Sarjaa (1987)

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Sarjaa is one of the well known films in Marathi cinema; it was directed by Rajdutt. It is based on the novel Shelar Khind by Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare and is set during the era of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It narrates the story of how a common man can contribute towards the efforts of Shivaji Maharaj in tackling the enemies of the Maratha empire. The film was produced by Ramesh Deo and Seema Deo and their son Ajinkya Deo played the title role of “Sarjaa.”

The Plot

Sarjaa begins with Aurangzeb (played by Prabhakar Panshikar and voice dubbed by Raza Murad) announcing that the Mughal rule extends from Kashmir to Deccan. He is proud to announce that 2 cannons have been manufactured and they will be deployed to fight against the Marathas. Raja Jaisingh (Ravi Patwardhan) is being sent to to deal with Raja Shivaji (Ravindra Mahajani) who has been troubling the Mughals.

What follows is the siege of Purandar fort which forces Raja Shivaji to sign a treaty with the Mughals. As part of the treaty many forts are handed over to the Mughals.

Bakshachandra Bahadur Singh (Kuldeep Pawar) has been appointed as the Killedar (fort commander) of Jangad. He arrives in style to take charge. Rustom (Nilu Phule) has switched his allegiance to the Mughals and welcomes Bahadur Singh.

There is a mother daughter duo of dombaris. [Dombari is a nomadic caste. They are street performers engaged in acrobatic acts.] Gauri (Seema) along with her daughter Kasturi / Kastura (Pooja Pawar) is performing near the fort. The newly appointed Killedar Bahadur Singh sees Kasturi and is smitten by her youth and beauty.

He orders Rustom to bring her to the fort for “entertainment.” Rustom tells Gauri that he is the Badshah’s man now and Bahadur Singh has taken a fancy to Kasturi, he will shower her with riches etc. Gauri rushes to attack Rustom. Bahadur Singh grabs Kasturi and imprisons her in the fort.

Gauri follows them and enters the chamber where Kasturi is tied up. She picks a spear and injures Bahadur Singh compelling Rustom to release Kasturi. Kasturi jumps in the pond next to the fort and swims towards safety. Instead of being angry, Bahadur Singh is further impressed. The bravery of the girl reminds him of Rani Padmini’s sacrifice.

The next day, Rustom arrives with gifts but Gauri insults him and he leaves. Bahadur Singh orders Rustom to do anything as he is desperate to have Kasturi for company. Rustom returns with soldiers to abduct Kasturi by force. Gauri and Kasturi manage to flee when they see the soldiers approaching. Rustom sets their house on fire. The helpless duo arrive in Nandavli village where she goes to an old man’s house. Gauri calls him Daaji. Daaji gives them shelter as Gauri informs him what happened.

It is revealed that the man’s son and Kasturi were married when they were children. Kasturi sees a young man sleeping in the house. Gauri tells her this is her husband Sarjaa (Ajinkya Deo).

The grown up couple get “introduced” to each other. The poor Sarjaa is subject to teasing by Kasturi. He is initially angry but matters are sorted and they become one happy couple. They start performing together. Rustom knows the whereabouts of Kasturi. He again sends his men to capture her by tricking Sarjaa. The husband and wife try hard to fight off the men. Luckily 4 men from the village come to Kasturi’s rescue. Rustom has to leave empty handed again.

Later, Sarjaa comes to know that the same men who helped them are being felicitated in the village. They have been selected to accompany Raja Shivaji on his dangerous mission to Agra to meet Aurangzeb and the whole village is proud of them.

Bahirji Naik (Ramesh Deo) who is in charge of Raja Shivaji’s intelligence operations also arrives (disguised as a Mughal) to test the men’s readiness and their allegiance to Raja Shivaji. Sarjaa meets Bahirji and requests him to give a job in Raja Shivaji’s army. The locals make fun of him. He is a street performer and not a fighter. He should remain as he is. He is not able to save his wife, how can he fight with the enemy? Sarjaa is disturbed by the comments and sinks into depression. He is looking for an opportunity to prove his worth to his detractors.

This opportunity comes later. Raja Shivaji has built the Raigad fort. He wants to test the security of the fort. A challenge is announced. Any man who attempts to scale the fort without the assistance of any climbing equipment will be rewarded a gold kada, a horse and 10 bighas of land. The news reach Sarjaa and this is just the opportunity he is waiting for. He has heard of men dying and getting injured in their attempts but that doesn’t impact him. He has made up his mind.

