Vedam- Movie Review

Spoiler  Alert:  Some key  scenes  in  the  movie  discussed in the  review.

 

 

Vedam for  sure  breaks  a whole  lot  of rules  in  Tollywood.

 

One is the dreaded  second  movie syndrome,  where a  director  whose first movie is brilliant,more often  than  not  falters  with his second movie, and from there on hits the  road down.  Director  Krish aka Radhakrishna  gives  a movie  that is  not  just  a worthy  follow up to Gamyam,  but  in fact  improves  upon on his  first movie.  If  in  Gamyam,  Krish  referenced  Motorcycle  Diaries,  here in Vedam, the  reference is  more towards Crash, where  multiple  stories  run  parallel  for a  major  part,  of the movie, before converging in the end.

 

 

Vedam  proves  that  it  is  possible  in  Tollywood  to  make movies  that do not   have  singing-dancing  families,  thigh  slapping,  seema pourusham, vamsam dialogs,  songs in  exotic  locations or  teen love stories,  and still engage  the  audience  from  the  word  go  till  the  end. Vedam is the kind of movie  that  grips  you  with  it’s  narration,  as  also the  way,  director  Krish keeps  switching  between  the  different story lines, ensuring  that you end up following every scene,  else you miss out something.

 

The movie  also  breaks  the rule,  that  it is a cardinal  sin to  cast  actors  against  their  established  star  images,  and  make  them do roles  with  tinges  of  gray.  Kudos to  director  Krish  again  for getting  established  stars  like  Allu  Arjun  and Manoj to break  away  from their  usual  screen images.

 

 

 

Vivek  Chakravarty(  Manchu  Manoj), is  the  son of  a  former  Army officer, and  comes  from a highly  distinguished  lineage, with  both  his father and  grandfather,  having  sacrificed  themselves  during the  wars, and  highly  decorated.  While his mother  wants  him to  continue with the  family  tradition,  Vivek  however  dreams of  being a  rock  star,  having his own  group.  He  hangs  out  with  his  group, singing at  pubs  and parties, and finally  gets  the  big  break  he  had been  always  aspiring, for  which he has to  travel to  Hyderabad.  Circumstances  force  him to  take the road from Bangalore  to  Hyderabad, along with  his  group.  Hmm,  actually  i thought that  aspiring  rockers  usually headed to Bangalore,  anyway  i guess that is a bit  of cinematic  liberty one can grant.

 

Ramulu(Nagayya) is a  poverty  stricken  weaver,  in   the  town of  Sircilla,  staying  with  his  widowed  daughter in  law Padma( Saranya) and  an intelligent  grandson.  However  poverty plays a cruel joke  on their  lives, when the local  Patel,   takes  away  his grandson to work  in his brick kilns,  as  Ramulu  owes  him a  huge amount.  Desperate for the money,  that  could  free  their  grandson  from  bondage, both Ramulu and Padma,  travel to the city,  to  sell  their  kidney and raise the money  needed. To me, this  was  the  best  story  of  the  lot.  The  scenes  depicting  the way  unscruplous brokers  arrange  the  trade in body  parts,   how they  take  advantage of  the poverty  of  people  like  Ramulu  are  harrowing.

 

 

One of  the  best  scenes  comes  when  the broker  instructs  Padma and  Ramulu, to  give  false information  about  their  names  and  family  background to the doctor.  Ramulu  having  already  donated  a kidney before,  is able to  fib through,  unfortunately  Padma, who has never  been through  the experience, stutters and  stammers, and  is thrown out.  The irony  strikes  hard, when the second time  again,  Padma, by now having  a first  hand  experience,  is able to  bluff  through, without  blinking an eyelid. The  director  does not  go  in  for  any  moralizing  or  preaching here, just a matter  of  fact  treatment,  showing  things  as  is.  While  on  an ethical level, what  Padma  and Ramulu  are doing is wrong, given their  condition, they just have no other  choices.

 

 

 

Saroja( Anushka) is a  prostitute,  highly  sought  after  in her brothel, located  in  the  coastal  town of  Amalapuram.  Inspite  of  her  fame  in  the  brothel,  she  seeks  to  get  away  from  the  brothel.  She  hates the  fact  that  she  puts in  all  the  effort,  while  her brothel  madam,  takes  away  the  major  cut  of  money.  Saroja   runs  away  from the  brothel,  along  with  her  eunuch  associate  Karpooram, to  Hyderabad.  Her  ambitions  are simple,  she  wants  to be  her own  boss,  operating on  her own terms,  as a call girl,  instead  of  having  some  one  take  away her   earnings. Again a  well  written  story,  and  what  i  really liked her  was  that  Krish, again shows things  as  they  are.  When  pointed  out  that  she  takes a major  chunk of the prostitute’s  earnings,  leaving  them  with  peanuts, the brothel  madam, retorts  that  she has to do so, as she  needs to pay  off  the cops  and other  officials  regularly.   Saroja  sees  her  job  as a profession,  she rebels  against  her  brothel  madam,  not due to  any moral  reasons, but  more out of  financial  reasons.

 

 

However  Saroja’s  efforts  to  be on her  own do  not  prove to be that  easy, for starters  her  madame  has  a huge  network  all over the state,  and  what is  worse,  she has  rubbed  a powerful local cop, the wrong  way, and he is hell bent on  nabbing her.  This  segment  has been written well too,  especially the  satiric  takes  on the  world’s  oldest  profession,  and the bonding  between  Saroja  and  her  associate,  and  their  desperate  attempts  to strike it on their own.

 

 

Raheemulla Qureshi( Manoj Bajpayee), is a  Hyderabadi  muslim, seeking  to  emigrate  to  Sharjah.  His  bitter  experiences  at  facing  discrimination  for  being  a  Muslim,  make him  take  the step, his  father  is however  happy  to stay back ,  as  he  does  not  want  to leave  the land. However  when a trigger happy  cop, who  believes  that  all Muslims are  born  terrorists,  crashes into  his  farewell  party, to  nab  two of  his  relatives, suspected  of  being  involved  in  terror  activities,  his  world  goes  topsy  turvy  again.  To  make  matters  worse,  this  was the  same cop, with whom  Raheem  had a  bitter  experience  earlier on.  Actually  i felt  this  was  the weakest  part  of  the  entire  movie,  while  it  does  have an  excellent  scene  where  Raheem’s  wife  has a miscarriage,  the treatment is too heavy  handed  and cliched.   The  nasty  cop,  the  honest  Muslim  discriminated  against, the black sheep  in the family,  it is something seen  a lot of  times.  Also  even  considering  the  fact  that  the cop  is  completely  biased  against  Muslims, his  snarling, growling  and snapping, his  utterly insensitive  attitude, ends  up  making  him look  like  a caricature.

 

 

 

Anandaraju  aka  Cable Raju( Allu  Arjun),  is  a   cable  TV operator,  living in the Jubilee  hills  slum  area.   Pretty  much of a huckster,  he  gets  along  conning,  smooth  talking people,  hanging out with his sidekick,  and  deep in debt to the local  slum  lord.   Nurturing  a  desire to  get  rich  quick,  he  manages  to  hook  a rich,  sexy  looking air head  Pooja(  Deeksha  Seth),  making  her  believe  that  he is  in  fact a  rich  bloke.   His  take is  simple “If  you  are not born  rich,  end  up  being  the son in law of  a rich man”. His  girlfriend falls  for  his  smooth  talk,  and  plans to  introduce  him to her  mom  at a  New  Year  party,  and   asks Raju  to  book  a ticket  for  both of them.  The  catch is  that  the  ticket  for  the  said  party, is a cool  40,000 for  a couple,  an  amount  beyond  Raju’s  capabilities.  This  segment  remains  one of  the  movie’s  more  humorous one,  as  Raju  and  his  sidekick,  embark on a desperate  endeavor  to  raise  the money,   trying  every  trick  possible  in  the  book.

 

Quite  a satirical  and witty  take  on the class  differences,  the  dialogs  are  excellent  here, making  subtle  digs  at  the  upper  class  lifestyle.  However  the character  of  Pooja  again  ends  up  a  caricature,  even  granting the  fact  that  Krish  deliberately  choose  to  show her as  a bimbette,  it  appears  shallow  and superficial. In  fact  one wonders,  why  Raju  would want to put  his neck on the line,  for  such a  female.  The  desperate  efforts  of  Raju  and his  pal  to raise the money  are  excellent though, with a  bitter  sweet  irony, running  through  the  entire  thread.

 

 

The  first  act  of  Vedam, is  where  Krish  takes  time  setting  up  the  characters, getting  into  the  background of  their  stories.  The   5  major  stories  run  in  parallel,  and  Krish  does  a  great  job  here,   seamlessly  making the  switch  from one  story  to  another,  without  making  it  too  abrupt.   Also  the deft  touches  and  the  small  moments elevate the  movie.    Characterization  and  human relationships  has  been  Krish’s   strength,  and  the  best  thing is the  way  he  develops  even  the  minor  supporting  characters,  something  seen  to  good  effect  in  Gamyam.   Here  it  is  not  just  the  principal  characters   in  the  drama,  but  even  the   other  supporting  acts,  be it  the  Muslim  hating cop,  or  Saroja’s  eunuch  friend  or   Cable  Raju’s  sidekick  or  the  unscrupulous broker  or  Vivek’s  girl  friend  Laasya( Lekha  Washington) who happens to be his  conscience too,  are well etched  out.  Also   loved the  way  the  director   infuses the  grey  streaks  in  the  characters,  Vivek  for  all his  idealistic  lyrics  happens  to be a self centered  spoilt  brat,  not  really  caring  about  others.

