A Melodrama from Indonesia That Honors 1960s Bollywood

The type of tearjerker that Filmistan ceased producing decades ago is Air Mata Di Ujung Sajadah, directed by Key Mangunsong from a script by Titien Wattimena. It stars Yashoda, Deviki Krishna, and Kanhaiya.

It was brought home to me how far Hindi film has drifted from its origins by seeing this unapologetic women’s weepie (this style of movie is created primarily for aged housewives; it is the big-screen version of the daytime soap operas in America or closer to home, Ekta Kapoor’s Saas-Bahu serials). Our family no longer produces melodramas. The world at large is just now becoming aware of it. Fantastic!

You’ll be reminded of several Hindi movies by Air Mata Di Ujung Sajadah (Tears At The Edge Of The Prayer Rug), including Meri Bhabhi, Choti Bahu, Ek Phool Do Mali, Pyar Jhukta Nahin, and Sunny. In this Indonesian play, the idea of two women arguing for parental rights over a kid could have received a new, unexplored boost.

However, the performance is, at best, blatantly exaggerated; at worst, it is excruciatingly cheesy. The charming Aqilla (Titi Kamal), who is in love despite her mother Halimah’s (Tutie Kirana) concerns about class, is the main character. The early confrontations between mothers and daughters spare us no end of recycled clichés. Why not be kind to us? The tone is wallowing in misery.

When Aqilla’s mother sends the kid to a childless couple, she is pregnant and widowed (her mother’s weeping would have awakened all the widows of Varanasi). There was no exchange of legal documents. In that very moment. All night. This is Telugu film from the time of N T Rama Rao, not Bollywood.

Do you see what I mean? Think of Waheeda Rehman in Sunny or Nadira in Julie as the callous mother. The melodies that would go along with the dramatic Hindi tale are the only thing lacking. The music has been replaced by wall-to-wall carpeting. Each prominent character is blatantly miserable. After confessing to have delivered her daughter’s boy to a “kindly” couple, Arif (Fedi Nuril) and Yumna (Citra Kirana), who stare at the infant like Prithvi Raj staring at food after fasting for The Goat Life, Aqilla’s mother passes away.

There are other fits of hysteria, this time from Aqilla, who is determined not to fall behind the rant race. The low-budget movie takes place abroad. This looks like London, according to a false prop outside the window. Never has the London Bridge looked so inviting.

On her son’s birthday, Aqilla lights candles because she believes her kid is still alive. He is, of course! This rainy lachrymose drama revolves on Aqilla’s attempts to reclaim her kid from his adoptive parents in the second part. This is when the slow-moving narrative picks up some speed. The battle for child custody never becomes as fascinating as the screenwriters and director hope it would since it takes place outside of a courtroom and involves individuals who are above the law in their custodial fight. The movie’s aspirations destroy rather than inspire it.

The goal of Air Mata Di Ujung Sajadah is to create a modern-day melodrama with lavish turns and twists inspired by classic Hollywood ladies’ films like Lana Turner and Barbara Stanwyck. However, it lacks the emotional and financial resources to be more than just a K C Bokadia glycerine-jerker.