And the day of Sarjaa’s attempt arrives. Sarjaa starts the climb as Kasturi plays the dhol at the base of the fort. Bahirji has informed Raja Shivaji of the attempt. All are curious to know the outcome.

Will Sarjaa succeed? The rest of the movie is filled with more such entertaining moments including the story of the 2 cannons which were mentioned at the beginning.

The Music

In the final cut of the film, there appear only 2 songs. Both are written by N D Mahanor with music by Hridaynath Mangeshkar. Lata Mangeshkar and Suresh Wadkar sing the 2 romantic duets. The first one is Me katyatun chalun thakale..dongar maatha jinkun aalo. But the more famous song is Chimba pawasana raan zaala aabadani.

Interestingly, the credits mention Padmaja Phenani as one of the singers but the song is missing. Wonder which was that song!

My Thoughts

Sarjaa is a good story with good direction by the veteran Rajdutt. It is full of dramatic events and continuous action. Ajinkya Deo and Pooja Pawar display great chemistry. There is a rawness in the way their relationship is portrayed which increases the impact. I was reminded of the lead pair of Sairat. While Ajinkya had acted in a few films, this was Pooja’s debut. She acts in a natural and confident manner especially in the scenes involving the hero. Ramesh Deo, Seema, Kuldeep Pawar and Nilu Phule are all impressive.

The film has many outdoor scenes which is rare for a Marathi film. However there are some gaps in the story. Some references are not explained properly. The budgetary constraints are evident in the filming. But the effort to make a wholesome film is visible. Sarjaa succeeds in telling the appealing story of an ordinary man in the backdrop of a historical period.

Do Badan (1966)

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I used to think Raj Khosla was associated with crime and suspense movies. Films like CID, Kala Pani, Woh Kaun Thi, Mera Saaya and Anita all being from these genres. But assumptions can be so wrong! He did handle other themes and directed films including Do Badan, Do Raaste, Bambai Ka Babu and Dostana.

I knew about Do Badan primarily because of its songs like Jab Chali Thandi Hawa, Raha Gardishon Mein Har Dam and Lo Aa Gayi Unki Yaad and was surprised to find it is a serious romantic film directed by this great director. Interestingly it was released in the same year as Mera Saaya. The story is typical. Poor boy meets rich girl. Girl’s father is not agreeable of the poor boy. A villain is ready to spread lies and get the girl for himself. Sounds familiar? Its Raj Khosla’s credit that he makes the common subject into an entertaining film with the help of good acting performances and fabulous music. Raj Khosla passed away on 9 June 1991 and today’s post is in dedicated to him.

The Plot

The film begins with a typical college scene. Vikas (Manoj Kumar) is studying for the BA final year exams. Nearby, a group of girls are studying, listening to loud music and dancing, all at the same time! In general, they are being a nuisance to Vikas. He has an argument with one of the girls Asha (Asha Parekh). She is no mood to listen and she and her friends talk in a coded language and make fun of him. Asha’s maternal cousin Mohan (Mohan Choti), son of her Mama (Dhumal) is also studying in the same college. Mohan attempts to intervene and gets slapped by both Asha and Vikas.

An irritated and angry Vikas removes the batteries from the transistor and leaves. Asha is taken aback and complains to the principal.

The principal scolds Vikas for his behaviour. The principal reminds him of the importance of his studies. He can be penalized and will not be able to appear for the final exam. Vikas begs him not to do this. He comes from a poor family and his father has struggled to pay for his education. He needs to complete his graduation on time. Asha is outside the office and hears all this. She asks the principal that she is taking back her complaint – she admits she was also responsible for the matter.

Through Mohan, Asha comes to know about Vikas’s background. Vikas is from Jammu while Asha’s family lives in Srinagar. She goes to meet him and apologize for her behaviour. They become friends. She even gives him the books he is unable to afford. He is reluctant to accept them as he is poor, she is rich etc. But Asha convinces him through some philosophical talk about friendship and friends helping each other.

It’s time for the annual exams. All is well until Vikas is suddenly called to Jammu as his father is serious. He rushes home without appearing for the exam. Asha is disturbed as he will lose a year.

