Abhimaan. This is one of my all-time favourite amongst all of the different movies, from 8&1/2 to Aviator. But having watched Hrishida’s “Abhimaan” recently (I am shamelessly guilty of my ignorance of Indian cinema that took me too long to watch this masterpiece), I was shocked and amazed by the amount of genius this person was.
Abhimaan works primarily on many levels including the flawless direction of the great Hrishida, the simplistic screenplay, the hard hitting performances by the protagonist (Amitabh and Jaya) and the equally good support from the side cast (Asrani the faithful friend, and Bindu seen in a change of Image from her vamps image in those days), the magical lyrics of Majrooh Sultanpuri and the unforgettable music of the legendary S.D.Burman. There was a dialogue from Hrishida’s other film “Bawarchi” (Starring the then superstar Rajesh Khanna) that describes the man’s thoughts and vision behind his films:
“It is so simple to be happy, but it is so difficult to be simple.”
This is the line which I always remember and will remember no matter how ridiculous amounts of films I watch.
Abhimaan is a very complex tale of relationships made in such simple yet effective way, which touches your heart and stays with you long after you have seen it. Tough made in the mid Seventies, the concept of the movie based on the Male Ego and the Hypocrisy of the quintessential Indian Male is still relevant in today’s times.
Amitabh, a successful singer of the day falls in love and eventually gets married to a simple girl (Jaya) he meets, and then upon suggestion from his friend that she sings well, lets her sing in one of “His” songs. The song is a huge hit, and her wife gets more praises than him, shooting to instant fame and being offered solo songs. Amitabh’s ego is hurt and he in turns wants to stop her singing once and for all by making her sing a solo(which he thinks would fail miserably) and in spite of Jaya’s refusal to sing a solo, he makes her sing(In the end he could say “I was right”), which in turn becomes a huge success. And therein follows the story of jealousy (Look for the scene where Amitabh raises his fees to be ahead of Jaya), hypocrisy and insecurity of a star.
On the other hand the female protagonist (Jaya) portrays a woman who is torn between the love for her husband and is subject to his subsequent anger and jealousy, in such an effective manner which makes the viewer feel for her. She cooks, take cares of House hold chores, loves her husband and at the end of the day leaves the house and even singing, when she sees Amitabh’s jealousy and his inward struggle of accepting the truth she quietly moves away from him not wanting him to be hurt and him to be proved wrong.
The movie works for me as it does not judge any of the characters and on the same times shows the various colors of the human nature and relationships in the truest form. Amitabh’s character love’s Jaya but he loves his stardom too, and watching it fade away from the hands of someone he deeply loves is the root of the internal struggle, which affects the course of his life as well as the people he loves. I truly believe that the greatest battles fought are fought inside, and this film shows the battle in a way that anyone in any part of the world can connect to.
Watch the delicate handling of the story by the director, for the ups and downs the relationship of our leads go through without ever being over the top or going out of the way to glorify the message of the film. The film that I think which comes close to this movie in showing the complexity of marital relationships, is the recent film “Revolutionary Road” by Sam Mendes with powerful performances from Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio.
Also notable is the music of the film by S.D.Burman, which is the weaver of the strings of the story. Music in this film does not take you away from the movie but adds to the overall flavour of it. Be it “Meet na mila re mann ka” establishing the youthful joy and energy of Amitabh, the melodious “Teri bindiya re” by the then favourite duo of Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi, the song depicting the emotions of Jaya in “Piya Bina” & “Ab to hey tumse har khushi apni” sung by non-other than Lata Mangeshkar, to the finale “Tere mere Milan kee ye raina” showcasing the strength of the relationship, sung by the duo of Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar.
This post is an entry to the Reel-Life Bloggers contest organized by wogma.com and reviewgang.com
No comments:
Post a Comment