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Jaal (1952) – Nostalgiaah

by Deepa Gahlot
written by Deepa Gahlot

Goan Interlude:

As a tribute to Guru Dutt on his 100th birth anniversary, a flashback to his film Jaal.

After making a hit debut as director with Navketan Films’ Baazi (1951), Guru Dutt starred in and directed Jaal (1952), inspired by the 1949 Italian film Riso Amaro, and managed to get his friend Dev Anand to not just play the only negative role of his career, but also take his shirt off in a bathing scene. In those days, heroes in general and Dev Anand in particular used to be modestly dressed.

The opening credits state the underlying theme of the film:

Don’t listen to anything bad

Don’t talk about the one who does evil

Guide anyone who goes on the wrong path

Forgive anyone who errs.

The story is about the redeeming power of love.

According to a post-credits card, the film was set in one of the small regions of the country, which were still under foreign rule, but it was set in Goa (then under the Portuguese), in a Christian fishing community.  The film opens with the suave and glib Tony (Dev Anand) persuading a frightened Lisa (Purnima) to board a ship to Bombay (now Mumbai) with smuggled gold. Before she can get in, the cops arrive, and a panicky Lisa jumps into the sea, when she sees no help coming her way from Tony.

Tony moves on rather quickly to a flirtation with fisherwoman Maria (Geeta Bali), much to the annoyance of her silent admirer Simon (Ram Singh). Lisa washes up ashore and is rescued by Maria and Simon, after a beautifully shot song, Pighla ha sona.  Maria lives with her blind brother Carlo (K.N. Singh, in a positive role), and shelters Lisa in her own home. The clownish local cop Gomez (Rashid Khan) hovers around Maria, obviously smitten by her beauty and her cooking. He does not connect Lisa with the fugitive woman they are hunting for and is satisfied by the explanation that Lisa is a guest.  Maria is not so naïve as to be unable to perceive that Lisa has something to hide. She even tells her, “Don’t try to take advantage of our simplicity. We are poor but we are honest.” Maria sees Lisa burying the smuggled gold in the garden, takes it away and hides it.

Tony meets Maria outside church and notices that she is wearing Lisa’s necklace.  He refuses to go inside the church saying that only weak people go in there, to which Maria says, “The one who is afraid to go in is the weak one.” Lisa is deeply impressed by the sermon in which the pastor preaches that only God has the right to punish a sinner.

In spite of Tony’s treachery Lisa is pleased to see him, hoping he has come to see her, but he just wants his gold back. And he knows it’s Maria he has to get past, so spreads his net of faked love. There is a vibrant song, Chori chori meri gali aana hai bura, in which he dances with her. Lisa comes back distressed, since the gold is missing. Carlos finds it and understands what is going on. He wants to hand over Lisa to the cops, but she reveals how she, a simple girl, was trapped by the charms of a man and forced into crime. After her abject confession Carlos is unable to get her arrested; he has also become used to her gentle presence.

Tony pursues Maria will all the tricks at his disposal telling her that if a woman says no she means yes, and if she says yes, she is not a woman—this after putting a lasso around her and pulling her up a tree, while poor Simon waits for her with lunch.  By the time Tony croons, De bhi chuke hum dil nazrana, he has persuaded Maria to recommend him for a job with Simon.

Tony’s Arab cohorts want their money back—his interpreter sidekick being Johnny Walker, in his second film. Simon is not too happy about Tony’s presence, but the yield turns out so bountiful that he is silenced. In the fishing song, Haiya hai, Guru Dutt makes an appearance as a bare-chested fisherman, looking very handsome. (In his next film Baaz, he would also play the romantic lead, opposite Geeta Bali, he as prince, she as a pirate.)

In a beautifully shot scene on a ferris wheel, Lisa tries to warn Maria about the kind of crook Tony is; as the wheel goes faster and faster, Maria looks shattered. She tries her hardest to resist Tony and his glib talk, but his seductive crooning (in Hemant Kumar’s voice) Yeh raat, yeh chandni, pulls her to him; in a symbolic moment, she is seen trapped in a gigantic fishing net—the jaal of the title. Without unduly underlining anything, Guru Dutt conveys that she has succumbed to his charm.

He only wants her to be a cover for his escape from the cops and the pesky Arabs; after promising her eternal love in a church, he abandons her mid ocean. The cops close in and there is a shoot out. Even after he has so cruelly betrayed her trust, Maria wants Tony to surrender and promises to wait for him. As he is led away in a long shot, with a cross in the foreground, the lines about forgiveness that appear in the beginning are repeated—the end being a mix of hope and despair for Maria.

