“Art is the window to man's soul. Without it, he would never be able to see beyond his immediate world; nor could the world see the man within.”
--Claudia Lady Bird Johnson
Its 11:30 at night, and I have spent a lazy Friday after ages. I have loads of books which I need to read, which have been tempting me all day, but if there is one man who can usurp books from their usual pride of place in my head, its Gulzar. There must be many who would be rolling their eyes right now... there she goes again!!! I know, but bad news, or good news, depending on how you look at it, I am going to devote a lot of my reviews to him.
It started with my father, a man who claims he doesn't have a poetic or artistic bone in his body, but who loves Gulzar, Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy and their likes with a passion. I saw Namkeen (yes, I know you have read this as well) ages back sitting with him, unable to understand too much of the film's nuances, but spell bound by the film's scenic beauty, but more on that later. Over the years, the music has stayed with me, what with Asha and Kishore at their best, but more about that later too (I am almost rubbing my hands in glee :) )
Namkeen starts when a truck driver Gerulaal (Sanjeev Kumar) comes to a village in Himachal on contract, to build a bridge. He starts living as a tenant at Jugni's (Waheeda Rehman) dilapidated house, where she lives with her three daughters, Nimki (Sharmila Tagore), Mitthoo (Shabana Azmi) and Chinki (Kiran Vairale). Jugni, in her youth used to dance in a "nautanki", and her kids were fathered by the Sarangi wala(forgetting his name) Gerulal settles in and takes on the role of Man of the house. All the three girls fall in love with him in their own way, and he seems to be protective about all of them, and a special bond builds between him and Nimki. Like he says to his granny in his letter, “Teenon, motion ki tarah, ek dor sey bandhi hui hain… ek ko kheecho .. toh baaki donon bhi chali aati hain” But then, true to the spirit of a wanderer, he has to move on when the contract finishes... What happens to the four women? What happens to the budding love? Nah, no free lunches!!!!
Raah pe rahate hain yaadon pe basar karate hain, khush raho ahale vatan, ho, ham to safar karate hain. What do I say about the performances? Gulzar Saab brought together the creme de la creme of Bollywood, all actors par excellence. Sanjiv Kumar as the tough as nails and soft as roses truck driver was beyond any modern day actor. I mean, a Gujarati as an abuse spewing Punjabi truck driver? You have to see it to believe it. Gulzar has succeeded in bringing out different factets of Gerulal, specially while communicating with the four women. Also, Sanjeev Kumar's body language and dialogue delivery, the way the tenor of his voice changes while he talks to each of them, its marvellous. Not the restrained way in which he confesses his love to Nimki, and when she refuses, he asks her, "Intazaar karoon? Vaapas aaoon?" and receiving a negative answer to both, he drives away.
Jal gaye jo dhoop mein to saaya ho gaye, Aasaman ka koi kona odhaa so gaye, Jo guzar jaati hai bas usape guzar karate hain Waheeda Rehman is excellent as the old woman who protects her young like a hawk, "budhiya jo apney bachchon ki hifazat, cheel ki tarah karti hai". She collects cow dung, makes dry dung cakes out of it, and sells them for a living. Suffering from short term memory loss (which leads to a hilarious act), she warms up to Gerulal. You have to realise that she must have been younger than Sanjeev Kumar, but here she personified the role of the old matriarch of her family. I still wonder why no one explored her potential other than Guru Dutt (remember Kaagaz ke Phool?) or Vijay Anand (Guide?)
Coming to the daughters, Chinki (Kiran Vairale, cake walk of a role for her) is the brat of the family, always ready to fight, and the smart alec. She always has a smart comeback up her sleeve. The kid looked upto Gerulal as a protector and wanting him to marry Nimki, was brash enough to say so.
Hmmm... Baanki Chali...mmm Jhaanki chali
Panta Bhate Tatka Begun
Pora....
Aanki chali baanki chali
Chowringhee mein Jhanki Chali
Panta
bhate tatka begun pora
Ek gali se jhumman nikle Ek gali se
jhuniya
Beech sadak pe ho gayi saari Bhaad mein jaaye duniya
Jhoom
jhoom ke jhoomke naache Jhuniya Nache Jhuniya bai
Sau sau phere leve
jhumman Khoob baji shehnai...
Aanki chali...
Shabana Azmi plays Mitthoo, the girl with the name of a talking parrot, who is mute. Who else but Gulzar Saab would have thought of such a subtle irony? Gulzar hides the fact from the audience that Mitthoo is mute until a naughty trick played on Gerulal turns into a disaster and he, and the audience get to know that she cant talk, and to be honest, she didnt need words, for her eyes and expressions were eloquent enough. The sweet girl, who wrote poems when she was disturbed, fell in love with Gerulal so intensely that she could not tolerate his going away...
Phir se Aaiyo, badra bidesi, tere pankhon pe moti jadoongi
bhar ke jaaiyyo hamari taliyya, main taliyyaa ke kinare miloongi
tujhe mere kaali kamli wale ki soun...
In fact, I cant decide who was better, Shabana or Sharmila. As Nimki, the eldest daughter of the family, it was as if the role was tailormade for her. You cant help but fall in love with her, or shed bitter tears for her, when she refuses Gerulal for the sake of her family. "Agar main chali jaaoongi to sab tabaah ho jaayega" In fact, looking at her deglamourized look, I was reminded of the heroines of today who, even for a village shot look so polished, and this is what jars the whole look. Look at her, silent tears in her eyes, when Gerulal is leaving, she knows that the one chance she has at happiness is at her fingertips, and all she needs to do is extend her hand...
Tere jaane ki rut main jaanati hoon, Mudh ke aane ki reet hain ke nahi
Kaali daragaah se poochhoongi jaa ke, Tere mann mein bhi preet hain ke nahi
Kachchi puliyaa se, ho ke gujariyo
Kachchi puliyaa kinaare miloongi
Tu jo ruk jaaye, meri atariyaa, Main atariyaa pe, jhaalar lagaa doon
Daaloon chaar taabeej gale se, Apane kaajal se, bindiyaa lagaa doon
Chhoo ke jaaiyo, humaari bagichee
Main pipal ke aade miloongi
The music, by RD Burman, kya boloon... I am so tired of trying to find words to praise the musical feast which has been dished out to us by RD, Gulzar Saab, Asha and Kishore... The music of the film is completely rooted to its environment. I have tried to pay a tribute to it in my own way, but I know, it does not do justice in any way to the music. But I have to mention, once again the two songs which enslaved the heart of a young girl, and which hold the woman in captivity too... Raah pe chalte hain, which is the eternal wanderer's song, and Phir se Aaiyyo, which is all molten poetry... and no, they wont have been the same without Gulzaar Saab's https://lyrics...
“*Aise ujade aashiyane tinake udh gaye,
Bastiyon tak aate aate raaste mud gaye,
Hum thahar jaayen jahaan usko shahar karte hain*.”
~~Continued in comments~~