 

 

The  second  act  to me  was  the  movie’s   best  part,  the  point  where  the  characters   seem  to hurtle  down  a seemingly  endless  dark  tunnel, with  no  respite  in   sight.   This  is  the  point  when  the  emotional  intensity  hits  the  high  points,  as  the  characters  become  increasingly  desperate,  fighting  for  their  own  selves.  For  people  like  Cable  Raju  and  Ramulu,  the  fight  is  for  money,  for  Raheem  its  a fight  to prove  his own  identity,  for  Saroja, it  is  simply  a fight  to  survive,  and  for  Vivek,  it  is  the  chance  to  discover  himself.   Some  of  the movie’s  best  scenes  come  in  this  part,   but  for  me  the  stand  out  scene  would be  the one  where  Raju  tries  to steal  the money  which  Ramulu  has,   you can  sense  the  desperation  in  both  money,  one  fighting to  hold on to the money  which could   make  his  grandson’s  future,  another   needing  the money  for  his  own  personal  gratification.  Another  excellent  scene   is  the one  shot  in  pouring rain,  where  Raheem’s  wife  has a  miscarriage.

 

 

Somehow  i felt  that  the  third act,  was  the  movie’s  underwhelming  part.   The  climax   was  a  bit  too contrived, it  looked  as  if  the  director,  having  set  up  the  characters  and  then  delved  deep  into their  stories,  just  wanted to patch  up  everything.  It  was  more  like  a  “lets  sew up  all  the  loose  ends,  and  resolve  everything”. Most of  it  was  not  needed,  as also  some  of  the  resolutions  that  seemed  rather  forced.

 

 

 

Performances  are  a major  strength  of  the  movie.  I have never  been a  big  fan of  Allu  Arjun’s acting,  but  this  movie has  to be  the  best  performance  of  his career  to  date.    As  Cable  Raju,  he is  just  brilliant,  suitably underplaying  his  role,  infusing the  right  dose of  humor,  cheekiness  without  going   too much over  the top.   His  acting  in  the  parts  when  he  becomes  increasingly  desperate  to  get the money,  is  brilliant.  Manchu  Manoj does well  as   Vivek  Chakravarty,  the  aspiring  rock star,  with a  self  centered  attitude,  again  don’t  understand  why  his named  has been billed  as a guest  appearance  in  the  credits, considering  his  is pretty much a full fledged role.  I am just  loving  Anushka with  every  movie,  she has  that  right  mix  of  talent, sensuality  and sex appeal, and properly  tapped, it  can  come  out  well.  After  Arundhati,  she  again  notches  up  another  good  performance  as the prostitute  Saroja, be it  her   mannerisms or  the  crude  language  she uses.  She  was  excellent in the scene, where she pleads  with  the cop not to turn her back  to  the madame, promising him a  cut in her  earnings,  and  of  course the pleasure he needs.

 

 

 

I believe  that  the  old  man, Nagayya, who  plays Ramulu,  was  picked  straight  up by Krish,  and  he  puts in one  of  the  movie’s  best  performances, natural,  from  the heart  and wonderfully conveying the anguish  that  comes  from  poverty.   Saranya too  does well  as  Padma,  wonderfully  conveying  a mother’s  desire to see  her  son  educated.  This has  to be one  of  Manoj  Bajpayee’s best  performances  ever  as  the  hapless  and victimized  Muslim, torn between  being  an eternal  suspect  and  having to  deal  with  the  more  extremist  elements  in  his  community.  One of  Manoj’s  strengths  to  me  is  his  ability  to  underplay a  role,  and  here he  does it  skilfully,  never going over the top,  beautifully  conveying  the  angst.  Manoj,  we  need  to see  more  of  you  on  the  big screen,  please,  you  are just too good  a talent  to go waste.   All  the  other  supporting  characters  pitch  in their  parts well,  and on a side note, Deeksha  Seth,  who plays  the  air  head  babe,  does  have a resemblance to   a  certain  Divya  Bharti.

 

 

 

The  camera  work  is  brilliant,  especially  in  the  introduction  shot  of  Allu  Arjun,  zooming  through  the  cramped  gallis  of   the  Jubilee  Hills  slum,  and  also  the  lovely  landscape  shots.  M.M.Keeravani’s  music  is  good  throughout  the  movie,    especially the  BGM.  In  the  songs   Sunita’s  Egirapothe entha  baguntundhi, seems  somewhat  inspired by  O.P.Nayyar’s   Reshmi  salwaar  kurta  zaali ka  from Naya  Daur. Keeravani  himself  lends the voice for  Rupai, a  satiric  take on  the  importance of money,  and  picturized well  too.  Opening number  Now or Never, is  pretty much like a rock  song,  and  singer  Ranjith,  brings in the right  touches.   Malle  Puttane to me is  the  best  song  in  the  movie,  with  some  great  lyrics by Keeravani  himself,  showcasing  the  character’s yearning  for  redemption.   In  spite  of  it’s  rather   over  done  ending,  and  some  unnecessary  scenes,  Vedam  is  worth  a watch,  for  it’s  characterization,  relationships  and   above  all  the  emotional  intensity,  that  touches  you  somewhere.

Posted by Ratnakar Sadasyula in 2010 Movies Tags: Allu Arjun, Anushka, Krishh, Manchu Manoj, Manoj Bajpayee

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Ghulami-Revolt in the Desert

Rajasthan,   a  state  that  has   fascinated  people  in  India  from  ages.  A  state  noted  for it’s  rich  history,  culture,  traditions.  A  state  that  has  given  heroes  like Rana  Pratap,  Udai  Singh, Amar Singh Rathore,  Sawai  Man  Singh,  people  of  unimpeachable  integrity,  honor  and  courage. A  state whose  colors,  folklore,  people  blend  together  in  a rich  tapestry.  Yet  beyond  the  rich   history,  its  colors, it’s  ornate  havelis,  lies a  state  that  has  been  notorious  for  it’s  caste  clashes,  it’s  feudalism,  where even  today  customs  like  child  marriage   and  Sati,  hold  sway.

Ghulami  is  the  story  of  oppression,  feudalism,  and  a  band of  intrepid  bravehearts  who  rebel  against  the  tyranny.  In  a  way  it  is  the  sort  of  epic  drama,  which  mixes  up  all the ingredients-  action, drama,  romance,  tragedy, pathos   to  come out  with a  masterpiece  that does not let  you go.

Set  in the  fictional  town of  Fatehpur,  which  lies somewhere  near the border  in  Rajasthan,  Ghulami  is  the  story  of   Ranjeet  Singh  Choudhury( Dharmendra), a  born  rebel,  who  does  not  take things lying down.  Thrown  out  of  his home, by  his  father,  after  he  dares to question  the  tyranny  of  Bade  Thakur( Om  Shivpuri),  he  leaves  swearing never to come back.  When  he  does  come back, a grown up  man  after  his  father’s  passing away,  he  finds  that  his  people  are  in a  perpetual  state of  oppression.  The  Thakurs   make  the  farmers  mortgage  their  lands,  work in their  fields, and  take advantage  of  their  illiteracy,  to  keep  them  in  perpetual  economic  bondage,  ill  treating them, harassing  them.

Ranjeet  now  educated,  well aware  of  the  ways  of  the  world,  refuses  to take  things lying down, and  rebels  against  them.   Bade  Thakur  and  his  sons  Shakti Singh( Bharat Kapoor)  and  Jaswant  Singh( Mazhar  Khan)  control  the  town,  terrorizing  the  inhabitants,  molesting  the women  along with their  cronies,  the  corrupt  Thanedaar( Raza  Murad),  and  the  munimji( Anjan  Srivastav).    Sumitra( Smita  Patil),  Bade  Thakur’s  daughter,  is  more  sympathetic  to  the  cause of  Ranjeet  and  his  people,  and  hates  what  her  father and brothers  do.   

Ranjeet  meanwhile  marries Moran( Reena  Roy), a  girl  belonging to  his  place,  while  Sumitra’s  marriage  is  fixed  with  SP  Sultan  Singh( Naseeruddin  Shah), which is where the  turning  point comes.   On  the  eve  of  Sultan  Singh’s  marriage,  he  slaughters  a buffalo  as per  their  tradition, and  the  dead body  is  dumped  in  the village  well,  rendering  it  unfit  for  use. This  results  in many people  dying of  thirst  as well  as those who  had  drank  the water.  Ranjeet   is  furious,  and  takes on the  Thakurs  head on, which  only  further  deepens the  hatred.   Sultan  Singh,  later on,  slaps, a  false case on  Ranjit,  declaring  him a  rebel.

Along with  Ranjit  are  two  other  principal  characters,  Gopi(  Kulbhushan  Kharbanda),  a thanedaar,  who  goes  distraught,  when  his  son is  shot  dead by the  Thakurs  for  the  crime  of  taking  out a baraat  on  the  horse, and  Jabbar(  Mithun  Chakraborty),  a happy go lucky  Fauji, in love with Tulsi( Anita  Raaj),  who  becomes  a rebel, when  false  cases  are slapped on him  and he is declared an outlaw.  Ranjeet,  Gopi  and  Jabbar,  together  join  hands  now  to  take on the  Thakurs, as well as the  entire  police  force, who  have declared them  as  bandits.