Perhaps the amoral anti-heroes that Emran Hashmi plays in Bhatt productions today, owe something to the magnetic Tony of Jaal.

The Catholic characters speaking chaste Urdu is a bit odd, but the simplicity of the characters and their small dreams draws the audience in. S.D. Burman’s music was as fine as V.K Murthy’s stunning black and white cinematography. He collaborated with Guru Dutt on many of his subsequent films.

In the list of assistants are two names that catch attention—one is Atmaram, who was Guru Dutt’s brother and produced some films later. The other was Raj Khosla, who made some great films CID, Solva Saal, Bambai Ka Baabu, Kaala Pani, Do Raaste to Mera Gaon Mera Desh, and is one of the underrated directors of Hindi cinema, maybe because the other supertalented Navketan director, Vijay ‘Goldie’ Anand’s dazzling aura dulled his shine.

(This is an edited version of the piece that appeared in Take 2: 50 Films That Deserve A New Audience, published by Hay House in 2015)

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Nostalgiaah

Upkar (1967) – Nostalgiaah

by Deepa Gahlot
written by Deepa Gahlot

The Original Mr Bharat:

A look at Upkar, Manoj Kumar’s first film as director– a tribute to the star-filmmaker who passed away on April 4.

At the peak of his stardom, Manoj Kumar made his debut as director, reportedly after then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri asked him to make a film around his slogan, Jai Jawan Jai Kisan. It was soon after the Indo-China (1962) and Indo-Pak (1965) wars and a dose of healthy patriotism was in order. (The film was dedicated to Shastri.)

He played a farmer called Bharat, who loves his land and his country. His brother Puran (Prem Chopra), however, does not share his sentiments. He goes to the city to study and is corrupted by the drinking-partying ways of the other students. He is attracted to a doctor Kavita (Asha Parekh), but she goes to the village to work with the poor, and falls in love with the idealistic Bharat. She comes from a rich family, but her mission is to help the needy. Puran is the opposite, and wants to break away from his family to run after money made by any means. Much to the grief of his mother Radha (Kamini Kaushal), Puran goaded to turn against his brother by the smuggling and black-marketing villains Dhaniram and Charandas (Kanhaiyalal and Madan Puri). He demands his share of the family land from Bharat, who gives it all, with the request that he cultivates it and does not not sell it.

Later, when the war with Pakistan breaks out, Bharat joins the army to protect the country—playing both jawan and kisan in the film. He is taken prisoner or war, and when he escapes it is to devastation of the villages by the border. He is found in badly-wounded condition by the one-legged Malang Chacha (Pran), who has been a friend of the family since Bharat was a child. (In a moving and dramatic scene, Malang draws water from a well to quench Bharat’s thirst, but the bucket comes up full of blood.) Malang dies trying to protect Bharat from the murderous Charandas, who has been stealing from the dead.  (Pran, who used to play villain till then white-washed his image with this film, and went on to become a popular character actor, playing noble roles.)

Bharat’s life is saved, but he loses his hands. By this time, Puran realizes that he had been misled, and regrets the way he mistreated his family. When Bharat recovers, the first thing he sees is Puran ploughing the field. The prodigal has returned.

The melodrama may seen overdone by today’s standards, but Manoj Kumar caught the mood of the country then, and wrote the kind of bombastic script and dialogue that appealed to the audience and turned Upkar into the biggest of the year.  The film was shot on outdoor locations, and the production design was heavy with symbolism. It may seem over the top now, but the imagery was effective.

Manoj Kumar also filled the film with many social issues that were important then and remain so—family planning, medical aid for the poor, equitable distribution of food, respect for the farmer and the land, and a strong anti-war message.

The film had a terrific music score by Kalyanji-Anandji; apart from Mere desh ki dharti (written with feeling by Gulshan Bawra), there was the melancholic Kasme vaade pyar wafa sab, picturised on Pran; Deewano se yeh mat poochho, Aayi jhoom ke basant,  Gulabi raat gulabi.

After this film, Manoj Kumar made patriotism his calling card and came to be called Mr Bharat. He directed other films like Purab Paschim, Shor, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Kranti, but none matched the raw emotional sincerity of Upkar. It won multiple awards that year—National and Filmfare.

