The year was 1990-91 and there was a buzz around the Hindi movie Lekin. Produced by Lata Mangeshkar and directed by Gulzar, it won 5 National awards. Its music was famous and Yaara Seeli Seeli became synonymous with the movie. Lekin draws its inspiration from Rabindranath Tagore’s story Kshudhit Pashaan (Hungry Stones) and can be termed as a ghost/wandering soul story. I finally got the opportunity to watch this movie recently and write about it. (Incidentally, 08 June is Dimple Kapadia’s birthday, who played the protagonist in Lekin.)

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The Plot

Lekin is set in Rajasthan and begins with the song Kesariya Balmaa playing during the title credits with views of the desert.

Vinod Khanna plays a Government officer Sameer Niyogi. He seems to be an avid collector of antique objects as is evident from his house full of such stuff. He is busy admiring his latest possession – a 200 year old lock when his superior Dr Sen calls him regarding an assignment. Sameer is to visit an old palace in Jasor, Rajasthan.

Thakur Amar Singh was the last Raja of this princely state, who went to England and settled there. His brother Param Singh took charge but was not an able administrator. The state had lost most its riches by the time it was integrated in 1948 after the country’s independence. Apparently, Param Singh went missing and the palace was sealed. After 40 + years, the Government was now seeking to open the palace and catalogue its items. That will be Sameer’s job.

Sameer boards the train to Rajasthan and settles in his first class compartment. The train stops at a station which is all wet due to rains, a rare occurrence in Rajasthan. The train is about to move when he sees a woman (Dimple Kapadia) clinging to the door. He invites her inside. She is dressed in rural attire and doesn’t speak a word but keeps looking at him. He asks her to relax and get down at next station to go to her compartment. He dozes off and gets up to find her gone. He notices she has got off a station called Puniya. He has a glimpse of her as the train departs.

The train reaches Jasor. He meets Shafi Siddiqui (Amjad Khan) who is the local collector. Shafi is his old friend and has a joking nature. His wife is Sharda (Beena). Shafi invites him to stay in his house. Sameer says he will be staying in the circuit house assigned to him.

Sameer and Shafi visit the palace to get a feel of the place. It has been opened after 40 odd years. Sameer has a feeling it has been lived in but Shafi rubbishes the claim. From the terrace, Sameer notices a group of banjaras (gypsies) have occupied the neighbouring land. He requests Shafi to clear the area.

Its time for Dimple’s entry again. She wanders around the palace singing a song of separation- Yaara Seeli Seeli. Sameer meets her in the palace. She has lit a fire and is cooking bajra rotis. He admonishes her for cooking in the palace grounds. The wall has turned black because of the flames. He recognizes her as the woman in the train and thinks she is one of the banjaras but they have already left the area. She says she is alone and offers him roti and gud (jaggery) which he accepts. It seems she has also opened the palace door which was supposed to have been locked.

A puzzled Sameer enters the palace. Its like stepping into a different era. The woman shows him around and he sees visions of a torture chamber, chains and blood on the wall, a girl being brought by the guards. The woman vanishes and he finds himself locked in the palace. He breaks the glass and manages to come out injured. Sameer is thoroughly puzzled. There is no trace of the woman. The place where she was cooking, including the wall is totally clean. Who is this mysterious woman? Is she is a ghost or a soul who wanders around the palace? He doesn’t even know her name.

Shafi and Sharda are puzzled as well when Sameer shares his experiences with them. They are worried about him. They visit a banjara basti to try and find the girl and do some investigation which doesn’t help much. Meanwhile work continues in the palace. A painting is found belonging to Param Singh.

That night Sameer finds he has lost the way to the circuit house when he meets the woman again. She asks him to light her lantern, he obliges. She shows him the way. He asks her about her vanishing act the other day. She said she herself is lost in the palace, with its so many doors. There is history all around, even the music of those times is buried there. She disappears again but leaves the lantern behind. Sameer finds out that the lantern is from the palace and part of the catalogued items. He is further intrigued. How did she get it? Who is she really?

Shafi and Sharda are worried. Sharda makes him wear a taveez (amulet/charm) to ward off the supposedly ghostly influence. Shafi asks the police to deploy some personnel near the palace.