From  the  starting  frame to the  ending frame,  Ghulami  is a movie  that  spells E-P-I-C.  Ghulami is  the  reason,  why  we go to  watch a  movie  in a theater.  It  is  the  sort  of  epic  drama  that  catches  you by  your  collar,  and  never lets  you  go.  For  a  Bollywood  movie  that  was shot  in the  80’s,  the  technical  and  production  values  are  outstanding.  The  camera  work  is  exceptional, and would do Hollywood  proud.  Ghulami  has  some of  the best  camera  work  ever  scene on Indian screen, capturing  the  beauty  of  the  vast  Rajasthan  desert.  Be  it  the sun setting  or  the  wide screen Sergio Leone  style  shots  of  the  desert  or  the  interiors  of  the havelis  with  their  intricately carved  art work  or  the  action  scenes, the  camera  work  is  world  class.  I  remember  watching this on the big screen, when it  came  in 1985,  and i  was just  blow  away.

Ghulami in a way combines the realism, attention to detail, sharp characterization of the more art house cinema, with the traditonal elements of the main stream cinema like songs, melodrama, emotions to good effect. J.P.Dutta sticks to the point, and does not go for unnecessary diversions like silly comedy scenes or item songs. Even the songs in the movie are woven into the narrative well.

Ghulami has some really brilliant dramatic and action scenes. My favorite ones.

* Dharam’s confrontation with the Thakurs while drawing water from the well.

* Kulbhushan’s son being shot dead by the Thakurs.

* Naseer encountering the bandit and killing him.

* Mithun chasing his cattle back from the border, and then being arrested by Naseer.

* Mithun being rescued by Dharam and Kulbhushan, and their confrontation with Naseer.

Some scenes are very violent though, especially the one where Naseer interoggating Dharam, inserts the stick in his bullet wound, or the one where Naseer catches the dacoit, and slashes him brutally.

In fact i would say every scene in this movie is a gem by itself. At no stage does the director J.P.Dutta, let the interest slip in the narration, absolutely tight and keeps you on the edge throughout. In truth, this movie is a masterpiece in itself.

Ghulami has a huge ensemble cast, and the performances are mind blowing.

Dharmendra is brilliant as Ranjeet, rebelious, angry, breathing fire. Especially in the scene where he confronts the Thakurs.

Mithun Da again gives a solid performance as Jabbar, especially in the scene where he has a face off with Naseer in the thana. And his habit of saying ’Koi Shaque’ is endearing.

Kulbhushan Kharbanda to me has been an actor, who always has performed well in whatever role he has had, and again here is he just outstanding. Watch him in the scene, where he breaks down in the desert after meeting Dharam.

Naseer as always top class, as the ruthless Sultan Singh, just showing why he is one of the greatest actors around.

Smita Patil, does not have much of a role to do, but she does her part well. All the supporting cast, Reena Roy, Anita Raj, Om Shivpuri, Raza Murad, Bharat Kapoor do their parts well.

The movie also has 2 great songs, one is Zehaal-E-Muskin, lovely song by Shabbir and Lata, with some wonderful lyrics by Gulzar, this is used to establish the love between Mithun and Anita Raj. Another is Mere Pee Ko Pawan, very moving song by Lata. Laxmikant Pyarerlal’s BGM too is good at places.

All in all, not a movie to be missed at all.

Posted by Ratnakar Sadasyula in 80's Bollywood Tags: Dharmendra, J.P.Dutta, Mithun Chakraborty, Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil

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Namak Haraam

n  1965,  Hollywood  had come out  with a movie  Becket,  starring  Richard Burton  as  Thomas  Becket,  the archbishop of  Canterbury  and   Peter O Toole  as   King Henry II. Both  of  them  play  close  friends,  but   later fall out,  due to their  ideologies  and the  eternal clash between  the  clergy  and royalty.    Hrishida,  adapted  the  same story,  to  Indian context,  setting  against  the backdrop  of  trade unionism and class struggle.   Namak  Haram  in 1974  was the only other  movie to feature  both  Amitabh  Bachan  and  Rajesh  Khanna  apart from Anand   in  lead roles,  it  was billed  as  the  clash  of  titans.   Amitabh  was a star  in  the making with  hits  like Zanjeer  and  Abhimaan,  while  Rajesh  Khanna had  already  established  himself  as the  superstar  by then.  

Namak  Haram  is  about  Vicky(  Amitabh Bachan),  the  son  of a rich  mill owner,  Damodar( Om Shivpuri)   and   Somu( Rajesh Khanna),  who  lives in a  Delhi  basti  with  his  mother and sister.  Both of  them  studying  in  the same  law school,  are  thick as friends,  inspite  of   the  class  differences,   and  Vicky  quite  often  keeps  helping  Somu’s  family  financially.   Also  Vicky  being a motherless child,  looks upon  Somu’s  mother and sister  as his own.  In the meanwhile,  with  Vicky’s   father having  a heart attack,  he has to take over the management  of  the  mill.  Unfortunately  Vicky’s   arrogant  and  hot headed  attitude,  gets  him into a tangle  with the union leader  Bipinlal(A.K.Hangal),  which  results  in a strike  being  called. 

On  his  father’s  insistence,   Vicky  is forced  to apologize  to Bipinlal,  in front of  every one,  which hurts  his ego.   Somu  decides to avenge  his  friend’s   humiliation,  and  joins  as a worker,  naming  himself  Chander.   He  begins to live in the worker’s  basti,  and slowly  wins over every one’s   confidence.  His  plan  is to topple  Bipinlal  as  union leader.  Somu  negotiates  a bonus  for the workers,  and  defeats  Bipinlal  in the union elections.   However  by now  Somu  having  seen the worker’s   plight first  hand,  begins to genuinely  care for them. 

Vicky  sees  this  as a betrayal  by  his  friend,   and both  of  them  fall  out.  Drawn  into  this rivalry  between  Somu  and Vicky  are other characters   like   Nisha( Simi Garewal),   Vicky’s  fiancee , and some one who  has a socialist bent of  mind, though born with a silver spoon,  Shyama(Rekha),  the basti girl and  Chandu( Asrani),  another worker  and  the  cynical,  drunken poet  Alam( Raza Murad). 

Namak   Haraam,  is  one  of  Hrishi Da’ s   memorable  movies,  and   one  of  the better movies  of  the 70’s.    The friendship  between  Vicky and  Somu,  and their  subsequent  fall  out is well depicted.   Some scenes  are  well  directed.

  Somu getting  beaten  up by  the  basti dwellers  when they  suspect  him  of  being  Vicky’s  stooge. 

  Vicky  comming to know  of  the incident,  and storming the basti. 

 Vicky  warning  his  father,  against  any one else  comming  into  the dispute between him and  Somu. 

Somu  explaining to  Vicky  the reason  for  his change of heart,  and the dialogues between them.

Gulzar’s   dialogues  are  sharp,  hard hitting  and  witty   without  becomming too  melodramatic.

Also  in a movie  in  class struggle,   it   would  have been  easy  to  make  it a caricature,  turning  into  a black and white story.   To  Hrishida’s   credit,   he   does  not  demonize  the  rich  nor  does  he  glorify  the poor,   unlike  his  other  movies   Anari  and Asli  Naqli.   Vicky’s  character  is  grey,   he is  hot  headed  and arrogant,  at  the  same  time,  he  is  prepared  to  take the rap  for his friend’s  murder.   Nor  is   Somu, totally  white,  for  quite  some  time he lives on  Vicky’s  benevolence,   and   he  enters  the  basti not so much  as to help the people,  but  exploit their  plight,  just  to  extract  revenge  for  his  friend’s   humiliation.    Again  contrary  to  what  some  critics  claim,  the  strike between the  mazdoor   and  the  management   was not  a socialist  wet dream,  it  was  a daily  part  of  life in  70’s  India,  where  trade unions  had a strong presence.  

Vicky  automatically  heading  the company  after  his  father,  was  quite a prevalent  feature  of  the  business environment of those eras.   Professionally  run  companies  started  to come  into  India,  only  during the 80’s  and 90’s,   but  till  then  most  of  the   Indian private companies,   were  family run affairs,  where  the top job  went to the next of kin.   And  Hrishida,  actually  shows,  how  dangerous that could be,  when  Vicky’s   boorish  attitude,  towards  the  union  leader,  causes a  strike.

However   Namak  Haraam,  for  all its  good points,  just  falls  short  of  being  a classic.     Its  not  in the league  of  an Anand  or Aashirwaad  or  Satyakam.   In  Anand,  we  had the cynical  brooding   Babu Moshai  vs  the  ever optimistic  Anand.   Now  the  contention was in their  opposing  view points,   Babu  Moshai,  is surprised  that  Anand,  is  taking things  easily,  while  Anand  feels  that life is short, so enjoy it to fullest  when  you are there.   The  strong  point here  is  that  the  difference in  the way  Anand  and  Babu Moshai think is clear cut, both  of  them  have their differences,  and  yet  are  strong  about  what they think.   For  me  the  weakness in  Namak  Haraam  was Somu’s  character,   for  some  time he is  a friend of   Vicky,  and   living  with the  basti people,  he begins to   share their sorrows.   But   fact  is even  after he  has  had  a change  of  heart,  he  seems  strangely  defensive  about  his feelings.   During  the  conflict  scenes  with  Vicky,  he does  not  seem to   project  his views as strongly.  

