100 Filmfare Days: 44 - Nishant

Nishant

Year: 1975
Director: Shyam Benegal
Producer: Music: Vanraj Bhatia
Cast: Shabana Azmi,  Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad, Smita Patil, Amrish Puri

Raw, unpolished and gritty. Nishaant’s story is as disturbing as it is ironic. On display in the film are a bevy of new actors who’d later be known as the main players in parallel cinema. Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Girish Karnad, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Anant Nag and of course the menacing Amrish Puri, long before Mogambo was born. But at the centre of the story is Shabana Azmi’s character Sushila, who’s abducted from her hudband’s home to become the muse of a powerful landlord’s younger brother. Such is the impact of Nishant’s silent but stoic images that it impressed Indian and international viewers. The film won acclaim at international film festivals like Cannes and Berlin. Also, Indian cinema discovered Smita Patil with this film.

100 Filmfare Days: 37 - Koshish

Koshish

Year: 1972
Director: Gulzar
Producer: Romu N Sippy, Raj Sippy
Cast: Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri
Music: Madan Mohan

Love is blind. But can it survive being deaf and dumb? In a profession obsessed with showing superfit people serenading each other with song and dance, Gulzar went ahead and made a film, which you didn’t need words to express love. The film delved into the world of those born with ear and speech deformities and gave out the message that one can overcome anything by putting an extra burst of perseverance. What sets the film apart is the taut screenplay which highlights the day-to-day interactions of the deaf and dumb couple and their ingenious solutions to everyday chores. They laugh, they cry, they quarrel and make up like any two normal married people. The most poignant scene in the film is when they try to see whether their newborn has normal faculties or not. Their relief when it is soon clear he’s all right seeps from across the screen and into your heart. Gulzar couldn’t have chosen better actors than Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri to play the lead roles. Both artistes had no hesitation in playing deglamorised characters. They don’t compete but play off each other and help bring out each other’s strength into play. The film met with a lukewarm commercial response but is considered a classic piece of cinema today.

DID YOU KNOW?

Gulzar and Sanjeev Kumar became fast friends on the sets of Koshish. This friendship resulted in such seminal films as Aandhi (1975), Mausam (1975), Angoor (1981) and Namkeen (1982) with Sanjeev Kumar excelling in each performance.

100 Filmfare Days: 36 - Pakeezah

 

Pakeezah

Year: 1972
Director: Kamal Amrohi
Producer: Kamal Amrohi
Cast: Raaj Kumar, Meena Kumari
Music: Ghulam Mohammed

He sees her feet and falls in love with her – Aapke paon dekhe, bahut khoobsurat hain – the notion that one can fall in love like this belongs to an earlier, forgotten era and hence we’re thrilled every time we watch Pakeezah. The film took 14 years to make because Meena Kumari and her husband, director Kamal Amrohi parted ways in between. Meena Kumari was seriously ill and could only complete the film through sheer willpower when it was restarted in 1968 after a gap of 10 years. She’s flawless in her acting and both she and  Raaj Kumar who played the gentleman lover with the right mix of compassion and humour won raves. His devotion brings about a change in his beloved and she begins to think of herself as being a woman more and a prostitute less. Their interaction scenes are like dewdrops of urdu poetry. The classical-based songs were composed by Ghulam Mohammed, who died before the release of the film in penury. Meena Kumari too died just after the film’s release and it became a huge hit as people clamoured to catch the star’s last glimpse.

DID YOU KNOW?

Amrohi’s original choice to play Salim’s character was Ashok Kumar, who later became the male lead’s (Raaj Kumar) uncle and the protagonist’s father in the end.