Alicia I love this movie so much

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Chrysanthepop The legendary Shabana Azmi and the immensely talented Urmila Matondkar reunite after 20 years, again as mother and daughter, in Khalid Mohamed's tribute to Ingmar Bergman's 'Autumn Sonata'. 'Tehzeeb' seems to be either a movie one hates or one loves. I love it for its sincerity. There is no hidden agenda. It's about a Muslim family but unlike almost every recent Indian film this one does not attempt to bring out the conflict between Muslims and people of other religion. It's a story about relationships: the relationship between mother and daughter, between two sisters and between a husband and a wife, period.However, 'Tehzeeb' isn't without its share of flaws. Khalid Mohamed's script could have done without a few unnecessary subplots. The whole Diana Hayden track should have been left out as it contributes nothing. Perhaps the director's intention was to show Salim's loyalty towards his wife (or to give Arjun Rampal a larger part) but the track was irrelevant. The Namrata Shirodkar track does offer some comic relief (although Satish Kaushik is irritating) and her sensational item number is beautifully executed. But, this too could have been left out as it does take away focus from the main story. I wish they had left the entire last song, 'Mujhpe Toofan Uthaye Logon Ney' of which we only see a couple of minutes before it breaks to closing credits. This one song marvelously summarizes Rukhsana Jamal's life.'Tehzeeb' is a very well executed film. I did not like the director's directorial debut 'Fiza' but here he does a better job overall. Javed Siddiqui's dialogues are very poetic and playful and particularly the last dialogue delivered by Urmila to Shabana is very moving. Santosh Sivan's cinematography and Sharmishta Roy's art direction are superb. A.R. Rahman's music (songs and background score) are phenomenal. It is perhaps one of his most underrated scores. Javed Akhtar's beautiful lyrics deserve mention too.In terms of acting, 'Tehzeeb' belongs to Shabana Azmi and Urmila Matondkar. It was great to see them work together as mother and daughter again. Both actresses are phenomenal in their roles and I hope they work again soon. Shabana Azmi looks very glamorous as singing sensation Rukhsana Jamal. She acts like a star but at the same time is very convincing as the helplessly loving mother. Urmila Matonkar easily pulls off the role of the loving but conflicted daughter, the unconditionally caring sister and the lovely wife. Arjun Rampal is excellent as he holds more than his own opposite the two more accomplished ladies. He's the one who lightens the tense atmosphere between the mother and daughter and provides wonderful comic relief. Diya Mirza is convincing as the mentally underdeveloped Nazo and kudos to her for choosing such a risky role at an early stage of her career. All four actors share a warm chemistry and are believable as a family. They seem to have been very comfortable working with each other. Diana Hayden needs to work on her dialogue delivery.'Tehzeeb' could have been a better film but I still think it's great and love it for its authentic portrayal of the family, the music, the performances and the message it brings across. It's emotionally engaging and moving, one that feels close to heart. It's a beautiful movie about acceptance, forgiveness, appreciation, sacrifice and love.

whitegreen The following review of "Tehzeeb" (beautifully written) is not by me & appears on the following url: http://www.indiatraveltimes.com/cinema/tehzeeb_2.htmlKhalid Mohamed's new film Tehzeeb draws its title from the name of the central character played by Urmila Matondkar. Tehzeeb is the daughter of Anwar Jamal and Rukhsana Jamal. Their other daughter, Nazneen or Nazo, is mentally challenged. Tehzeeb is a film drawn upon a clash of characters. The Jamal couple met as lovers and married against the wishes of their parents. Anwar came from a rich family, but was a failure as a businessman. In contrast, Rukhsana was a star singer who was totally preoccupied with her career. Her soaring success and fame created a chasm between husband and wife and neither side strived hard enough to stop it from widening. The two daughters also got very little out of this strained relationship of their parents. Tehzeeb was too young at the time of her father's death, but she grew up with the belief that her mother had shot him. This belief defined her attitude and behavior towards her mother. Starting with this state of mind to a reconciliation between them and the moments of happiness that follow is a story reminding all of us of our own relationship problems within and outside the family. Tehzeeb has a theme with a potential of being developed into a classic family drama. Khalid, however, has no such objective in mind. In our film industry, compromises for the sake of a good box-office is the rule and Khalid is no exception. Khalid says: The story of Tehzeeb has emerged as much from conversations and interviews with friends and psychoanalysts, as from a continuing self-probe about one's imagined relationship with a mother whom I cannot remember. She passed away in an air crash when I was two. Said to be beautiful and larger than life, the absence of a mother's memory caused me to wonder how I would have reacted to her persona. What if she had become a successful public personality? Would I have ever been overawed by her? Or would I have challenged her about her responsibilities to the home and the hearth? He explains his dilemma in tense words: Towards this aim, initially I believed an acknowledged remake of Ingmar Bergman's 'Autumn Sonata' would be in order ... While working in the idiom of popular cinema, I had to reach my reality of what could or what would have been vis-a-vis a son's relationship with his mother. "Idiom of popular cinema" is the overriding factor. Six songs and almost as many dance numbers have been incorporated, some of them seem to be uncalled for, others are attuned to the theme or the situation. Even the cultural milieu of a modern Muslim family gets polluted in the process. One has to shed conservatism before settling down to an enjoyable evening. But the film does set you thinking. All the three female actresses in the main roles, Shabana Azmi, Urmila and Diya Mirza, have emerged as very intense performers. Diana Hayden, doing New York publisher Sheena Roy's role, and Namrata Shirodkar's Aloka Karnik, the upcoming singer, are merely cameos. Arjun Rampal as Salim Mirza, the writer of pulp fiction who is Urmila's husband, has a very interesting and somewhat complex role.

husnain ali Urmaila is a great actress. It was nice to see Shabana Azmi in this film because I like her old films such as Amar,Akbar,Anthony. Arjun Rampal was good in this film and Dia Mirza was good at playing a dramatic character in this film who shoots herself but hopefully does not die because her sister Urmila,brother in law Arjun Rampal pray.I liked the way that most of the main characters were Muslims.The songs were O.K. and I give the storyline on it's own a 9/10 and I give the acting a 9/10 as well.The songs get an 7/10.This film is interesting so thats why I gave the film a 9/10 overall.I found the ending sad because Shabana Azmi dies.

dharpt7 Tehzeeb, starring Urmila Matondkar, Arjun Rampal, Diya Mirza, Shabhana Azmi and Rishi Kapoor, is a well acted and produced film. The strongest charcters in the film were definitley Urmila and Shabhana Azmi, who play mother and daughter in the film. The story revolves around Tehzeeb (Urmila) and her struggle to overcome her troubled past and to look after her husband and mentally disabled sister. Her mother is her serious grudge which is what the film is based on. The conflicts they have are the best part of the film. It is a good film and worth watching. 7/10