Category Archives: My Reviews

Mazdoor (1983)

My Reviews,

In 1957, B.R. Chopra made a memorable film which focused on the man v/s machine conflict. The film was Naya Daur which has achieved classic status in Hindi cinema. The audience accepted the realistic theme with its entertaining story line, star cast and music. (It won 3 Filmfare awards for its hero, music director and story writer). More than 25 years later, under the same production (B.R. Films) came Mazdoor which is clearly inspired from Naya Daur. It was directed by B. R. Chopra’s son Ravi Chopra. Unfortunately, it failed to achieve the same status and recall value of its inspiration.

The Plot

Sinha (Nazir Hussain) is the owner of Hiralal Mills named after his son who is currently abroad. Sinha is a caring owner who is not only after profits from the mill but ensures the welfare of his workers. His close associate is the foreman Dinanath Saxena (Dilip Kumar), who also has a caring nature towards the mill and its workers. He has one dream – he is waiting for the day when a mazdoor will be able to write his own destiny. His co-workers include Govinda (Johnny Walker) and Yunus (Yunus Parvez).

Another important character is Ashok Mathur (Raj Babbar). He delivers tiffins to the mill staff and is studying textile engineering. Dinanath is impressed by his hard work and attitude.

We are introduced to Dinanath’s family. His wife is Radha (Nanda). Dinanath purchases cut pieces of cloth from his mill at reduced rates. Radha tries to supplement the family income by selling them in a makeshift shop in their house. They have 2 children, a daughter Meena (Padmini Kolhapure) (who apparently goes to school) and a son Ramesh (Raj Kiran), who is a college student. Ramesh has bunked college for a movie and Dinanath lectures him to be serious etc. He compares him with Ashok who is slogging to be an engineer.

Dinanath invites Ashok to his house and meet his family. Ashok offers some sales advice to Dinanath and Radha. Instead of selling from the house, what if he attempts sell the fabrics around the city? This will help increase the reach and sale. Dinanath agrees and the deal is sealed. Ashok is successful in his mission and soon becomes a household member. Dinanath accepts him as his son and Radha and Meena are impressed too. Only Ramesh doesn’t care about him, he considers him an outsider and insults him regularly.

Things take a sudden turn when Sinha Seth dies due to a heart attack. His son Hiralal (Suresh Oberoi) arrives to take over the management of the mill. But father and son are not cut from the same cloth. Hiralal is money minded. He is ready to go to any extremes to make money, be it at the cost of the workers’ well being. Aiding him is corrupt Daulatram (Madan Puri).

The mill has earned a huge profit that year. But Hiralal wants to increase the production by purchasing new machinery. He announces there will be no bonus for that year, and this is a shock for the workers. A crestfallen Dinanath comes home with the news. He tells Radha that he doesn’t care for his own bonus but his fellow workers had made plans in anticipation which now lay shattered. As a diversion, his mood is uplifted by Ashok who has managed to sell almost all the cut pieces and make a profit.

In the mill, Ashok gets introduced to Hiralal. One day, a machine suddenly stops working and Hiralal is aghast as the mill engineer is on a month’s leave. Work cannot be stopped because of one person’s absence. In steps Ashok, who repairs the machine (almost!) in a jiffy. He quotes a sum of Rs 1,000 as his charges stating he decides his own price. He gets paid and he offers the money to Dinanath as he looks up to him as his father. It is agreed that Dinanath will buy more cut pieces from the amount to continue their business deal.

Now it is time to introduce the inevitable love angle. Meena is falling for Ashok. Ashok is getting closer to a stranger Smita (Rati Agnihotri) with whom he has had a chance meeting. In short, both ladies are falling for the same man, leading to future complications.

Things are not going smooth between Hiralal and the workers. A worker Raju dies in an accident while on duty. The workers take him to the hospital and attend his last rites. Hiralal is furious that the work has stopped randomly. He confronts Dinanath who lectures him on humanity, ethics etc which have no effect. Hiralal decides to suspend Dinanath for 10 days and cut the wages of the workers.

Dinanath can’t digest the injustice done to the workers. He is ready to be suspended but does not want the workers to suffer. He attends the mill’s Annual General Meeting and raises his voice on behalf of the workers. Hiralal offers him to sign an apology after which things will return to normal. Dinanath insults Hiralal by tearing the apology document and voluntarily resigns.