Also  where  Anand  stuck  to the core theme  of  friendship  between the two  protagonists  and  did  not deviate much,  Hrishida  piles on a lot of  cliches   in   Namak  Haraam.   The  romance  between   Somu  and Shyama,  is  very poorly  sketched,  and  just  proves  an  unnecessary  roadblock  in  the movie.   Also  the cliched  characters   of  Somu’s   mother and sister,  who  just  don’t  seem to  serve  any purpose  later in the story.    One  of  the strong  points  of   Anand,  was  that  every  character,  even  the minor ones  like  Johnny Walker’s,  fitted  perfectly  into the movie,  every  one  of  them had a  role in scheme of  things.  In  Namak Haraam  however  there are  quite  some characters,  who are there, because  they were there,  but  otherwise  just  do not fit  into  the overall  scheme.   I  think  Hrishida,  opted  for most  of  the compromises,   keeping  in view  the  star  image  of  both  Amitabh  Bachan  and Rajesh  Khanna. 

The  movie  has  two  great  performances  from  Amitabh Bachan  and Rajesh  Khanna.   Amitabh  gives one of  his  best performances, as an arrogant  hot  headed  Vicky.  He  is  just  brilliant  in the scene  when  he  walks  into  the basti,  and demands to  know who lynched his friend.  Rajesh  Khanna  is  more  subdued,  in a role  that  required a  lot of  underplaying and  restraint.   But  while  he is good in some scenes,  his  trademark  mannerisms  jar  in some of the other scenes.   Om  Shivpuri,  Simi Garewal  and A.K. Hangal  all offer good support. 

R.D.  Burman   in collaboration  with   Anand  Bakshi,   gives a  good  score,  as he always did for most of  Hrishida’s  movies.

 Main  Shaayar  Badnaam-  Great  song by  Kishore,  expressing  Somu’s  frustration  over  his inability  to save his friend.  Lyrics by Anand  Bakshi   wonderfully  sum up  the  hero’s   helplessness.

Rastaa  rok rahi hain,

Thodi  jaan  hai baaki

Jaane  Toote Dil Mein, Kya Armaan Hai Baaki

*  Diye  Jalte  Hain-  One  of  the  best  songs by  Kishore-RD  collaboration, and  picturized on  AB-Rajesh Khanna in their happier days.  This is  the  best  song  you could  dedicate to  your  friend.  Again  great lyrics  from Anand Bakshi

Daulat  aur Jawaani 

Ek Din Kho  Jaate Hai

Sach Kehte Hoon

Saari  Duniya, dushma Ho  Jaati Hai

Umar bar, dost lekin saat chalte hai

* Nadiya  se Dariya,  Dariya se Saagar- Again by Kishore,  pretty  masti kinda song. 

Though  not   a  great  classic,   still  worth a  watch,  to see some good  performances  from  Amitabh  Bachan,  Rajesh  Khanna,  and  some  great scenes.

Posted by Ratnakar Sadasyula in 70's Bollywood Tags: Amitabh Bachan, Gulzar, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Pancham, Rajesh Khanna, Rekha

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Dacait

 

The  camera  pans  over  the  desolate  landscape,  littered  with  ravines,  valleys,  criscrossing  streams.   Forbidding,  haunting,  the dreaded  Chambal  Valley,  India’s  own  Wild  West  frontier,  a name  that  spelt  terror  during the  70′s.   A  place  synonymous,  with  backwardness,  opression,  dacoits, poverty. Immortalized  in  movies  like  Mujhe  Jeene  Do,   Chambal  Ki  Kasam,  Ganga Ki  Saugand,  Mera  Gaon  Mera  Desh,  and  countless  other  daku  genre  movies  of  that  time.   As  Amitabh  Bachan’s   deep  baritone  voice,  narrates  the   Chambal  legend,  the  camera  takes a  trip  over  the  valley,  exploring  every  nook  and  corner  of it.   The  valleys ,  the  ravines,  seem  empty,  but   still a  sense  of   fear  lurks  around  the  corner.    Amitabh  narrates  about  how  dacoits   are  not  born,  but  created  by  the  circumstances  around  them,   and  just   as   he  ends  it  with “  aur  Jeevan  ki  Pahiya  chalti  rahegi”,   the  camera  cuts  to  the  wheel  of   a  bullock  cart, on  which  our  city  educated  hero   Arjun  Yadav( Sunny  Deol) is  returning  to  his  village.

That  in  effect  sets  up  the   mood   for   Dacait,  one  of  the  best  movies, made in  the  dacoit  genre,  and  clearly  one  of  the  more  superior  flicks,  that  dotted the   80′s.  The  story  deals  with the  city  educated  Arjun  Yadav,  returning  to  his  village,  his  family,  consisting  of   his   mother Devi  Chaudhrain  (  Rakhee),  his   farmer  brother  Amritlal  Yadav( Suresh  Oberoi),  his  teen  sister  Shanta( a certain  Ms. Matondkar),  and  Bhabi.   In  effect a  happy  family,  bonding  well,  sharing  affectionate  vibes.   However  the  local  Thakur  Bhanwar  Singh(  Raza  Murad) runs a  reign  of  terror,  grabbing  the  farmers  lands,   taking advantage  of  their  ignorance.  He  is aided  and  abetted   by  his  brother Badri( Dan  Dhanoa),   the  money  lender  Tola  Ram(  Harish  Patel) and  the  corrupt  thanedaar,  Bishnu  Pandey(  Paresh  Rawal).    Bishnu  in  particular  is  a  scumbag  of  the  worst  kind,  killing innocent  villagers  and  claiming  them  as  dacoits,  selling  arms  to  the  dacoits,  and  doing  the  Jee  Huzoori to  Thakur.

Devi,  and  her  son  Amrit,  are  a   thorn  in the  side  of   Thakur, for  their  refusal   to  accept  his  oppression,  and  standing  up  to  him  often.  Arjun, however  is  a  pacifist,  who  believes  in a  peaceful   resolution  of  issues,  and    tries  to  convince  Thakur.  During  one   such  ocassion,  when  the Thakur  is  confronted  by  Devi,  Amrit  and  Arjun  about  his  misdeeds,  he  promises  to  change,  and  return the  land  back  to  the  villagers.  However  its  only  a mere  ploy  to  lull  the  villagers  into  a  false  sense  of   security,   and  during  one  of  the  nights,  when  the  villagers  are  celebrating,  the  Thakur  and  his  men  attack.

In   what  must  be  one  of   the  most  hard  hitting and  terrifying  scene,  Arjun   and  Amrit,  are   tied  up,   his  Bhabi and  nephew  are  gunned  down.  But   the  real  horror  is  yet  to  come,  Thakur  and  his  men,  capture  Devi

Thakur:  Chaudhrain,  bees  saal  pehle  humne  tujhe  vidhwa  bana  diya,  aaj   hum  tujhe  vidhwa  ki  shakal  be  denge.

And  as  the  villagers,  Arjun,  and  his  brother  looks  on  horrified,  her  hair  is  cut  off  ,   and  she  is  further  humiliated  by  asking  to  dance  in front of  the  village.   The  protests  from  Arjun  and  Amrit  are  met  with  the  force of  the  lathi’s   hitting  them  harder.  After   the  humiliation  of  Devi,  Thakur  again  grabs   her  daughter  Shantha,  and  tells  to  one  of  his  henchmen

Bahut   tak  gaye ho tum,  chalo  is  ke  saath  aaram  karo

Shantha   breaks  free  of  their  clutches,  and  to  save  her  honor,  jumps  into  the  well  committing  suicide.   The  entire  chain  of  events   drives  Shanta   insane.  Dacait  surely  had  some   excellent  scenes,  but  for  me  this  would  be  one  of   the  best  in  the  movie.  It   was  the  turning  point  in  the  movie,  and  also  is  the  cataylst  for  transforming  the  hitherto  peaceful  Arjun into  a  violent  Dacait.

As  the  story  of   Dacait goes  its   more  or  less  predictable,  wronged  hero,  turns  into a  dacoit,  to  avenge  the  oppression,  takes  revenge,  and  either  meets  his  end,  or   goes  to  prison.  More  or  less,  like  any  other  dacoit  movie  made  during  that  time.   And  it  has  all  the  stock  characters one  has  in a  movie  of   this  genre,    the  greedy  moneylender, the  oppresive   Thakur,  the  child hood  sweetheart  Javli(  Meenakshi  Seshadri),  the  happy  family  torn  apart,  the  honest  cop  S.P.Srivastava(  Shafi  Inamdar) sent to  catch  the  hero,  the  village  elder  Bighu Chacha(  A.K.Hangal) ,  the  hero’s  good  friend Ahmed.  But  where   Dacait  scores  above  other  movies  in  this  genre,  is  it’s   treatment  and  realism.

