Qala 2022

Set in the 1940s, Qala Manjushree Triptii Dimri is a drama about the fraught bond between an aspiring singer and her domineering mother, Urmila Swastika Mukherjee. The film opens with Qala celebrating a major milestone—the discovery of the Golden Vinyl—while a posse of journalists questions her about family ties, mentioning a brother she denies. Through a series of haunting flashbacks, we learn how her origin shapes everything that follows: Urmila, who was pregnant with twins, gives birth to Qala while her twin dies stillborn, and in a moment of rage she nearly smothers her daughter. Urmila becomes a stern music mentor, yet she also warns Qala away from stepping into a darker path as a courtesan.

Qala is haunted by visions of a brother who accuses her of taking what is his, and a doctor urges rest as the pressure mounts. In another flashback, a three-day countdown to a performance becomes a punitive test as Urmila scolds her for not working hard enough, ultimately locking Qala out into the biting snow. At the upcoming performance, the house is nearly empty, and Qala is upstaged by Jagan Babil Khan, an orphan whose music catches Urmila’s eye and whom she brings into their home, stoking Qala’s jealousy and insecurity.

In the present, the death of a renowned singer, Sanyal Sameer Kochhar, unfolds a darker family scheme: Urmila seduces Sanyal to secure a chance for Jagan to sing with him. To push Jagan further, Urmila tries to marry Qala off, but Qala resists, choosing her own path. A lavish party brings in influential guests, and though Qala initially feels invisible, Sanyal notices her, and a kiss marks a dangerous spark between them that unsettles the balance at home.

When Jagan falls ill and can’t sing, Qala steps in to perform, winning applause and proving her own star power even as the shadow of manipulation looms large. Jagan’s sickness worsens, Urmila nurses him, and Qala’s ambition continues to push forward. She seduces Sumant Kumar [Amit Sial] to secure a record deal, effectively taking Jagan’s place at the mic. That night, Jagan speaks to Qala for the last time before he hangs himself in the forest. The next day, Qala discovers his body; Urmila cradles him in sorrow, and a heated confrontation follows where Qala calls her mother a courtesan, leading to a severing of bonds and Qala leaving for Calcutta to chase a recording.

Calcutta becomes a crucible: Qala battles nerves and falters on multiple takes, unable to find her voice even after eleven tries. For one last chance, she is compelled to perform in a morally compromising way with Sumant, a moment she recalls Jagan framing as singing for oneself. Channeling that stubborn conviction, she finally records the song and begins to rise to fame, forging a cautious alliance with Majrooh [Varun Grover], the songwriter who urges her to end her arrangement with Sumant.

Back in interviews, memories of Jagan surface as snow tumbles around her, a recurring image that mirrors the emotional frost between mother and daughter. A troubling flashback reveals that Qala once dropped a globule of mercury into Jagan’s milk before his performance, a deed that precipitated his illness. The pressure and guilt mount until she attempts to end her own life with sleeping pills. A doctor informs Urmila of the suicide attempt, and Urmila travels to Calcutta to visit, only to find that Qala has hanged herself. In the final, heartrending scene, Urmila listens to Qala’s vinyl—sent from Tanuku—remembering the daughter she lost and the complex legacy of their relationship, a memory that lingers as the film closes.