Upkar (1967)

The Original Mr Bharat

In his new film, Salman Khan has appropriated the name Bharat, that for many years was associated with Manoj Kumar and his superpatriotic films.

A look at the film that introduced the character called Bharat to Bollywood – Upkar (1967). With this film, Manoj Kumar made his debut as director, reportedly after then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri asked him to make a film around his slogan, Jai Jawan Jai Kisan. It was soon after the Indo-China (1962) and Indo-Pak (1965) wars and a dose of healthy patriotism was in order. (The film was dedicated to Shastri.)

Manoj Kumar played a farmer called Bharat, who loves his land and his country. His brother Puran (Prem Chopra), however does not share his sentiments. He goes to the city to study and is corrupted by the drinking-partying ways of the other students. He is attracted to a doctor Kavita (Asha Parekh), but she goes to the village to work with the poor, and falls in love with the idealistic Bharat. She comes from a rich family, but her mission is to help the needy. Puran is the opposite, and wants to break away from his family to run after money made by any means. Much to the grief of his mother Radha (Kamini Kaushal), Puran goaded to turn against his brother by the smuggling and black-marketing villains Dhaniram and Charandas (Kanhaiyalal and Madan Puri). He demands his share of the family land from Bharat, who gives it all, with the request that he cultivates it and does not not sell it.

Later, when the war with Pakistan breaks out, Bharat joins the army to protect the country—playing both jawan and kisan in the film. He is taken prisoner or war, and when he escapes it is to devastation of the villages by the border. He is found in badly-wounded condition by the one-legged Malang Chacha (Pran), who has been a friend of the family since Bharat was a child. (In a moving and dramatic scene, Malang draws water from a well to quench Bharat’s thirst, but the bucket comes up full of blood.) Malang dies trying to protect Bharat from the murderous Charandas, who has been stealing from the dead.  (Pran, who used to play villain till then white-washed his image with this film, and went on to become a popular character actor, playing noble roles.)

Bharat’s life is saved, but he loses his hands. By this time, Puran realizes that he had been misled, and regrets the way he mistreated his family. When Bharat recovers, the first thing he sees is Puran ploughing the field. The prodigal has returned.

The melodrama may seen overdone by today’s standards, but Manoj Kumar caught the mood of the country then, and wrote the kind of bombastic script and dialogue that appealed to the audience and turned Upkar into the biggest hit of the year.

The film had a terrific music score by Kalyanji-Anandji; apart from Mere desh ki dharti (written with feeling by Gulshan Bawra), there was the melancholic Kasme vaade pyar wafa sab, picturised on Pran; Deewano se yeh mat poochho, Aayi jhoom ke basant,  Gulabi raat gulabi.

Manoj Kumar also filled the film with many social issues that were important then and remain so—family planning, medical aid for the poor, equitable distribution of food, respect for the farmer and the land, and a strong anti-war message.

Shagird (1967)

Bade Miyaan Deewane

This week’s release De De Pyaar De is about an older man falling in love with a much younger woman. In most Indian films, older actors romance younger and younger female co-stars, but they do not play their real age. For a change, Ajay Devgan has played a fifty-year old.

Back in 1967, Subodh Mukherjee wrote and produced, Samir Ganguly directed Shagird, one of the best comedies made in Bollywood, a Molieresque tale about a ridiculous old man, making a fool of himself over a young woman.

The inimitable comic actor, IS Johar, played Professor Brij Mohan Agnihotri, a misogynist, who hates the idea of marriage. His devoted pupil, a pampered rich brat, Ramesh (Joy Mukherjee—the producer’s nephew, who had a run of success before fading out ), follows his guru’s beliefs, till he falls in love with village belle Poonam (Saira Banu, dressed in bright mini saris, managed a Filmfare Award nomination for her shrill performance).

It so happens, that Poonam’s guardian goes off on a pilgrimage, leaving her in the care of Brij Mohan, whom she calls Chachaji. The older man is immediately smitten by her beauty and wants to marry her, in spite of the age difference.

The professor requests Ramesh to help him woo Poonam, and he does, not knowing that she is the same woman he is in love with. Brij Mohan gets a makeover and tries to look young, but Poonam is obviously not attracted to him.

The guru and disciple eventually discover that they are rivals for the love of the same woman; another villain (Madan Puri) is introduced to create more complications and needlessly extends the running time of the film (in those days, audiences expected long movies). In the end Brij Mohan realizes the error of his behavior, sets things right and steps back to unite Ramesh with Poonam.

The film was very entertaining (Gulzar contributed to the dialogue with Vishwamitter Adil) and proved to be a big hit that year. The fabulous music  by Laxmikant-Pyarelal also helped—memorable Majrooh Sultanpuri songs like Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, Bade Miyaan Deewane, Woh Hain Zara Khafa Khafa, Ud Ke Pawan Ke Sang Chalungi, Kaanha Aan Padi Main Tere Dwaar and Duniya Paagal Hai Ya Phir Main Deewana.