Sameer is doing his own research and goes to Jaipur to get books on para psychology, rebirth etc. In the bookshop he coincidentally meets Prof B. N. Mathur (Manohar Singh) who is an expert in these areas. We come to know that Sameer had a girlfriend Pammi and they had separated a few years back. Prof Mathur is Pammi’s uncle.

Prof. Mathur takes Sameer to his house for discussing his case. Pammi (Moonmoon Sen) also comes in. Prof. Mathur explains that Sameer might be meeting the soul of a woman who is kind of stuck in time. She is seeking his help to be free. Till then she will keep wandering. She might be related to him in an earlier birth.

Meanwhile the soul sings another song Main ek sadi se baithi hoon. Sameer meets her again, this time in the desert. He praises her singing. She says she has learnt music from Ustad Meraj Ali (Alok Nath). Her village is across the desert. She is waiting for someone called Mehru who will help her to cross the desert. He had gone to Puniya. The shadows in the desert trouble her and do not let her pass. He offers her the taveez for protection, which she accepts.

Later, one night he sees a woman carrying a lantern. He is unable to trace her and he goes to the palace to find if the lantern has gone missing again. He is all alone in the palace. This time he hears someone singing and the woman comes forward. She tells him its her elder sister singing. The elder sister is Tara (Hema Malini). And her own name is Rewa. Thus the woman’s name is finally revealed.

We are treated to the song Joothe naina bole saachi batiya performed by Ustad Meraj Ali and Tara in front of Param Singh. After the song, Param Singh (Vijayendra Ghatge) asks Tara to stay in the palace for the night. Ustad realises his intentions are not clean. He goes to Tara and Rewa’s father and asks them to take the daughters and leave immediately. The camels are waiting outside. They will be safe once they cross the desert. They hurry and do as advised but are unlucky. Param Singh’s soldiers follow and attack the camels. Rewa’s camel manages to run away but their father and Tara are captured.

What follows is their father’s merciless torture and he is left to die in the desert. Ustadji and Rewa are imprisoned in neighboring cells. Param Singh is waiting for Rewa to grow up so he can fulfil his desire. Ustad and Rewa pass their time by practicing music and singing compositions like Rasool Allah, Jaa Jaa Re and Suniyo Ji Araj Mhariyo.

8 years later, Rewa grows up into a beautiful woman (Dimple Kapadia) and Ustadji fears for her safety. He designs a plan to rescue her from the clutches of Param Singh. He has sent word to a trusted aide Mehru to come and arrange Rewa’s escape.

Will Ustad Meraj Ali be successful? What happens to Rewa – why is her soul wandering all these years? And where does Sameer fit into all this?

The Music

With lyrics by Gulzar and music by Hridaynath Mangeshkar, the music has achieved cult status. It is said that the deteriorating quality of the music in 1980s motivated Lata Mangeshkar to make the movie, with music and lyrics being a strong focus. Lata Mangeshkar, Gulzar and Hridaynath won the National award for their efforts.

Lata Mangeshkar lends her voice to Yaara Seeli Seeli, Kesariya Balmaa, Main Ek Sadi Se, Suniyo Ji, and Jaa Jaa Re (a duet with Hridaynath Mangeshkar). Joothe Naina Bole, the dance number is sung by Asha Bhosle and Satyasheel Deshpande. The only male solo Surmai Shaam is picturized on Vinod Khanna with vocals by Suresh Wadkar.

My Thoughts

Overall, Lekin is a “heavy” movie. You need patience for the things to settle and enjoy. It is sluggish and picks momentum only when Rewa starts narrating about her family. But the story is engaging and maintains its mysterious tone throughout. It keeps hovering between the supernatural elements and reality. There are small details which are nicely tied up later. Gulzar’s poetic touch is evident in the direction. Music, of course is the winner. Rajasthan’s picturization adds it’s own charm.

Performance wise Dimple steals the show. Right from her first appearance to the unfolding of her character, her expressions and dialogue delivery are to the point. She delivers a convincing wandering soul character. This will rank as one of her best performances along with Rudaali. Vinod Khanna looks aged but is a good performer. Amjad Khan, Beena, Manohar Singh, Vijayendra Ghatge are all good. Alok Nath is in his usual character and Hema Malini appears in an effective guest appearance. Moonmoon Sen doesn’t add much and speaks Hindi with a fake accent.