The workers misunderstand and think he has been sacked. They offer to go on strike but he explains the situation, pacifies them to continue working and returns home.

On the same day, Ashok comes with good news – he has passed the exam and is now an engineer. Dinanath takes Ashok to a burnt mill to check if it can be made operational again. They need to pay Rs 3 lakhs but Dinanath has only Rs 25,000 which he pays as advance. They attempt to take loans but are unsuccessful. (In the background, Hiralal is ensuring they are not successful in arranging the money. He cannot forget his insult and is waiting to extract his revenge).

The deadline to pay the balance amount approaches when their savior enters the scene. This is Mr Kundanlal Batra (Iftekhar), a well known businessman. He knows everything about Dinanath and wants to help him out. And coincidence! Smita turns out to be his daughter.

So, Dinanath is now a mill owner and he and Ashok begin the tough job of starting production as soon as possible. The beginning is tough but they are soon joined by their old colleagues Govinda, Yunus and the lot. The cloth from their mill is of high quality. Hiralal makes moves to stop their goods from reaching the market, so they sell the garments and fabrics in a makeshift market on the road. This further frustrates Hiralal.

Overall, there is smooth sailing. Dinanath Saxena is now a rich and reputable businessman in the city. Dinanath proposes that Ashok marry Meena and all of them can stay together. Ashok is unable to confess his love for Smita openly considering all that Dinanath has done for him. He reluctantly marries Meena, leaving Smita devastated. Then Smita makes a plan to marry Ramesh, so she can enter his house and spend time with Ashok.

Thus the story line evolves into a love triangle leading to disastrous consequences. Things reach a point where Dinanath disowns Ashok and asks him to leave the house and mill permanently. Ramesh is fully supportive of his father’s actions. He was never in favour of the orphan Ashok anyway.

The workers are against this decision to remove Ashok and go on strike. What will happen? Will Dinanath be able to resolve the labour problem? Will Hiralal be successful in taking his revenge? And what happens to Ashok on a professional and personal front? Will he be forgiven by the Saxena family?

The Music

The comparison with Naya Daur’s music is inevitable. Unfortunately, lyricist Hasan Kamaal’s and R.D. Burman’s collaboration hardly leave an impact. Many songs are an opportunity for Dilip Kumar to showcase his dancing skills – Hum Mehnatkash Is Duniya Se, Pet Mein Roti, Tan Par Kapda and Nana Ho Gaya Diwana, where Mahendra Kapoor provides the playback. They have nothing new to offer. The others are sung by by Asha Bhosle (Baat Adhoori Kyon Hai and Tumhein Bhool Jaane Ka Haq Hai Magar) and Salma Agha (Pehla Pehla Pyar Na Bhoole).

My Thoughts

As evident, the movie falls to achieve the status of its predecessor Naya Daur. Its focus on the “mazdoor” is lost in between as romance and marital discord take priority. Maybe the filmy touches dilute the effect. It would have been interesting to see the ideological clash between the maalik and the mazdoor with its twists and turns leading to a satisfying end as in Naya Daur.

Dilip Kumar occupies every frame and performs effectively. His typical mannerisms and dialogue delivery impress at the beginning but become repetitive as the story progresses.

Suresh Oberoi’s character makes a mild villain in front of the veteran acto’s character. Maybe that was intentional. The other characters perform as required but don’t have much to contribute. Raj Babbar has some impressive dialogues which he delivers effectively. It is probably the only film featuring Dilip Kumar and Nanda together. Trivia: Dilip Kumar, Nazir Hussain and Johnny Walker had starred in Naya Daur as well as Mazdoor.

Arey Sansaar Sansaar (1981)

My Reviews

Arey Sansaar Sansaar (Oh, this life!) is a Marathi movie directed by the veteran director Rajdutt. The movie shows the struggles of a farmer and his family. How they deal with a series of hardships and try to overcome them with great courage and unrelenting effort. It is based on a story by Pt. Mahadevshastri Joshi, who is credited as the source of many female centric movies in Marathi cinema.

