9 EXCELLENT FILMS THAT TRACE THE MAKING OF AN ARTIST

BLACK SWAN

Qala's visual language, as well as its content, is

iconoclastic. But if it could be read as a parallel to any one film in particular, it has to be Black Swan. In fact, I will say that reading the two films as companion pieces might help us understand both of them better. Like Qala, Black Swan is a portrait of ambition and the obsessive pursuit of it. Like Qala, it is a film about becoming and unbecoming - how the formation of a personality often comes at the cost of our own selfhood disintegrating. Both these films externalise trauma through their visuals.

PERFECT BLUE

The spiritual ancestor of Black Swan, Perfect Blue is the filmbthat most significantly captured the idea of a woman's self fragmenting, such that her internal mental wounds manifest themselves as hallucinations in her reality. Many consider this to be a direct inspiration for Black Swan, but Aronofsky (the director of Black Swan) himself, has denied that association, although even he has admitted that there are similarities. The reason Black Swan might be easier to study in conjunction to Qala, is that it is non-animated. Perfect Blue is, in every other way, a mother film to both of these.

BHUMIKA

Bhumika, I have personally felt, portrays a certain nuance through the character of its protagonist a nuance that many other films that portray female artists haven't been able to grasp. It is this nuance that distinguishes Qala from other parallel stories. Bhumika portrayed the pursuit of ambition for what it actually means for many women a pursuit of respectability. Qala follows those footsteps too. Although the central characters are artists of a different kind (Qala follows a singer, while Bhumika follows a singer- turned-actor), both these films show how women suffer within social circles because of their gender identity.

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO

A far more contemporary parallel to Qala, Last Night in Soho has two very distinct similarities to it - one, this is also a psychological horror film, and two, it is also a period piece. It is a visually stunning piece of cinema, recreating its period with such dedication that the film itself becomes hypnotic. It combines the internal experience of trauma with an altered reality. In his review for this film, Robbie Collin made an observation that I would say is also applicable to Qala - both these films are, in part, a love letter to the era they portray. The other part, in all its horror, tears up the love letter that the film itself has written.

I, TONYA

I, Tonya is a biopic, of course, and it is therefore different from the fantastical quality of the other films on this list. Nonetheless, it is also a portrait of ambition. It follows a toddler, Tonya Harding, who is compelled by her abusive mother to participate in an ice skating competition, to the adult Tonya, who is just as haunted by the trauma she has faced previously. Although I, Tonya is a dark comedy, instead of a tragedy drama like Qala, it possesses a certain emotional depth required to portray a life as dynamic as that of Tonya Hardings.

LADY VENGEANCE (Fade to Black and White Version)

Lady Vengeance is the final installment in Park Chan- Wook's Venegeance trilogy, and watching the trilogy would be a very rewarding experience. This particular version, the one that gradually fades to black and white as the film progresses, has a striking cinematographic style. Through this style, the visual aspect of the film begins to parallel the psychological aspect of it - something that Qala also does. This stylistic quality is precisely why I am recommending this film in relation to Qala. If that sort of psycho-visual parallel interests you, definitely check this out.

THE PIANO TEACHER

While Qala represents a maternal connection that has both dependence and trauma (Qala is as dependent on her mother's validation as she is traumatised by the lack of it), The Piano Teacher portrays how abuse within a maternal connection can lead up to other psychological issues. The female character here has paraphilia (paraphilia refers to a condition in which a person might be sexually aroused by things that are not generally erotic), some of which might be traced back to that relationship.

WHIPLASH

Very few films go to this extent in their portrayal of abusive teaching. I am recommending this in relation to that particular thread in Qala, where Urmila Manjushree brutally criticises Qala's attempts at singing. Whiplash follows a mentor who might be able to push someone towards perfection or excellence, but at the cost of their sanity and happiness, and a jazz musician suffering under their tyrannical tutelage. It is a film that traces how the joy of learning an art form might easily be replaced by the claustrophobic methods of learning it.

THE DISCIPLE

As a parallel to the thread of pursuing culturally rooted music in Qala, I would highly recommend The Disciple, an exceptionally beautiful piece of work in itself. It is, in part, enamoured by the music its central character attempts to perfect. It is simultaneously a nuanced take at what the pursuit of that perfection might do to a person. It has, like Qala, a very strong thread that interweaves lineage and music. Just as Qala's pursuit of music has an aspect of inheritance (her father was a prominent figure in that world of music), the protagonist in The Disciple is also connected to his heritage through his music.