Take  the  portrayal  of  the  dacoits  themselves.  The  standard  Tilak  sporting,  dhoti  wearing, turbaned  dacoit,   in a  den, with  the  Maa Durga idol   gives  way  to  a  more  realistic   depiction.  Dressed  in  army  fatigues, the cartridges  drapped  across  them,  stubbled,   young,  most of  the  dacoits  look   like  actual  dacoits,  the  ones  you had  read  about.   Even  their  hide out  is  not  some  kind  of  den,  with  torches,  but  an open  space, hidden  by  the  hills  around,  and  they  are  depicted  more  as nomads,  escaping  the  cops.   A  far  cry  from  the  caricatures  we  generally  see  on  the   screen.   Also  in  the  way  the  director,  Rahul  Rawail,  sets  up  the  boundary  between  the  villagers  and  the  dacoits,  for a  greater  amount of  time,  we  don’t   really  see  them,  but  its  something  we  can  feel.

On  one  side  of  the  river,  is  the  village,  filled  with  people,  mostly  farmers,  leading a  simple  life,  the  ravines  lying  on the  other  side,  a  place  where  none  really  ventures,  for  those  who  do rarely  come back.  There  are  however  villagers  like  Bhighu  Chacha,  who  know  those  hideouts,   and  who   can  contact  the  dacoits.  Most  of  them  ordinary  youth  from  the  villages  around,  driven  to  take  the  gun, due  to  the oppression  unleashed  by  the likes  of  Thakur.   As  we  see  it  in  the  first  time   Arjun  goes  into  the  dreaded  territory.   One  of  his  childhood  friends,   has  now  turned  into  a dacoit.  This  is  again  another   brilliant  scene.  When  the  two  friends  meet  after  a long  time,  there  is  no  running  into  each  other’s   arms,  bear  hugs,  flowery  dialogue,  Arjun  looks  at his  friend,  smiles,  casually  asks  “kaise ho”,  just  as  one would  on meeting  a friend  after  a long  time.  The dialog  that follows is  equally  effective,  as  Arjun  tells his friend  that  having   seen him with an  oar  in  his  hand( his friend being a boatman),  the  gun  does  not  look  as  good.  And  that’s  when  his  friend  reveals, how he  was  harassed by the Thakur,  and  his   stooges,  and  his  only  means  of  livelihood,  his  boat   snatched  away from  him, very  well shot.

Couple of  more  scenes  that  really  are  haunting.   Sunny  meeting  Rakhee,  at  the  funeral  pyre,  of  her  family, he taps  her  shoulder , calling  out “Maa”,  she  turns  back,  a look  of  terror  on  her  face,  and  then  goes  into  a  frenzy, shouting  “Naacho Re  naacho”,   haunting.   And  the  scene  where  Rakhee  again  regains  memory  is  equally well shot, she  is  sitting  lost,  holding  a doll,  a knife   sharpener  outside, begins to  sharpen  some  knives,  the  sounds of  the wheel,  the  sparks  from  the  knife,  everything  bringing back  her  memories  of   the  terrible night  she had  to endure.  This  surely  would  be  one  of   Rakhee’s   best  performances  ever.  Her  transition  from a  loving  mother to a woman  traumatized  by  the  events  and  has gone  insane is  brilliant.  Watch  it  in  the  scene,  when the  Thakur  asks  her  to tell  her  the  whereabouts  of  her  son, nothing  spoken  much, just  a mixture of  disgust,  rage,  fury  as  she spits  back.

Apart  from  the  dramatic  moments,  Dacait,  has   some  of  the  best  action sequences  ever  seen,  in Indian cinema.  Even  now  they  still  are  as  effective,  and  don’t  look  dated.  One  really  brilliant  scene, involves  Sunny  escaping from  the  cops,  through  a camel  herd.   The  set up  is  excellent  here,  Shafi  Inamdar,  frustrated  at  lack  of  progress in  nabbing  the  dacoits,   and  berates  his  men, asks for  water.  As  he  picks up the  bottle,  he  gets  an  idea, we really don’t  know  what  it  is.  Camera  just  pans  in  on him, and  cuts  to a  shot  of  the  blazing  sun, with  Sunny and his men shown  walking  in  the  harsh  terrain.  And  then  the  plan is  revealed,  at  all  the  numerous  lakes  and streams, from where  the  dacoits, generally  take  their  water,  cops  have been stationed.  Its a  lose  lose  situation,  without water  they  sure  are  going to die  of  thirst  in the  Chambal,  and   if  they go  for  water, they face  the  risk  of  facing  the police bullets.   That’s  when  Sunny,  spots  a camel  herd,  asking  his  men  to take  guard,  he  manages to  sneak  through  the  herd,  and  get  the  water, dodging  the  bullets.  Nerve  wracking,  tense,  edge  of  the  seat,  exactly  the kind  of  scene,  that  would  please  the  hearts  of  any  action  lover.

In  fact  most  of  the  action  scenes,  would  do  any  Hollywood  movie  proud.  Be  it  Sunny  rescuing  Meenakshi  ,  or   the  gun  battle between  the  cops  and  the  dacoits at  the  thana,   or  the  scenes  of  the  cops   combing  the  Chambal  for   the  dacoits,  all  of  them  are  brilliantly  picturized,  and  look  realistic.  Rajan Kothari’s  camera  work,  captures  the   harsh,  desolate  feel  of  the  Chambal  landscape  in  a  brilliant  manner, you  can actually  feel  the  atmosphere,  the  fear,  the  valleys  every  moment.  Unfortunately  can’t  really  say  the  same  about  R.D.Burman’s   score. While  the  BGM  is  good  in  places,  the   songs   are  mediocre,  none  of  them  really  stay  with you.   Most of  the  other  technical  values  are  good,  especially  the  way  a  typical  village  in  the  Chambal  area  is  recreated,  right  down to the  police  thana.

Sunny,  Rahul  Rawail  and  Javed  Akhtar had  earlier  come  together  for  Arjun, a  hard hitting  expose  of   political  corruption  and  the  relationship  between  political  leaders,  gangsters, criminals,  again one of  the  best movies  of  the  80′s.   The  grim,   serious  drama  was  in  sharp  contrast  to  Sunny’s  debut  movie  Betaab,  a standard  rich  girl,  poor  guy  love  story,  which  had  some  excellent  songs.  Javed  Akhtar  came up  with  some  really  hard hitting  dialogues  for  both  Arjun,  and  also  Dacait.  For  me  however  the  best  dialogue  comes  right  in  the  end,  when  Shafi  Inamdar  is  standing,  looking  at  Sunny  who  has  been shot,  A.K. Hangal  walks  up  to  him  and says

Badhai  ho,  Inspector  Saab,  ab  sarkaar  aap  ko  medal  dengi,  inaam  dengi,  taraki  hogi   ki  aap  ne  ek  khatarnak  dacait  ko  maar diya,  par  yaad  rakhna,  jab  tak  zulm  hai,  tab  tak  dacait  paida  hi  rahegi.

Just  makes  me  wonder  whatever  happened  to  the  art  of  dialogue writing.   Earlier  Hindi movies  were  not  masterpieces   but  they  had  some  fabulous  dialogue,  they  had  that  bite, that  zing,  you  loved them,  loved to quote them.  In  sharp  contrast, most  of  the dialogues  i  get to hear  today,  are  so  wannabe, so  banal,  that  makes me want to go and  bang  my head.

Dacait   also  has  some  fabulous  performances.  Raza  Murad, with  his  deep  baritone  voice, is  suitably menacing  as  the   Thakur.    Shafi  Inamdar, normally  seen  in  comic  roles,  does  well  in  the  role  of  the  honest  cop, sent to nab  Arjun.  Paresh  Rawal for  me  though  would  be  the  scene  stealer,  in one  of  his  earlier  roles,  playing  the  scumbag  cop, with elan,  effortlessly  slipping  into  the role,  making  you  detest  him,  so  much  that  you celebrate when  he  meets  his end.  Meenakshi  in  a role  sans glamour,  is  decent.   This is  one of  Sunny’s   best  performances,  should  be  ranked  right  up  there  with  Arjun,  Ghayal, Damini, Ghatak.  Combining  rugged  machismo, vulnerability  and  an emotional  core,  Sunny  effortlessly  switches  from a  peace loving  youth  to  a violent  revenge  seeking  killing  machine. This  is  in  fact a  very  different  Sunny  we  see here,  not much dialogue,  conveying more  through   his  expressions.  In  the  scene, where  he  shots  down,  Harish  Patel,  does  not  speak much,  just  catches him, drags  him  down, the  stairs,  ties  him  up , and shoots  him.  Not much dialog  here,  but  you  feel  the  anger  in him.   Even  in  the  climax  scene,  when  the  inspector  asks  him to surrender,  does  not  speak  much,  just  looks at  him,  and  then begins  to shoot  the  Thakur,  again  you  feel  all  the rage  from him being  released.  It’s  sad  that Sunny  post  Gadar  has  been trapped  in  an  image, where  he  has  to  scream  and  bellow  to  make  a point.  Movies like   Dacait,  Ghayal  show  the  actor,  who  conveys  a  lot  without  really  shouting  about  it.

