In the pantheon of Indian cinema, 2004 was a year dominated by mainstream blockbusters. But amidst the song-and-dance spectacles, a singular, audacious film emerged—not from a traditional director, but from the canvas of one of India’s greatest modern painters, M.F. Husain. That film was Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities .
Tabu’s chameleon-like performance, A.R. Rahman’s ethereal score, and for the chance to see Indian cinema at its most unapologetically artistic. meenaxi
A visual poem rather than a conventional narrative, Meenaxi was a project of immense ambition, artistic risk, and ultimately, profound controversy. Nearly two decades later, it is ripe for rediscovery as a cult classic—a film that dared to dream in colors the mainstream had never seen. At 88 years old, M.F. Husain, already a legendary figure in the art world, decided to direct his second film (after the experimental Gaja Gamini in 2000). He approached cinema not as a storyteller bound by linear logic, but as a painter working with moving images, music, and time. In the pantheon of Indian cinema, 2004 was