Vikas arrives in Jammu but finds out his father has passed away before he could reach there. His wily brother (Bazid Khan credited as Wajid Khan) and sister-in-law (Lalita Kumari) indicate directly and indirectly that he is not wanted in their house. They cannot afford his expenses. Vikas hears this and decides to leave the house forever. He also gives up his claim to the property. Asha has been trying to contact him but the letters are not answered.

After the exam, Asha goes to her father’s house in Srinagar. Here she meets Ashwani (Pran) who is the son of an old family friend. Predictably, Ashwani is the villainous character hoping to get close to Asha.

But Asha is sad. She hasn’t heard from Vikas. She remembers him and sings a song Jab chali thand hawa. Later, Asha meets her uncle (played by Manmohan Krishna). He has encountered some tragedy in his life and lost his wife (or lover?). He spends the whole day painting and immersed in her thoughts. Asha is moved as she realises the importance of memories and she is missing someone too. She weeps her heart out.

And where is Vikas? He is in Srinagar. He has rented a houseboat (how he manages this is not revealed – he is jobless!). Vikas and Asha meet coincidentally. He explains his father passed away and he has left the house. He is desperately looking for a job. Asha’s father is Diwan Shivraj (Wasti). He is a rich man engaged in multiple businesses. She asks him to give a job to Vikas. He does so and Vikas is appointed as overseer in the timber operations.

Asha doesn’t reveal she is responsible for getting him the job. She is aware Vikas is a self respecting man and not bound to take favours easily. But the truth is bound to be out one day and it happens unexpectedly.  Mohan, who also works at the same site reveals the connection between Diwan and Asha. Vikas is incensed and is about to resign but Asha pacifies him with a song Mat jaiyo naukariya chhodke. (This is the only happy song in the film and Asha Parekh gets to shake a leg.)

But the good times are about to end. Ashwani observes the closeness between Asha and Vikas. He is quick to inform Diwan and point out how a poor employee is aiming to get close to a rich man’s daughter. Diwan is shocked to hear this.

Asha has cleared her exams and Diwan throws a party to celebrate her success. There are many wealthy guests in attendance. Diwan invites Vikas and insults him in front of the guests, taunting him on his poverty, his inability to clear the BA exam etc. A hurt Vikas sings a song Bhari duniya mein aakhir dil.

After the song, Diwan makes a surprise announcement of Ashwani’s engagement with Asha. Asha doesn’t know anything about this and rushes to her room. Diwan tells Vikas to go to the office tomorrow, collect his dues and leave the job. He also has a word with Asha making it clear that she has to marry Ashwani – there is no alternative. Vikas meets Asha, telling her they need to part now but he will back one day. She agrees and hopes for his success.

Ashwani has his next plan ready. He wants to remove Vikas “permanently.” He offers him a job in his friend’s company in New Delhi. He tells Vikas that his friend had left his jeep in Kashmir. It would be good if he can drive to New Delhi in that jeep. Vikas agrees. Ashwani has arranged the jeep to have an accident.

Vikas survives the accident and is admitted to a hospital in New Delhi. Unfortunately, he loses his eyesight. There is a dramatic scene. Vikas is unable to accept his condition and refuses to have any food or medicine. He does not feel like living anymore. A sympathetic doctor Dr. Anjali (Simmi) is called to take stock of the situation and calm him down. How she does this is not clarified.

Ashwani was expecting the news of Vikas’s death but comes to know he is recuperating in a hospital. So his plan didn’t work. He goes to the hospital and displays a show of false sympathy. Vikas tells him to inform Asha that he has died in the accident. He is not ready to let Asha know that he is blind and she will have to sacrifice her life and become his lifelong support. He doesn’t want her to face this future. (This seems silly. If he really loved her, he would have faced her and told her everything upright. There would be no need to create a deception).

Anyway, Ashwani tells Asha that Vikas is dead. Meanwhile, Anjali brings Vikas to her home. The intention is to take care of him and convince him to get operated to get his eyesight back. Apparently, she lives alone and also has gone through some tragedy. But she doesn’t want to talk about it.

Asha is in shock after she hears about Vikas’s death. She is not ready to forget him and move ahead in life. Ashwani had been planning to marry her but she is not ready to accept anyone else and continues to be lost in Vikas’s memory.

