a Rajasthani desert, as the young scorpion singer tries to master her craft.
But then the mind-numbingly slow-burn and languid pace of the movie ends up being rather disengaging. The HEAVY abundance of poorly-lit shots will leave you squinting in the dark, barely able to make out anything onscreen… and wondering what on earth is going on! It ends up being quite frustrating and breaks the intense, mysterious atmosphere – and has the opposite of the intended effect frankly.
Golshifteh Farahani as the beautiful, tragic Nooran gives a captivating performance but her off-kilter accent makes her more out of the place than she looks. Irrfan Khan stars as the saviour with the nice-guy incel mindset. Khan does a decent job of expressing the slightly creepy undertone in his charming facade. But overall, his act feels rather listless and monotonous.
One particular shot of Golshifteh-Irrfan engaging in a tender, romantic moment is rather uncomfortably bizarre, intruding with aggressive zooming into their faces as she licks the sand off his face. Makes for a bit of an odd, ‘WTF’ moment. Shashank Arora appears in a brief but rather impactful, pivotal role. Waheeda Rehman lulls you right into the languorous vibe of the film and is perfect as the withered and wise Grandma.
The twist in the plot is apparent from a mile away but the build-up to the moment is just exhaustingly slow and will leave you running out of steam. Overall, The Song Of Scorpions is quite a pensive ‘artsy’ film that will require A LOT of patience to sit through. It is very heavy on metaphors and the open-ended climax too may not suit everyone’s sensibilities.
Hit Or Miss:
Be warned, the slow-burn pace of this film is not for everyone. Watch in the theatres if you’re a hardcore Irrfan Khan fan or in the mood for something REALLY melancholic. Otherwise, this one may be a pass for you if you require more stimulating content to stay engaged.
(Also Read: Take A Look At 10 Memorable QUOTES Said By Late Irrfan Khan!)