 

 

 

 

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Nostalgiaah

Welcome To Sajjanpur: (2008) – Nostalgiaah

by Deepa Gahlot
written by Deepa Gahlot

Postcards from India

As a tribute to Shyam Benegal who passed away on December 23, 2024, a flashback to one of his rare comedies 

Charming, earthy and witty, Shyam Benegal’s Welcome To Sajjanpur is one of the few comedies in the eminent directors vast and varied repertoire. And it boasts of the best dialogue in recent Mumbai cinema—by Ashok Mishra.

Set in the fictional, idyllic village of Sajjanpur, the sweet and sour happenings are seen through the eyes of letter-writer Mahadev (Shreyas Talpade), who uses his thwarted literary ambitions to write colourful letters for the illiterate folks of the village.

From urban India, it is tough to envisage a part of India that has “23 hour power cuts,” so many illiterates, and very little contact with the modern world. Hilariously, a hick with a mobile phone, needs Mahadev to send and read smses for him.

Mahadev’s love for a simple potter Kamla (Amrita Rao) leads him to try to fudge her letters and wreck her marriage with her husband  (a star making a surprise appearance) in Mumbai, but his repentance and reparation is touching too.

Around his mostly uneventful life, is the romance with the compounder (Ravi Kishen) with a widow (Rajeshwari Sachdev), a mother’s (Ila Arun) worry about her manglik daughter (Divya Dutta) and the local eunuch (Ravi Jhankal) taking on the ‘sarpanch’ (Yashpal Sharma) in the elections.

The recreation of the village milieu is authentic—the houses as well as the costumes—and shot lovingly by Rajan Kothari. The problem with the film is that the central track is too slight, and the subsidiary characters not suitably fleshed out.  Caste, class and community that are so strong in rural India, barely raise a head, even during the election episode. The tragedy of the widow and her suitor is too briefly dismissed. And the songs just hold up the narrative without adding anything to the film.

Benegal has always got very good performances from his repertory of favorites (like Rajeshwari Sachdev and Ila Arun), but he manages to make Amrita Rao to get out of her simpering act and deliver a lovely performance as the shy and lonely abandoned bride. Ravi Jhankal is impressive as the eunuch, but it is Shreyas Talpade, eyes brimming with mischief and unruffled body language, who holds the film together. 

With its minor flaws, Welcome to Sajjanpur is enjoyable in a very gentle, offbeat way—just don’t expect Priyadarshan style comedy here.

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Nostalgiaah

Solva Saal (1958) – Nostalgiaah

by Deepa Gahlot
written by Deepa Gahlot

Runaway Bride:

As a tribute to Waheeda Rehman for winning this year’s Dadasaheb Phalke Award, a flashback to one of her early films:

 Dev Anand was already a top star in 1958, but Solva Saal was Waheeda Rehman’s first major lead role and she was not just dazzlingly beautiful but also a superb actress.

Directed by Raj Khosla, Solva Saal  was loosely inspired by Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night, and takes place in the span of a few hours. Laj (Waheeda Rehman) is in love with Shyam (Jagdev), who is only interested in her money. He sulks, she sings Yeh bhi koi rooth ne ka mausam hai to pacify him and then agrees to elope with him that night.

Her father (Bipin Gupta) has decided to arrange a match for her, and is planning to leave for Bangalore the next morning to meet the man’s mother. He asks Laj to wake him up at five for him to catch his flight and meet the groom to be at the airport.

Laj has already decides to run away. She takes a necklace of precious pearls that once belonged to her mother and meets Shyam at the station. In the train, a passenger dozing on the next berth, overhears their conversation and his ears perk up. He is a journalist, Pran Kashyap (Dev Anand) and is travelling with his photographer friend Gogi (Sunder). Once Pran prevents Shyam from slipping away with the necklace, by pulling the chain. He also sings the playful Hai apna dil to awaara just to annoy the two. As soon as he gets a chance Shyam decamps with the necklace..

Laj gets off the train to follow him and Pran follows her. He saves her from being hit by a train, but an annoyed and frightened Laj does not want his help– he offers it anyway.  He takes her to a taxi stand to trace the driver who took Shyam as a passenger. (Another great S. D. Burman number, Yahi to hai woh.)

The cab had dropped Shyam at a film studio, so Laj and Pran make their way there. At the studio, Shyam is flirting with an actress, Neena (Kammo) and showing off the necklace. She tells him to sell it to a jeweller and get married with the money.  Pran tells Gogi who is also at the studio to keep a look out for Shyam, while he takes Laj to the police station. To his surprise, Laj refuses to make a complaint and leaves, with Pran following close behind. Sorry for the distress she will cause her family, Laj jumps into the river to commit suicide.