Ashwani has had enough. He goes to meet Vikas again and tell him about Asha’s condition and they make another plan to convince Asha to forget Vikas. Ashwani informs Asha that Vikas is actually alive and he is staying with another girl in New Delhi. Asha finds it difficult to believe this and goes to witness the deception herself. Vikas acts as if he is love with Anjali. Asha is convinced that she has lost her love forever and agrees to marry Ashwani. She still doesn’t know that Vikas is doing all this because he is blind.

And the melodrama continues and gets too much at one point. Vikas sings two sorrowful songs – Rahaa gardishon mein har dam and Naseeb mein jiske jo likha tha. All this leads to a situation where Asha discovers the truth about all the false stories spread by Ashwani. She takes ill, acts delirious and loses the will to live. She sings Lo aa gayi unki yaad lying on the bed.

Being a married Indian woman, can she leave her husband and go back to her lover? Or will death be the solution? The question is answered through an ambiguous ending.

The Music

The music honours are shared by the combination of Shakeel Badayuni (SB) and Ravi (SB is normally connected with Naushad but he did some 15 films with Ravi too). Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi are in charge of the vocals. All songs are wonderful but there is an overdose of sadness in the compositions. Somehow, I felt the absence of a romantic duet song which would have helped to balance the multiple sad songs. Also, it is hinted that Dr Anjali was a sitar player. Probably they meant to picturize a “happy” song on her but did not do so.

My Thoughts

Do Badan is a serious film and a long sequence of tragic events. Its as if the characters are inviting the bad times rather than face them when they arrive. Call it self inflicted tragedy? But Raj Khosla’s direction is impressive and he is successful in making an overall entertaining film.

Among the cast, Asha Parekh is the most effective performer. Manoj Kumar is his usual self. You are reminded of Dilip Kumar in certain scenes in the way he acts and delivers the dialogues. Simmi Garewal is impressive in a supporting role and won the Best Supporting Actress Filmfare Award that year. It is not revealed if she develops any feelings for Vikas or what was her personal tragedy. Pran plays a “sensible” and toned down villain which is different than what you would normally expect. Dhumal and Mohan Choti are part of the predictably boring comedy side plot which has no scope in the film.

The film was a hit and I wonder the reason for it. Was it because of the the tragic plot with the sacrificial angle, or the memorable songs? Was it the impactful direction or simply the star power that impressed the audience?

Gardish (1993)

My Reviews,

Gardish means misfortune or adversity. That is exactly what our hero encounters throughout this film. Primarily, it is a story of a father’s aspirations, who wants his son to become a police inspector. Whether this wish is fulfilled is revealed at the end of the film.

Gardish was a remake of a Malayalam film Kireedam starring Mohanlal and was remade into Hindi by Priyadarshan. Interestingly, the film was produced by Good Knight Films. Yes,  the same company famous for its mosquito repellant brand, it was also into film production. Another highlight of the film is its music director R.D. Burman (who passed away in 1994), this being one of the last films of his distinguished career.

The Plot

Purushottam Sathe (Amrish Puri) is a police constable. His wife is Laxmi (Farida Jalal). They have 4 children – 2 sons and 2 daughters. Sathe has one dream to see his elder son Shiva (Jackie Shroff) become a police inspector. He is awaiting the day when Inspector Shiva will walk in to the police station and the proud constable father will salute him. Shiva is aware of this; he is studying for the exams and preparing to crack the interview.

Sathe has a married daughter Sulbha (Kunika). Her “good for nothing” husband (Asrani) has lost his job and his employer has filed a case against him. He has come to stay with his wife and son in Sathe’s house and has no plan to return. Sulbha requests her father to speak to the police inspector handling the case and help her husband. But Sathe tells her that he will not use his contacts or influence as it is against his principles. He will not bend his principles to help his own son, so who cares about his son-in-law.

There is a flashback scene from Shiva’s college days in Mumbai. While Shiva wants to concentrate on his studies, his friends (Harish (Annu Kapoor) and Rakesh Bedi) are aiming to woo a very rich girl and lead an easy life. Through a predictable plot, we get introduced to a rich girl Vidya Bhalla (Aishwarya), the daughter of Prithviraj Bhalla (Shammi Kapoor). After some comedy sequences involving a love letter, a bank robbery and a bomb scare, Shiva and Vidya get attracted towards each other. They soon fall in love.