The Plot

Arey Sansaar Sansaar is the story of a well to do farmer Bapu Desai (Kuldeep Pawar). Well to do in the sense that he is a watandaar (landholder). However his farm has been mortgaged with the local moneylender Sawkar (Ashok Saraf). Bapu is getting married and he has arranged the money by mortgaging his ancestral house. His wife is Ratna (Ranjana), who is also from a moderately rich family. In the very first scene, Bapu is bringing his newly wedded wife home. They have a sweet banter as they enter the village. Ratna is visibly impressed by her husband and his house.

As seems to be the custom, Bapu takes Ratna to meet Sawkar. Sawkar is a lecherous fellow with no scruples. He sees Ratna and is lusted by her beauty. This is a pointer of things to come!

The tobacco crop is ready. Bapu wants to sell it in the Nippani market where he is expected to get a much better rate than offered by the local Sawkar. The Sawkar is furious when he hears this. He goes to meet Bapu and offers him the same rate. There are some uncivil comments made by the Sawkar’s servant (Majnalkar) concerning Bapu’s wife Ratna. Bapu, gets angry and refuses to sell the crop to Sawkar come what may. Unfortunately, the crop gets damaged due to unexpected heavy rains and foils Bapu’s plans.

Sawkar goes to meet Ratna when Bapu is away. He tries to woo her but she gives him a fiery response and warns him to stay away from her. Bapu comes home and Sawkar reminds him of the loan. He will seize his land and house if the money is not paid back soon. A shaken Ratna offers her jewellery to cover some of the amount. The Sawkar leaves but his next scheme is ready. He ensures none of the farm labourers turn up to work for Bapu. Bapu is forced to work alone and keep the activities going.

So, now Ratna knows the reality of her in-laws’ financial condition. She is a feisty and practical woman. She cannot accept sitting at home while her husband toils in the fields. She joins him but he is not impressed. The women of his family are supposed to mind the house and not slog in the farm. What will the villagers, her parents etc say? She patiently explains that she has pledged to be with him in his joys and sorrows. He is finally convinced and thus begins their new farm life! They sing a song Raja lalkari ashi ghe.

Sawkar can’t let go of Ratna from his mind. He attempts to rape her but Bapu steps in and gives him a good bashing. In retaliation, Sawkar gets a seizure order and Bapu and Ratna are forced to leave their house and give up the farm too. They start living in a small hut. All that they have left is a small tract of jungle land which had been received as a reward (inaam) by Bapu’s family.

Bapu is disturbed by the developments. Gone is the prestige of the Desai’s. He cannot even guarantee a comfortable life for his better half. He attempts suicide but Ratna is alert and stops him in time. He asks her to leave him and go back to her parents. She says she has committed to be his shadow. This is a dark night but they should look forward for the sunshine. He agrees and they start working to clear the land and attempt cultivation. They sing another duet Kalya maatit maatit.

8 years pass on. They are blessed with 3 sons and also a bumper crop of sugarcane. They are looking forward to harvest the sugarcane when tragedy strikes. Sawkar sets the farm on fire and kills Bapu.

Ratna is broken and her struggles continue. There is severe famine and no food. She may have to sell off the last piece of land to support her family. She sings a sorrowful lullaby Jo jo gaate, zoka dete. Sawkar attempts to give her food and money but she refuses both with great will and effort. She cannot let her family’s principles wither away and die. Again, she looks forward for the positive tomorrow to arrive.

Sawkar attempts to abduct her children to force Ratna to come to him but she is saved by a good samaritan Sambha (Dinkar Inamdar). Sambha had faced a similar fate when the Sawkar lusted after his wife and eventually raped her. He had lost sanity for many years and roamed in the village like a mad man. Seeing Ratna’s plight, he is reminded of his past events and is suddenly brought back to reality. He attacks Sawkar and compels him to leave the children alone. Ratna accepts him as his brother. The rains arrive soon, bringing hope.

Finally, there is some joy in Ratna’s life. Ratna has aged, her children have grown up. The elder sons are married with children. The youngest Mahadev (Mohan Gokhale) has his sights on Hansa (Reema) and they look forward to get married with Ratna’s blessings.

And Sawkar? He won’t let Ratna or her family forget their hard times. He plans to sow the seeds of jealousy and discontent among her sons and daughter-in-laws. Will he succeed? Will Ratna continue to defy his intentions and manage to keep her family united?

