There was a time when mythological and fantasy films were popular in Hindi cinema. Some of them were full of trick scenes and special effects. Trends changed and the number of such film greatly reduced as the 90s arrived. Haatim Tai is one such fantasy adventure film. It is based on the character of Hatim Al Tai or simply Hatim Tai who was a part of Arab folklore. Apparently, he was a real person well known for his generosity. His reference has been included in the Arabian Nights.
The story of Haatim’s adventures offered a rich potential of fantasy filled entertainment which our film makers took notice of. There was a film called Hatim Tai made in 1956. Babubhai Mistry was credited for its special effects. The 1990 version was produced by Ratan Mohan and Babubhai Mistry took charge of the special effects and direction. The film stars Jeetendra, Sangeeta Bijlani, Sonu Walia, Raza Murad, Satish Shah and Amrish Puri.
The Plot
The film begins with the birth of Haatim whose father is an emperor. The location mentioned is Yemen. The boy grows up to be a young man (Jeetendra). He prays to Allah hoping to spend his life being useful to others. He is shown as a highly helpful and generous man. There is a huge gathering of needy people in front of his palace where Haatim and his servant cum companion Nazrul (Satish Shah) distribute money, clothes etc.
One day, princess Mariam (Reshma Singh?), daughter of a rich merchant Barzat (Raza Murad) comes to him seeking is intervention. Mariam is in love with Munir (Vijayendra Ghatge) but her father is opposing the marriage. He has told her outright that she cannot get married. Haatim is surprised to hear this and goes to meet Barzat.
Barzat tells them the reason for his behaviour. One night, he was sleeping when a fairy called Gulnaar Pari (Sangeeta Bijlani) entered his palace. He wakes up and is surprised to see her. He is enticed by her beauty and grabs her forcefully. Further he is unable to control himself and tries to molest her.
Gulnaar is furious and admonishes him for his behaviour. She curses him that his daughter Mariam will never be able to marry. If she marries, her husband will die the same night and Mariam will turn to stone. Saying this, Gulnaar herself starts turning into a beautiful stone sculpture. Barzat is shocked but manages to plead for forgiveness before she has completed her transformation.
Gulnaar acknowledges his apology and leaves him with 7 questions. She will return to her original form once the questions or riddles are solved. So that is the reason for Barzat’s unexpected behaviour.
As expected, Haatim volunteers to attempt and solve the questions. This means he will have to embark on a dangerous journey in search of the answers. But he has made up his mind. Nazrul joins him on his mission. They take leave of Barzat, Munir and Mariam and start their journey.
The journey involves travelling through long stretches of desert and jungles which have surprises along the way. Haatim manages to face the obstacles and solve one question after the other successfully.
They come across men who are tied upside down and women with their heads hanging from a tree. And tree like creatures with blinking red eyes trying to crush them.
There is a young woman who has developed animal like features. And a jinn who wants to eat Nazrul, who has come to meet him disguised as a young girl.
In between all this, Haatim meets Gulnaar Pari’s twin sister Pari Bano (also called Husna). He falls in love with her. Pari’s father Alok Nath is the ruler of Paristaan. He is furious that his daughter has fallen in love with a human being. He orders to teach Haatim a lesson by blinding him. But Allah comes to the rescue of Haatim. There is an earthquake and Pari Bano’s younger brother loses his eyesight suddenly. The boy’s father realizes his mistake and is convinced that Haatim is indeed a Khuda kaa nek banda (i.e. a righteous, virtuous, or godly person”—literally “a good/pious servant of God”).
Having sorted out his romantic life, Haatim moves ahead to solve the remaining riddles. He meet a very old woman who transforms into the beautiful and young Saira (Sonu Walia) after Haatim breaks a highly valuable magical pearl. Saira tells him about Kamlaq the wicked magician (Amrish Puri). Kamlaq was after the pearl and is furious when he cannot lay hands on it.
Kamlaq captures Haatim, Nazrul and Saira. He already has Husna in captivity. This is the final challenge for Haatim. The killing of Kamlaq will solve the 7th riddle.
Will Haatim be successful and defeat the evil magician? Will Gulnaar be free? Will he marry his beloved Pari? The answer is revealed after more magic and special effects in the climax.
The Music
The songs are forgettable and do not add any value to the story. They pop up randomly. The lyrics are by Hasan Kamal and music by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Mohammad Aziz, Anuradha Paudwal, Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy and Anupama Deshpande lend their voices to the predictable tunes. Amrish Puri sings a few lines in the climax song Aaj bachna hai mushkil tera.
My Thoughts
Haatim Tai is a film of missed opportunities. The fantasy genre is interesting with all the special effects that go into its making. That is meant to be the biggest draw for the audience. Unfortunately, the film fails badly in this department. Babubhai Mistry is regarded as a pioneer of special effects but the effort here is sadly underwhelming. Probably, the film’s budget was not supportive of the scale of fantasy that the story demanded. The sets are bad and you don’t feel like watching a film based in the land of the Arabs. The least they could have done was to show fake date trees in the background.
In one scene in the climax, Haatim and Kamlaq fight on a flying carpet. You can see they pass through Duke’s Nose in Lonavala near Pune (screen shot above!). They could have easily used footage of a desert in that scene.
You get tired of hearing that “Khuda kaa nek banda” phrase and Jeetendra has a signature pose throughout the film (that’s the nek banda praying).
Jeetendra looks old and puts in a boring and predictable performance. The other cast members seems to be inspired by him. Satish Shah attempts to add some flavour with his comedy sidekick role. It is left to the dependable Amrish Puri to instill some terror with his villanous act and is fairly successful. Frankly, you are bored by the time the film moves towards the final fight sequence and Haatim overcomes the final hurdle. The film ends on a happy note but cannot say the same about the audience. I wonder if the 1956 version was any better but it would be interesting to find out, right?