Flashback over. Prithviraj has come to meet Sathe with Vidya’s marriage proposal. Both families are agreeable to the match. They concur that the marriage should take place as soon as Shiva becomes an inspector.

Shiva is going to Mumbai the next day to appear for the interview. Prithviraj and Vidya are also leaving for Mumbai. Sathe sees off the three of them at the railway station.

Sathe comes across a wrongly parked car outside the railway station and speaks to its arrogant owner. Sathe impounds the car and asks the young man to collect it from the police station. Someone tells Sathe that the man is an MLA’s son but Sathe doesn’t care. Justice is equal for all. As expected, the MLA seeks revenge and the principled Sathe has to face the consequences. He is transferred to Kala Chowk in Mumbai where the real story begins.

Kala Chowk is one of the most notorious and dreaded areas. The area has been terrorized by a goonda called Billa Jilani (Mukesh Rishi). His activities are not revealed clearly. He seems to be engaged in extortion (hafta vasooli) to maintain his hold in the area. The residents are scared to utter a word against him. He is known to have committed 18 murders but no witness is ever ready to come forward and speak against him.

The local police are aware of his reputation and mostly turn a blind eye over his activities. One day, Billa’s men kill a man who is planning to contest the local elections. Inspector Saini (Suresh Oberoi) manages to finds a man who had witnessed the murder. As a safeguard, he keeps the witness in the police lock up for the night. But Billa’s goons attack Saini and kill the witness. Such is the influence demonstrated by Billa.

Sathe relocates to Mumbai with his family and resumes his duties in the Kala Chowk police station. The only topic of discussion in the area is “Billa.” Shiva is also in Mumbai after appearing for the interview and awaiting the result.

One day, Billa’s men are beating a goonda called Kali in the market area. Sathe is nearby with other policemen who are merely watching the proceedings. For them it is a normal occurrence. But Sathe cannot control himself and rushes to deal with Billa’s men and save Kali. As the fight continues, Billa arrives and starts thrashing Sathe. The police watch this meekly and do not help their colleague.

Shiva is caught in the crowd and notices his father being beaten up by Billa. He moves in and deals with Billa and his men. After an intense fight, he manages to tackle all the men. Billa is half dead and taken to the hospital. The crowd rejoice assuming Billa is dead and hail Shiva.

But Sathe is not happy with Shiva’s behaviour. He admonishes him for his actions. He says he is ready to die in the line of duty but Shiva needs to concentrate on his future. He is relying on Shiva to take care of the family if anything happens to him. If his name appears as a criminal in the police records, his future will be doomed. Inspector Saini is aware of what happened. He ensures that Shiva’s name does not feature in the official report.

Unfortunately for Shiva, the bad times continue. He gets engaged in one fight after the other. He tries to convince his father and family that he is not responsible for initiating the fight but they do not believe him. The conflict between the father and son continues. He has multiple altercations with Sathe who deems him a criminal. Shiva becomes a victim of the unfortunate circumstances.

In all this, there is only one person who is supportive of Shiva – a woman called Shanti (Dimple Kapadia). Shanti’s husband and son were set to fire by Billa. No one including the police came to their rescue. A powerless Shanti was forced into prostitution.

Meanwhile Billa has recovered and ready to face his enemy Shiva. He targets Shiva’s family to compel Shiva to come to him. Will Shiva save his family or his future? This leads to a chilling climax.

The Music

Javed Akhtar has written the lyrics for the songs composed by R. D. Burman. The songs are good but break the flow of the story. Hum na samjhe the, Ae mere deewano, Baadal jo barse to are some of the popular songs.

My Thoughts

Gardish is a good film but good only in patches. There are multiple action and violence filled scenes. The acting by all well known names is impressive. Jackie Shroff, Dimple Kapadia and Amrish Puri were nominated for the Filmfare awards. Priyadarshan’s directorial touch is evident through specific camera angles. The art direction is remarkable for which Sabu Cyril won the Filmfare award.

There are are too many songs and unnecessary elements which are irritating to watch. The bank robbery and the following chase sequence is silly. The focus keeps shifting from the serious plot. I wonder why the sub plot involving Annu Kapoor as a beggar was included. It was a clever plot and would have worked well in a comedy film (possibly by Priyadarshan!) but it adds nothing in Gardish.

Overall, a good film but could have been better.