The Music

The movie receives able support from its songs and are complementary to the story. Anil Arun are the music composers and Jagdish Khebudkar and Prof. Vitthal Wagh the lyricists. Suresh Wadkar and Anuradha Paudwal sings the hit duets Raja lalkari ashi ghe and Kalya maatit maatit (which comes in 2 versions). Vithu mauli tu is a devotional song in the voices of Sudhir Phadke, Suresh Wadkar and Jaywant Kulkarni. It is picturized on the 3 sons as an ode to their mother who has suffered all her life to bring them up successfully. The lullaby Jo jo gaate is also effective with its lyrics and picturization.

My Thoughts

The story is a long string of challenges faced by the main leads. It shows the debt trap that farmers enter into and is difficult to escape as the debt keeps piling up. They are at the mercy of the moneylender who exploits them openly. The viewer is easily reminded of Mother India with its fairly similar plot of the moneylender and the farmer’s family.

Kuldeep Pawar plays a character who is initially strong willed but later on forced to accept the reality of the debt trap and faces an unfortunate death. He shares a great chemistry with Ranjana. Ashok Saraf plays a comical villain. He is effective in some scenes but the comedic touch does not work every time. Maybe it would have benefited to show him as a typical evil villain who keeps plotting to fulfill his schemes against the Desai family. The show stealer is Ranjana. She is especially effective in her aged role right to her body language and movements showing a character who has seen it all that life has offered to her. She has no complaints and wants to spend her remaining days in the company of her children and grand children. The only jarring note is her soft dialogue delivery which is difficult to comprehend at times.

The movie also starred a young Reema Lagoo who is effective in her small role of the daughter-in-law. Interestingly, her real mother (Mandakini Bhadbhade) played her mother’s role on screen.

Naunihal (1967)

My Reviews, ,

Naunihal is a story of a young boy Raju who sets on a mission to meet Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who was then the Prime Minister of India. This is definitely a different subject to attempt. The movie manages to stay focused on its core theme and engage the viewer as Raju moves closer to meet his esteemed Chacha Nehru. This was Saawan Kumar Tak’s first movie as a producer (he also wrote the story). The director is Raj Marbros.

The Plot

The film begins with a meeting scene in a school in Panchgani. The school’s Principal (Balraj Sahni) is talking to the board of directors when they hear a commotion outside. The Principal, teachers and students as well as the board rush to the library to find that a student Raju (Master Babloo) has been throwing books and smashing objects in anger. Raju has had a fight with his classmates and was punished and locked in the library. The board is not impressed with his behaviour and inform the Principal to claim the damages from Raju’s parents and send him back to them.

A patient Principal informs them about Raju’s background through a flashback. The Principal was an orphan who grew up to be a successful man. He was married and had children. His family had been pestering him to take them to Panchgani, so they all can stay together. He finally agrees and goes to his home town in happy anticipation but there he comes face to face with a horrifying reality. An epidemic (mahamaari) has hit the town and there is death and illness everywhere. He has even lost his own family. Wandering around, he finds a boy crying. Apparently, he is alone having lost his family. This boy is Raju, now an orphan. The Principal believes that even an orphan has the right to live, be cared for and become successful. It reminds him of his own childhood. So the Principal brings Raju to Panchgani and enrolls him in his school. He does not adopt him but ensures he is well looked after.

Raju is constantly reminded he has no parents or relatives. Especially when the other students’ parents visit them and he sees their warm bonding. Apart from the Principal, there is a teacher Uma (Indrani Mukherjee) who dotes upon Raju. He accidentally keeps calls her “didi” (meaning elder sister) instead of teacher but she doesn’t mind.

Among the other students is Billo (Junior Mehmood) who keeps having a fight with Raju. Billoo’s brother is Rakesh (Sanjeev Kumar) who is an ex-student and a favorite of the Principal. Rakesh visits the school occasionally. Unknown to the Principal, Rakesh is in love with Uma. He informs his parents (Brahm Bharadwaj and Shaukat Kaifi) of his relationship and they are supportive of the match.