It  just  beats  me  though  why  the  movie  flopped,  it  was  entertaining,  had  all  the  necessary  elements( drama,  romance,  songs,  emotion)  in the  right  doses,  some  excellent  performances,  and  was  much better than the average   Hindi  movie  that  time.   I  guess  maybe  the  tragic  ending  did  not go down too well  with  the   audiences.  Had  Dacait  been a  success,  i  am sure  it  would  have  made  at  least  some  of  the  movie  makers  to  come up with  better  quality  products.  Sadly  it’s  failure  gave  an excuse  for  movie  makers,  to  come  up  with even  more  shoddier  movies.   After  Dacait, Rahul  Rawail’s career  itself  went  down  hill,  Samundar  was  a  decent  watch, but  the  rest  of  the  movies,  were   rubbish.  Or  maybe  the  fact  that  Betaab,  Arjun  and  Dacait  were  scripted by Javed Akhtar  made  a difference,  after  all  there  is  only  so much  a  director  can do with  a  pathetic  script.

Posted by Ratnakar Sadasyula in 80's Bollywood Tags: Dacoit Movies, Meenakshi Seshadri, Pancham, Rahul Rawail, Rakhee, Sunny Deol

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Thalapathy

This post  already published  at  PassionForCinema.

The  Mahabharat  has  always  been  one  of my  favorite  books.  It  is  like an  ocean  for me,  the more  you  know of it ,  the  lesser  you  still  know  about  it.   And  one  of  the  most  fascinating  characters  in  the  Mahabharata  for me  has  been  Karna.   I guess maybe  due  to the  fact,  that  Karna  is  a  character  who  inhabits  the  grey  area  betweeen  good  and  evil.  He  is  brave,  generous  and  a person  who  would  give his life  for  his  friend.  Yet   he   collaborates  in the  Kaurava’s   unfair  strategy  to  kill  Abhimanyu  in  the  Chakravyuha.  But  the  story  of  Karna, is  that  of   a  man  who  was  let  down  by  destiny.  Abandoned  by  his  real  mother  Kunti,  as a child,  he  grew up  under the care of  a charioteer.  At   every  stage  he  was  let  down  by  destiny, including   his  final  moments,  when  he  was  killed  totally  defenceless.  He refused  to  part  company  with  Duryodhan  even  though  he  knew  he  was  not  on  the  right  side,  because  of  his  friendship  and  gratitude.

Maniratnam   adapted  this  legendary  tale  of  the  Karna-Duryodhan  friendship,  in  a more  modern  setting,  in  his  1991  movie  Thalapathy   starring  Rajnikanth  and  Mamooty.   Karna  here  is  Surya(Rajnikanth),  who  was abandoned  by  his  real mother, when he  was born  out  of  wedlock,  in  a remote  village.   He is  adopted  by  an  old  lady  living  in  a slum  in  Chennai,  and grows up there.   Surya  is  a  hot  tempered  youth who  once  beats  up a  local  goon  Ramana badly  for  molesting  a girl  there.   Ramana  later  dies  in hospital,  and   the  problem  is  that  he  happens  to be  the  right  hand  man for   Deva( Mamooty),  the  local  slum lord.  Deva  is  furious  and  when Surya   defies  him,  he  has  him  arrested.   However  later  Deva  discovers  Ramana’s   crime,  and  releasing  Surya  from prison  makes  him  his Thalapathi, or  the  chief. 

Surya   turns  out  to be  Deva’s   right  hand  man,  as  also  his  closest  friend.  In the  mean while,  Surya’s   real  mother  Kalyani( Sri Vidya)  is now  married  to  a Government officer,  and  her   son  Arjun(  Arvind  Swamy),   is  in  the  Civil  Services.  Kalyani  herself  is a doctor and  soon  Arjun  is  posted  to  Chennai  as  collector.   Deva  is  a kind  of  Robin Hood  figure,  whom  the  slum  dwellers  revere,  as  he  takes  care of  their  needs  in  a way  neither  the  elected  officials  nor  the  government  officers  do.  Surya  is in love with  a Brahmin girl,  Shubalakshmi( Shobana),   who also  loves  him  in return,  but  does  not  like  his  violent  ways.   She  would  prefer  that  Surya  give  it up,  but  he  says  that  this  is  the  only  life  he knows.   Her  father, an  orthodox  priest( Charu Hassan),  however  rejects  Deva’s   marriage  proposal,  saying he would  rather  see  his  daughter  unmarried,  than  being  married  to  a goon like  Surya.   Shubalaxmi  is  later married  off to  Arjun,   while  Surya  marries   Padma(  Bhanupriya),   Ramana’s  widow.  This  is  however  more  to protect  her  from others in the  slum, rather  than any feeling.  In  the  meantime,  a  gang  war breaks  out between   Deva  and  Kalivardhan( Amrish Puri),  another gangster,  and  Deva’s  sworn  rival.  The  attacks  come  to the notice  of  Arjun,  who  vows  to  take  action  against  Deva. 

The  first  time  i had  seen  Thalapathy,   i somehow  was not  impressed much  with  the  movie.  I guess  watching it in a  Telugu dubbing version,  with  the  dialogues  appearing  in  a clipped  format,  was  somewhat  disconcerting.  But   this  is  one  of   those  movies,  that  slowly  grew  on me,  over  repeated  viewings,  and   i   would  rate  this now  as one  of  Mani’s   great  movies.  The  strong  point  in Thalapathy  for me  was   the  relati0nship  between   Deva  and  Surya,  which  was  based on  the  Duryodhan-Karna  friendship.   The scenes  between  both of  them  are brilliantly  shot.

The  first  scene  where   Deva   and  Surya  confront  each  other  on  the  bridge,  in  a rainy  night,  is  brilliantly picturized.  Deva’s   imposing  presence,   Surya’s  haughty  could  not  care  less demeanour,  and  the  face  off  between  them,  is  worth  the  price.  Also the  BGM  of  IR,  just  enhances  the  effect,   as  well  as  Santosh Sivan’s  camera  work,  as  he  makes  the  rain swept  night  so  realistic,  you  can actually feel it. 

The  best  scene  for me  however  is  when Deva  points  to the wounds  he  received,  while  beaten up in  the  police  station,  and   asks  Surya  to take  revenge.   Surya  is  hesistant,  because  he  knows  that  Arjun  is  his  step brother  and  is  now  torn between  his  closest  friend  and  his  own brother.   And  when  he  finally  blurts  out  the  truth,  Deva  is  stunned to know.  He  immediately  decides  to surrender  and  in  fact  is much  more  proud  of   Surya  than  before.

For  me  this  particular  scene  depicted  the  culmination  of   the  friendship  between  Deva  and  Surya.   Having  grown up as an orphan,  Surya,   experiences  friendship  and  affection  from  Deva.   But  when  Deva  asks  him  to  kill  his  own brother,  he  is  torn  here,  between the promise   he  had  made  to  his  mother, Kalyani,  that  he would  not  harm  Arjun,  and  yet  he  had  already  pledged  his  loyalty to Deva,  eternally.  Its  only  when  Deva  questions  his  loyalty,  that  he  is forced  to  reveal  it.   Deva  in  fact  admires  him more  than ever,  for the simple   fact  that  he  choose  him,  rather  than  his  own  brother,  all  these days.  The  bit  where  Deva  holds  Surya,  and  tells every one around  “This  is  what  a real  friend  is”,  is  really  touching.

Another   great  scene   in  the  movie  is   when  Deva  and Surya,   are  summoned by  Arjun  and  asked to surrender.    Both  of  them  accuse  of  him   not  knowing  the  ground reality  and  blindly  following  the  law.   They tell  him  about  how  the  slum dwellers  are perpetually  exploited by   every  one,   the  cops,  the  authorities,  the  political  leaders   and   chide  Arjun  for  not  doing  this.  Mani  again  throwing up  the  question  of   the  system  failing  out  here.   Arjun  only  believes  that  the  law  has  to be  followed,  and  he  is  somewhat  unable  to accept  the  reality.   

The  opening  scene   shot in  Black &White,  where  Surya  is  abandoned  as  a child,  by  his  teen mother,  in  a railway  wagon,  is  again  wonderfully  picturized.  We  really  dont   get  to  see  much  of  the  girl’s   face,   just  her  anguished  voice,  and   tying the  scarf  around  the  infant.   The  train  moving along,  the  sounds  of   the  Bhogi  celebration  in  the  background  make  it  a really  haunting scene.

Also  maybe  due  to  the  character ’s  name  being  Surya   or  the  legend  of  Karna  being  the  Sun God’s   child,   Mani  uses  the motif  of  sunrise  and  sunset  throughout  the  movie  at  key  points.   The  scene  in  which  Shobana  is  introduced,  as  well  as  the  Yamuna Aatriyile  song.   Or  even  better  the  particular  scene  where   Surya  promises  to Kalyani’s  husband  that  he  would  not  tell  her  the truth,  we  see Mani  framing  it  against  the  sun,  and  both  Surya  and  Kalyani’s  husband  shown in a kind of  silhoutte.

The  way   Mani  interconnects  the  relationships  not  just  between  Surya  and   Deva,  but  with  other  characters  also  is   excellent.  Kalyani’s  husband   knowing  about  Surya’s  parentage,  when  the  latter  blurts  out  to  Arjun  that  he  was abandoned  as  a child.  Kalyani  discovering the truth  unknowingly  from  Surya’s   wife  Padma.  And  the  rivalry  between  Deva  and  Kalivardhan.  One of  Mani’s  strong  points  has been characterization,  and   the  way  he  relates  them,  and  that  is  shown in Thalapathy.