Pran rescues her and coaxes the story out of her. They go to a washerman’s hut to dry their clothes  and  are given spare clothes by the dhobi and sent to a room to change, in the belief that they are husband wife. Drawing the curtains to change shyly, this is the moment when love strikes. Outside the washerwoman (Sheila Vaz) sings Mohe laaga solva saal.

Pran promises Laj that he will help her retrieve the necklace and take her back home before her father wakes up.  At the studio, Neena conspires with the jeweller to tell Shyam that the necklace is fake. But she wears it anyway, and on the way to give her shot, gets rid of the jeweller too, planning to keep the booty for herself.

Pran and Laj are recruited as extras for a dance number and Gogi spots Shyam in Neena’s room. The plan to retrieve the necklace is afoot on the studio floor, where Raj Khosla plays the director of the film being shot. Tun Tun makes an appearance as a South Indian actress saving Laj from a lecher. She also sings a bhajan so well that an assistant director tells her to go in for playback singing. In real life, Tun Tun had been a singer called Uma Devi before she became typecast as the fat comedienne.

There is a really thrilling chase over the studio catwalks and it is not a spoiler to reveal that Laj does get back home with the necklace before her father wakes up. It is not a surprise either to see Laj’s intended at the airport, who sees her and exults, Yehi to hai woh.

The film was entertaining and dripped with charm; the chemistry between the lead pair was sparkling.  There was a kind of innocence to the film—the audience could be sure nothing bad would happen to Laj with Pran watching over her, and that she will get the happiness she deserves.

(This is an edited version of  chapter in my book, Take 2: 50 Films That Deserve A New Audience, published by Hay House in 2015)

 

 

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Nostalgiaah

Hunter (1984-91) – Nostalgiaah

by Deepa Gahlot
written by Deepa Gahlot

Super Cops:

Sometimes, channel surfing throws up pleasant surprises and this old crime series, Hunter (on Amazon Prime) that ran for seven seasons from 1984-1991 is pure nostalgia.

It is an efficiently-made, fast-paced police procedural  (created by Frank Lupo) that relies on good old-fashioned legwork, unlike crime series today, where half the work is done on cell phones and computers. Because the cops have to actually go to apprehend suspects or meet witnesses, there is a parade of vintage cars on display—those huge, sleek gas-guzzlers, not today’s bulky SUVs. A lot of these turn turtle, roll down cliffs or explode—which would give Rohit Shetty of car-wrecking fame a complex.

The titular Hunter is Rick (Fred Dryer), who belongs to a clan of gangsters, but went straight and joined the Los Angeles police department. He is given a lot of grief by some of his superiors, and deliberately allotted decrepit cars to slow him down. That he is in the habit of demolishing the vehicles he drives in the line of work could be another reason for his carpool discrimination.

The very tall and very slim Hunter is paired with the petite and pretty Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer), who, with her garish make-up, bright clothes and big, curly hair looks like a young Madhuri Dixit did in some of her old movies, where her styling was ghastly by today’s standards.

Hunter and McCall get along very well, and there is a lot of good-natured ribbing, but no romance.The two of them date other people, then feel that tinge of jealousy too when the other gets involved. Their love lives are not too happening since their work keeps them busy.

Over the next few seasons,  Hunter and McCall solve a wide variety of crimes (though Kramer quit in Season 6 and Hunter got new partners), with a line-up of guest stars like George Clooney, Brian Dennehy, Eric Estrada, Sammy Davis Jr., Chaka Khan and many others.

The series may be named after the lead actor, but McCall does a lot of the hard work, including donning a spate of disguises—from street walker, to homeless lady to pop singer. Though it is a crime show, and there is a great deal of violence, it is also lighthearted. Amidst the funny lines and witty back-and-forth between characters, there is a grim episode in which McCall is raped and left for dead, and Hunter goes after the man who hurt his partner.

There was no such thing as political correctness then, so McCall is nicknamed “Brass Cupcake” by her colleagues, but she is tough, fearless and relentless in the pursuit of criminals.

A comic character who appears in several episodes is the chatty, streetsmart informant, Sporty James (Garrett Morris). And after a few changes of Captain, Charles Hallahan settled in the role and did a fine job.

It is fun to watch the series (152 episodes, three Emmy nominations, peppy soundtrack), not just because it has exciting situations—some based on real incidents, but also to be reminded of the fashions, hair and make-up trends of the Eighties. At least some viewers will giggle or cringe at the memory of what they wore and how they looked, back in the day. And yes, also be reminded of how the world survived without mobile phones!