Back to Raju. Its report day. He sees the other boys spending time with their parents who have got gifts for them and are showering affection. Raju is once gain reminded he is alone. He is crying when students taunt him of being “anaath.” He gets into a fight and Uma and the Principal need to intervene. The Principal takes him inside and shows him Pandit Nehru’s photo fondly referred as Chacha (uncle) Nehru by children. The Principal says this is your uncle and don’t consider yourself alone.

Surprisingly Raju behaves as if he doesn’t know who Pandit Nehru is and his position as the country’s Prime Minister. He asks the Principal why doesn’t his uncle come to Panchgani to meet him. The Principal tells him its because Raju is a bad boy who keeps fighting. Raju promises to Pandit Nehru’s photo that he will be a good boy going forward. Further, the Principal asks Raju to write a letter to Pandit Nehru, which he does. Raju is happy about this new “relationship.” He steals the PM’s photo and keeps it in his hostel room, along with a red rose (plucked from the school garden).

One day, the Principal is having a heated discussion with the board of directors. He is not willing to raise the school fees. Raju rushes in to tell him that he has got a response from Pandit Nehru. The Principal is overjoyed, picks up Raju and suddenly collapses (apparently due to a heart attack). He is forced to leave for treatment in a nursing home. Strangely, the other teachers refuse to conduct classes until he is back and the school holidays are declared. (Wonder how the board agrees to this!). The students rejoice when they hear about the holidays.

The parents arrive to take the children home. Meanwhile Raju hears that his Chacha Nehru will be going to Mumbai (Bombay) and giving a speech near Chowpatty. With the Principal being away, he rushes to inform Uma but she is busy talking to the students’ parents and shouts at him to leave her alone. Raju hears that one of his fellow students is leaving for Mumbai. Unable to make his mind, he suddenly decides to hide in the boot of the car and lands in Mumbai.

Here the film enters a dark zone. He first meets a deranged old man (Harindranath Chattopadhyay) who looks after him for some time. He takes him to Chowpatty but they realise that the rally is over and Pandit Nehru has gone back to New Delhi. Later, Raju finds himself in the company of some child beggars who are after his money (he had carried Rs. 10 with him from Panchgani).

He ultimately gets kidnapped and lands in the slum where Mansaram (Manmohan) runs his training school. His profession? – training young boys and girls to make them beg in Mumbai. We are introduced to the grim reality of the begging profession. Very young children are made to lose their sight (made blind forcibly) or break their hands or legs to ensure they make effective beggars. The only sound people here are a poet Kavi (Jagdeep) and a blind young woman Kavita (Madhavi) who show concern for Raju.

In spite of all the hurdles, Raju manages to catch a train and reach New Delhi. A kind man (Abhi Bhattacharya) gives him shelter and informs Uma and the Principal (the Principal has recovered and is back in the school). Both of them rush to join Raju in New Delhi. Will they be successful in fulfilling Raju’s mission?

The Music

Technically, this subject does not have much scope for songs and there are too many (8 songs!), most of the seem wasted. This, in spite of having Kaifi Azmi as the lyricist and Madan Mohan as the music director.

Mohammed Rafi steals the show with 2 highly memorable numbers. It also brings out his versatility. The first is the soft romantic number Tumhari zulf ki saaye mein shaam kar doonga picturized on Sanjeev Kumar. And he sings the very moving “Meri awaaz suno.” [SPOILER AHEAD] – this song appears at the end of the movie and has some historic footage of Pandit Nehru’s funeral. The song is effective in capturing the mood of the sorrowful scenes.

My Thoughts

As stated, the movie’s theme is different from normal movies. And thankfully, its focus is on Raju and his mission. It does not spend much time on other sub plots or the romantic track. Also, the main plot moves smoothly from the innocence of the school life in the hill station to the metro city with its harsh reality. Master Babloo is convincing as Raju and his bond with the Principal and Uma is brought out naturally. Balraj Sahni is as usual impressive. This was Sanjeev Kumar’s initial movies and he doesn’t have much to do other than meet his love interest (Uma) and then keep hunting for Raju in Mumbai. The characters in the latter half – Manmohan, Jagdeep and Madhavi are good. Jagdeep plays a serious role, very different from his later comedic avatar.

Unfortunately, the film has some loopholes which don’t make the story believable (like Raju being able to run away from school easily). But I think those can be ignored as we join Raju in his journey to New Delhi and see how the story moves to its poignant and unexpected climax.