Like  in  Nayakan,  Mani   also  depicts  the  gritty,  claustrophobic  nature  of  the  slum  in   a realistic  manner.   For me one  thing  i  like about  Mani  is  the  way  he  actually  makes  you  feel  the  atmosphere.   Santosh  Sivan’s   cinematography  is  brilliant,  the  way  he  frames  the  characters  in  a silhoutte  manner  against  the sunlight,  or  in  the opening  scene  shot  in a  stark  B&W  setting,  or   the  scene  when Surya and Deva  face off  with Arjun,  as  he  keeps  moving  the  camera  around.    But  not  sure  where  the river front  scenes  were  shot,  that  was certainly  not  Chennai.

This  was  the  last  movie  in  which  Illayaraja  worked  with  Maniratnam,  and  the  soundtrack  is  as  usual  excellent.  Rakamma  Kaiyya Thattu,   is  a real  peppy  and bouncy  number,  and i believe  this  came  in a BBC Top 10 Music Poll,  and  of  course  was  lifted  lock, stock and barrel  by  Anand  Milind  for  Tu, Tu, Tu Tu Tara  in  Bol Radha Bol.   Sundari  Kannal  for  me  is  one  of  the  best  songs  in the album,   Mani  picturizing  this   in a  kind  of  Japanese samurai  setting.   Yamunai  Atrhiyile  is  more  of  a classic  number,  while  Kaatukuyilu   is   a  typical  Pongal  celebration  song. 

Casting  Rajnikant  in a  role,  which  does  not  contain  his  trademark  mannerisms,  or  super  human  feats,   and  that  too  at  the  height  of  his  superstardom,  is   not  a  mean  task.   And  Mani  pulls  it  off   brilliantly,  as  shorn  of  the  mannerisms,  we  see  one  of  Rajni’s  finest  performances.     What  we  see in  Thalapathy  is   not  Rajni  the  superstar,  but  Rajni  the  actor,  watch  his  expressions  in  that  particular  scene,   where   he  is   torn  between  his  friendship  for  Deva,  and   the  feeling  for  his  own brother,  brilliant.  To  people  who  are only  familiar  with  Rajni’s  antics  that  have been  parodied,   i   request  them  to  watch  Thalapathy,   to  see  the  other side  of  him.  And  complementing   Rajni   scene  for  scene   is  Mamooty  as  Deva,  the  slum  lord.   In   fact  its  the  performances  of   these  two  actors  that  actually  elevate  the  movie.   Watch  out  for  Mammooty’s   expression,  when  he  tells  Arjun to go and  do  what  he  wants,  a mixture  of  bemusement,  arrogance  and  sarcasm.   Making  his  debut  Aravind  Swamy   does  a  fairly  good  job  as  Arjun,  while  Sri  Vidya  is  excellent  as  usual.  Amrish  Puri  is  suitably  nasty  as   the  villian,  and  Bhanupriya, Shobana,   Geeta(  as  Deva’s  wife)  and  Nagesh(  as  Deva’s  faithful  employee)   offer  good  support.

Posted by Ratnakar Sadasyula in 90's Tamil Movies Tags: Ilayaraja, Mamooty, Maniratnam, Rajnikanth, Shobana

3 comments

Satyakam

This review  was published at  PassionForCinema.

When India gained independence in 1947, the generation of the 50’s were imbued with a spirit of optimism, hope inspired by Pandit Nehru’s call for a tryst with destiny. For the most part the 50’s was a decade of peace and optimism in India. We were not a rich nation, but the optimism was there in every Indian that we would soon take achieve our tryst. But the defeat in the 1962 War to China, shattered the Indian morale. There was a sense of disquiet whether the lofty ideals propounded by Nehru, would have any relevance in the modern world. Nehru’s death was followed by Lal Bahadur Shastri, who managed to rally the people with his clarion call of €œJai Jawan, Jai Kisan€. And victory in the 1965 war, with Pakistan, somewhat restored the national spirit. But it was clear, that the dream of modern India which our founding fathers had dreamt of, was not being realized. Inflation, corruption, tax evasion, black money, began to shatter the illusions of many Indians. And the 70’s was the death of idealism, in many ways, as people became more cynical and started to lose faith in idealism.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1969 movie Satyakam, pits the idealistic nature of the hero against a society and an establishment, that don’t share his ideals. Satyakam is the story of Satyapriya Acharya( Dharmendra), who grows up imbuing ideals from his grandfather Satyashran Acharya( Ashok Kumar). Graduating fresh from an engineering college in 1946, just a year before India’s independence, he is imbued with the dreams of lifting the vast masses of India from poverty, with his knowledge. Along with him is also his best friend Naren( Sanjeev Kumar), who however is more of a realist. Satyapriya however discovers that life is not what he imagined it to be. He meets Ranjana( Sharmila Tagore), who happens to be the illegitimate daughter of his manager Rustomji( David), and falls in love with her. Rustomji is a sycophant, always at the bidding of Kunwar Bikram Singh( Manmohan), a debauched prince, who also happens to own the company where Satya works.

He protects Ranjana from Kunwar Singh’s lustful eyes, however one day in a moment of weakness, he allows Ranjana to go along with Rustomji, and she ends up being raped by Kunwar. In order to assuage his guilt of not being able to protect Ranjana, he marries her earning the displeasure of his grand father. He also accepts Ranjana’s illegal child, Kabul, as his own. However in spite of this, he is still never able to accept Ranjana as his wife totally. Satya however is unable to make a decent living, due to his uncompromising and highly idealistic nature. He meets his friend Naren, who tells him, that in order to survive, one must compromise at times. Naren is more of a pragmatic person, who understands the world as is.
Satyakam deals with the age old clash of Idealism, represented by Satya and Pragmatism, represented by Naren. Satya is a Howard Roark like figure, who simply refuses to compromise on his ideals. His idealism is not liked by many who see it as too impractical. As people around him remark

Yeh aadmi bahut hi badmaash aur paaji hai. Rishvat vagerah nahin khaata

He refuses to compromise on his ideals even when wracked by poverty, or threat of losing his job. For him his idealism means everything. And yet Satya is not a perfect man, for all his idealism, he can never accept Ranjana totally. His idealism is taken from his growing up years in a Gurukul, totally cut off from the real world. Satya is unable to handle the transition to the real world, as he has never been exposed to it in the first place. He expresses his frustration saying

Mera dimaag kharaab ho gaya hai, ya main cynic ho gaya hoon, ya duniya badal gayee hain.

Or the fact that he believes he is destined for a superior purpose.

main insaan hoon. Bhagwan ka sabse bada pratinidhi.

Ranjana who initially does not accept her husband’s idealism, veers around to the same idealism, when she refuses to sign a contract by Mr. Ladia( Tarun Bose) for payment of money, that would secure her future after her husband’s demise.

Naren on the other hand is the Aam Aadmi. He is a person who has compromised with life, but not to the extent of weighing on his conscience. He feels it is ok, to compromise a bit, as long as it does not become a emotional burden to you. The scenes where Naren faces off with Satya’s over the latter’s refusal to pass a bill, is one of the best scenes in movie.

What really works in Satyakam is that Hrishida, does not adopt a in your face preachy approach. He does not diminish Naren, in order to glorify Satya. That’s the reason, when the two friends face a conflict, you find yourself empathizing with both. It is the way Hrishida balances the opposing views that really lend a solidity to this movie.

In real life however a Howard Roark or a Satyapriya, would have never survived. Even Michaelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, created a host of mediocre works, just to survive, before they achieved fame. The dilemma of whether to stick to one’s ideals or compromise, is something every one of us face at every stage in life. Satyakam is a movie, that does not answer any questions, but projects the reality and asks you to decide for yourself.

That’s why I guess the movie was not a commercial success. Audiences are uncomfortable with being asked to decide.  Also the movie never gets too melodramatic, and Hrishida  treats the subject  with the honesty and empathy it deserves.   Satyakam is  a very honest movie,  it sticks  to it’s basic  theme “Is there a place for an idealistic man in an imperfect world?” and  does not  stray  from the topic.

Satyakam is one of Dharam’s best performances. To those who deride him for his ‘Kutte Kaminee’ roles, watch movies like Satyakam, Anupama, Bandini, where he has given performances that are restraine and subtle. He brings a strong amount of believability to Satyapriya’s role, and you don’t get the feeling you are watching a caricature. Sanjeev Kumar is equally great as Naren, the realist, the every day person. The scenes involving Dharam and Sanjeev are a treat to watch. Sharmila, is fine as Ranjana, however I felt she was not that great in some scenes. Hrishida’s movies always had great music, but the music by Laxmikant Pyarelal, is totally forgettable.

Satyakam is Hrishida’s favorite movie. Satyapriya was what he wanted to be, but in the end became like Naren. The movies closest to heart like Musafir, Anuradha and Satyakam flopped, and he had to do a more commercial Anari or Asli Naqli, in order to survive. I think Hrishida here was expressing his feelings through the character of Satyapriya.

Posted by Ratnakar Sadasyula in 70's Bollywood Tags: Dharmendra, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Sanjeev Kumar, Sharmila Tagore

Hemant Kumar- A league of his own

This post already published by me at  PFC:Hemant Kumar

Apart from books and movies, Music has been one of my other passions. And i just have a big time passion for old Hindi movie songs, especially the Golden era of 50′s and 60′s. Madan Mohan, S.D.Burman, Shankar Jaikishan, O.P.Nayyar each one of them distinct from each other, each having their own styles.