(This piece first appeared in seniorstoday.in)

 

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Nostalgiaah

Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein (1964) -Nostalgiaah

by Deepa Gahlot
written by Deepa Gahlot

He Directs!:

 

On Kishore Kumar’s birth anniversary, August 4, looking back at the first film he directed:

Kishore Kumar is fondly remembered as a singer, a comic actor and a famed Bollywood eccentric. Who would have thought that the first film he chose to direct, would be a serious one called Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein (1964).

Set in a picturesque rural area, the film’s inspiration, Satyajit Ray’s immortal Pather Panchali seems obvious. It is now a well-known fact that Kishore Kumar had helped finance that iconic Bengali film. He also happened to be related to Ray by marriage; his first wife Ruma Guha Thakurta was Ray’s niece. The plot of the film was, however, copied from Michael Curtiz’s The Proud Rebel (1958).

After doing a row of hit comedies, for Kishore Kumar it was a challenge to write and direct a gentle take on the relationship between a father and a son, in which he cast his son Amit Kumar (credited as Amit Ganguly). The film opens with humble thanks to “All workers big or small whose efforts made the creation of this motion picture possible,” which was a nice gesture on the part of Kishore Kumar. The credits roll over painted backdrops depicting scenes from the film and Hemant Kumar’s mellifluous voice singing the title track.

In a picturesque village, a little boy called Ramu, clad in a rural costume of dhoti-bandi and accompanied by a white dog, is walking past a group of boys playing kabaddi.  “Will you play with us?” one of the kids asks. Ramu eagerly nods his head. “How can you play, you are mute,” is the cruel riposte.

Ramu looks out at the river sadly, waiting for his father to return. He writes a letter on his slate to his absent father, pleading for him to come back quickly. One day, the boat deposits his father Shankar (Kishore Kumar) on the shore, dressed in a soldier’s uniform, walking impatiently towards his home, hoping to surprise his family by his sudden appearance. He is told by his kindly uncle, who has been looking after Ramu, that his house had burnt down killing his father and wife; the shock of the incident has left Ramu unable to speak. Father and son have a joyous reunion, tinged by grief at the tragedy that befell the family.  Shankar sees the burnt shell of his home, with the heartbreaking Koi lauta de mere beete hue din playing on the soundtrack in Kishore’s voice. He also composed the superb music for the film, set to Shailendra’s evocative lyrics.

Shankar tries to exhort Ramu to speak, to call him “Bapu” like he used to; the boy shakes his head vehemently and collapses in his father’s arms. The next day, Shankar sets out towards the city, with Ramu and his inseparable dog Shera, determined to get his son treated.

On the way, he gets into a scrap with a Thakur (Raj Mehra) and his two nasty sons (Iftekhar and Sajjan). He is wounded and left bleeding on the road. Meena (one of the few Hindi films done by Supriya Chowdhury of Meghe Dhaka Tara fame), passing by in her cart, picks him up and takes him home. She is the other big landowner in the village, and the Thakur has his eye on her property. He wants his older son to marry her, so that he can usurp her lands, but she has been resisting his advances and threats.

She lives by herself, with her caring staff and is loved by everyone around for her generosity. She shelters Ramu and Shankar till he recovers and is able to move. Ramu gets attached to her, and Shankar is attracted too, but unable to articulate his feelings. Besides, he is focussed on Ramu’s treatment.

While Shankar is at the mansion, he helps around with repairs and maintenance, making himself indispensable to Meena’s household. The Thakur and his sons grind their teeth and come up with ways to get Shankar out of the way—dirty tricks that involve getting a ferocious bandit (Hiralal) to frighten him away, and arranging to have him shot dead; the first plan is foiled by a Shankar fighting for himself, and the second by Ramu who spots the sniper.

All Shankar’s rounds of various doctors fail to cure Ramu—there is nothing wrong with the boy they all say, he just won’t speak. Shankar and Ramu return to the village dejected, but the Thakur and his sons have not given up. From attempting to rape Meena to kidnapping Shera, they don’t spare any ruse to get rid of their enemy.

Ramu comes to save his dog with the help of a beggar he had befriended (Nana Palshikar) and gets captured himself.  Now It’s Shera’s turn to fetch Shankar and during his fight with the villains, when he is about to be attacked from the back, Ramu shouts out to save him.

The child recovers his vocal chords, Shankar and Meena accept their love for each other and the film has a happy ending.

Kishore Kumar made a few more films, including the weirdly titled Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi (1974), none as accomplished as Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein.

(This is an edited version of a chapter from my book, Take 2: Fifty Films That Deserve A New Audience, published by Hay House in 2015)

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