With his distinctive voice, excellent compositions and melodious tunes, Hemanta Kumar Mukherjee or Hemant Kumar was in a league of his own. Hemant Kumar was not just a singer, he was also a music composer and a movie producer. A truly multifaceted personality, who was a genius, like my other favorite Salil Choudhury. Hemant Da was born in Varanasi, and grew up in Kolkata. He quit his engineering studies at Jadavpur to pursue music as a career. Most of his early songs were Bengali non filmi songs, and his first movie as a singer was a Bong movie, Nimai Sanyas. He was also a foremost exponent of Rabindrasangeet. 

Along with Salil Chodhury, he was one of the members of the IPTA( Indian People’s Theater Association), and in 1951 he score the music for Anandamath, based on Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s famous novel. The movie became famous for the Vande Mataram song, sung by Lata, which had a marital tone to it. He however became a name to reckon with, following the success of Nagin in 1954, for which he also won the Filmfare Best Music Director award. This post is one some of my favorite Hemant Kumar numbers in Hindi. I have not heard much of his Bengali songs or even the Rabindrasangeet numbers he had composed and sang. But i did hear some of my friends say that his Bengali songs are some of the best ever, maybe some of my Bong friends out here could throw more light on them.

Beqaraar Karke Hume( Bees Saal Baad, Hemant, Hemant)- Pretty zany, pretty melodious, easy on the ears. One of my all time favorites by Hemant Da. Bees Saal Baad in fact remains one of the better horror flicks made in India.

dekhiye vo kaalii kaalii badaliyaa.N
zulf kii ghaTaa churaa na le kahii.n
chorii chorii aake shokh bijaliyaa.N
aapakii adaa churaa na le kahii.n
yuu.N qadam akele na aage ba.Dhaaiye
aapako hamaarii

In fact Bees Saal Baad, for which Hemant Da composed music, had that other unforgettable number from Lata, Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil. Very haunting, very poignant.

Dheere, Dheere Machal( Anupama, Lata, Hemant)- As a movie Anupama had some wonderful songs, but this Lata solo is one of my favorites. If you take the beginning of the song, you can see the way Hemant Da, intersperse Lata’s voice with the piano tunes. So you have like this
“Dheere Dheere Machal”, followed by piano tune, “Ae Dil E Bekaraar”, again followed by the tune, to give an effect of the character, actually trying to get the tune right, and then she sings the full stanza

“Dheere Dheere Machal,
Ae Dil E Bekaraar
Koi Aaata Hai”.

Just observe the way Hemant Da, keeps the piano tune, going on throughout the song. And the lyrics by Kaifi Azmi.

mujhako chhune lagi.n usakii parchhaaiyaa.N
dilake nazdiik bajatii hai.n shahanaaiyaa.N
mere sapano.n ke aa.Ngan me.n gaataa hai pyaar
koii aataa hai

I would rate this as one of Lata’s best solos ever.

Ya Dil Ki Suno(Anupama, Hemant, Hemant)- When it came to slow, soul stirring poignant numbers, Hemant Da was one of the best. He seemed to revel in that slow melancholic nature. This was one such number. One feature if you see for most of Hemant Da songs, is the way he consistently maintains the tone of the song. At no stage does he deviate it from it at all. Here also he uses the piano tune, but unlike Dheere Dheere Machal, where the tune is more frenetic, here he sets it to a more slower level.

Ek Khwaab Khushi Ka Dekha Nahin
Ek Khwaab Khushi Ka Dekha Nahin, Dekha Jo Kabhi To Bhool Gaye
Maana Hua Tum Kuch De Na Sake, Jo Tumne Diya Woh Sehne Do
Ya Dil Ki Suno Duniyawalon

Jaane Woh Kaise Log The( Pyaasa, Hemant, S.D.Burman)- This is the kind of song, which i would say “Dil ko choo lena wali”. Dada gave one of his best scores for Pyaasa, with every song being a gem in it, and this one sung by Hemant Da, beautifully conveys the frustration and pain. Great lyrics by Sahir.

khushiyo.n kii ma.nzil Dhuu.NDhii to
Gam kii gard milii
chaahat ke naGame chaahe to
aa.Nhe.n sard milii
dil ke bojh ko dhu.Ndhalaa kar gayaa jo Gamakhaar milaa

Na Tum Hamein Jaano(Baat Ek Raat Ki, Hemant, S.D.Burman)- This song has two versions one by Hemant Da and another by Sumant Kalyanpur. Pretty melodious, romantic number.

Hai Apna Dil to Awara(Solva Saal, Hemant, S.D.Burman)- Totally peppy, masti bhare gaana, which really perks your mood. In fact the movie was interesting too, about Waheeda Rehman, who runs away from home to meet her boyfriend, and she runs into Dev Anand. This song was picturized on Dev in the train. In fact, after Kishore and Rafi, i think Hemant sang a good number of songs for Dev Anand. Here Dada makes good use of the mouth organ, throughout the song, as it goes in perfect synch, with Hemant Da’s voice. Incidentally the mouth organ in this song was played by one R.D.Burman.

Yaad Kiya Dil Ne(Patita, Hemant-Lata,Shankar Jaikishan)- Totally melodious duet from this Dev Anand flick. Very romantic number.

o, kho gaye ho aaj kis khayaal me.n
o, dil fa.nsaa hai bebasii ke jaal me.n
matalabii jahaa.N meharabaa.n ho tum
yaad kiyaa dil ne kahaa.N ho tum
pyaar se pukaar lo jahaa.N ho tum

Nagin is a Hemant Da album, for which i guess a separate post would be necessary. Hemant Da, makes wonderful use of the Indian folk tradition, and ethos to create a masterpiece of an album. Observe the way he makes extensive use of the been sound, to create the mood of the movie. Especially in Lata’s Man dole, mera Tan Dole, where throughout the song, you hear the been sound. In fact Lata seems to have given her all for the movie, be it Jaadugar Saiyyan, or the more soulful Mere Dil yeh Pukare Aaja or Oonchi Oonchi Duniya ke Deewaron.

One more standout song in the movie is Hemant’s Tere Dwar Khada Ek jogi. The song in fact is more of a religious kind of one, and the music in fact is similar to what you hear in the Eastern UP region.

karake jatan aayaa, man me.n agan laayaa
akhiyo.n me.n darshan-pyaas)
priit kii bhiikshaa, prem kii diikshaa
maa.Ng rahaa yah daas
na maa.Nge yah sonaa chaa.Ndii maa.Nge darshan devii
tere dvaar …

Zindagi pyaar ki do chaar ghadi(Anarkali, Hemant, C.Ramachandra)- The earlier reworking of the Salim-Anarkali love story, before Mughal E Azam, this had Pradeep Kumar and Bina Rai as the ill fated lovers. Heard this song many times as a kid, but could not find it later. Thanks to the net, could again rediscover this.

taaj yaa takht yaa daulat ho zamaane bhar kii
kaun sii chiiz muhabbat se ba.Dii hotii hai
zi.ndagii …

Like Naagin, another memorable album from Hemant Da was Khamoshi, a pretty underrated movie starring Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra and Waheeda Rehman.

Tum Pukar Lo(Hemant)- One of the best songs ever. Just gives me goosebumps every time i listen to it. Hemant Da’s score is brilliant, as he captures the pensive nature of the song. And his singing beautifully brings out the feelings. In fact if you take the starting of the song, he actually drags the Tum syllable, so it comes off like Tummm, mmm,, Pukar Lo and then he pitches it up Tumharaaa Intezaar Hai. And Gulzar’s lyrics give that perfect touch.

Honth Pe Liye Huey, Dil Ki Baat Hum
Jaagte Rahenge Aur, Kitni Raat Hum
Honth Pe Liye Huey, Dil Ki Baat Hum
Jaagte Rahenge Aur, Kitni Raat Hum
Mukhtasar Si Baat Hai, Tumse Pyar Hai
Tumhara, Intezaar Hai

The other 2 equally great songs from this movie are Kishore’s Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb Thi, and Lata’s Hum Ne Dekhi Hai.

In fact if you listen to Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb, it has a distinct Hemant Da touch there. Kishore starts off like Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb Thi, its like Woh Shaam come high, and then he brings it down. But somehow, brilliant as this song, i found that the background score tends to dominate at many points in the song. In fact a feature of many Hemant Da composed songs was that, he would keep the music in the background and not allow it to intrude into the song.

Yeh Raat, yeh Chandni Phir Kahaan( Jaal, Hemant, Lata, S.D.Burman)- What a song is this, so romantic and so sensous. So beautifully does it capture the restless spirts of the lovers.

aatii hai sadaa terii TuuTe hue taaro.n se
aahaT terii sunatii huu.n khaamosh nazaaro.n se
bhiigii havaa, uma.Dii ghaTaa kahatii hai terii kahaanii
tere liye bechain hai sholo.n me lipaTii javaanii
siine me bal khaa rahaa hai dhuaa.n, sun jaa dil kii daastaa.n
ye raat ye chaa.Ndanii phir kahaa.n, sun jaa dil kii daastaa.n

Hemant Da may have passed away into another world, but his songs and music, would forever remain with music lovers. I would love to hear your favorite Hemant da songs.

Posted by Ratnakar Sadasyula in India Music, Music, Music Composers Tags: Hemant Kumar

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