The same plot was used again in the 1993 film, Shreeman Ashique, directed by Deepak Anand, with Rishi Kapoor, Urmila Matondkar and Anupam Kher in the cast, but it was not a patch on Shagird.

Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai (1980)

Look Back In Anger

As a new Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai releases this week (April 12, 2019), it is a good time to look back thirty-nine years to the original Albert Pinto, played by Naseeruddin Shah, in Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s film, set, as all his films were, amidst working class Mumbai.

It was the age of the Angry Young Man, the title given to Amitabh Bachchan by the media. Mirza made a film called Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai (1980), as if to say, what does a hero in commercial films have to be angry about? A man from the working class, who has to struggle for money and dignity of labour has the right to be really angry. At the height of the parallel cinema movement, it was possible to make realistic and socially relevant films (many funded by the Film Finance Corporation that later became the National Film Development Corporation), and there was even a parallel star system—most of whom appeared in this film—Naseeruddin Shah in the title role, with Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Sulabha and Arvind Deshpande, Satish Shah, Rohini Hattangady, Dilip Dhawan. Many of them graduates of the Film & Television Institute, Pune; all of them looking young and raring to go.

 Albert Pinto—Shah all buffed up, with a macho swagger—is a car mechanic, who drives around his clients’ fancy cars, takes pride in the fact he is treated well by them, and calls them by their first names. His father, who works in a mill, talks of the low wages and exploitation, but Albert thinks it is wrong to go on strike. Albert’s brother Dominic (Dilip Dhawan) does not want to do a menial job and hangs around with other idlers like himself and ends up behind bars. His sister Joan (Smita Patil), works at a sari shop, and girlfriend Stella (Shabana Azmi), as a secretary fending off her boss’s advances. Mirza also captures life in Stella’s family, with her domineering father and a brother who dreams of going to Canada.

Mirroring the real life textile mill strike in Mumbai, that devastated the lives of workers and their families, the self-absorbed Albert, finally matures and understands that life is not just seen from his narrow prism--there is a larger political reality that impacts their lives. There is also the underlying fact of the minority status of Albert and Stella’s families, that is reflected in their lifestyle and choices—though, of course, they would not be speaking to each other in Hindi, but that is a small quibble in the story of the awakening of a man who realizes that he should be angrier at the injustice around.

Mirza could not have known it then, but Mumbai mill area, gradually underwent a transformation, with the factories and workers’ tenements giving way to flyovers, malls, gleaming office buildings and swanky eating joints. The rich won as always, and Albert Pinto’s anger served very little purpose. But who knows, without the rage of the underdog, things might have turned out much worse.

Haathi Mere Saathi (1971)

Memory Of Elephants

This week's release, Junglee (March 29, 2019), is about a man's friendship with elephants.  Visuals of the pachyderm bring to mind the 1971 hit Haathi Mere Saathi, the film that established Salim-Javed as a hit team of writers and put Rajesh Khanna firmly on the path to 17-hits-in-a-row superstardom, though he signed the film only to get the fat fees that would allow him to buy his bungalow, Ashirwad.

The film was a huge hit, particularly with children, though watched nearly half a century later, it looks a bit clumsy and very melodramatic. Keep in mind, however, that the film was made with real elephants—Maneka Gandhi was not around to make rules about protecting animals on film sets.

The story of the old film was written the well-known producer Chinappa ‘Sandow’ Devar (head of Devar Films) and directed by his brother, MA Thirumugham.  Some reports say Salim and Javed were reluctant to do this assignment, but were persuaded by Rajesh Khanna, who did not want to do a bad film, but needed the money. They also saw it as an opportunity for bigger things, and there were right. After a dozen superhits, Rajesh Khanna could do no wrong by the time this film was made.

Haathi Mere Saathi was about an orphan, called Raju, who was rescued by four elephants when he was a child and as he grows up, they are his only family. The elephants perform with Raju on the street. After a few years, he sets up a zoo called Pyar Ki Duniya, in which a variety of animals live alongside the much-loved elephants, among which the playful Ramu is his favourite.

He falls in love with Tanu (Tanuja), daughter of a rich man, Ratanlal (Madan Puri), who, like all fathers of that age was opposed to the match. However, they do get married, and soon, Tanu starts feeling that Raju cares more for the animals than for her. When their child is born, Tanu is nervous with the elephants around the house, and gives her husband am ultimatum—he has to choose between the animals and his family and he chooses the former.

Ramu tries to bring the couple together and also helps Raju fight the villainous circus owner Sarwan Kumar (KN Singh), eventually sacrifices his life, taking a bullet meant for his master. Audiences in the cinemas reportedly wept with Rajesh Khanna as he sang Nafrat ki duniya ko chhod ke (in Mohammed Rafi’s tear-soaked voice), dragging his elephant buddies corpse to perform the last rites.

Laxmikant-Pyarelal composed some hit songs, written by Anand Bakshi—Chal chal mere haathi, Dilbar jaani chali hawa mastani, Sun ja ae thandi hawa, which contributed greatly to the success of the film. (It was remade in Tamil as Nalla Neram with the legendary MG Ramachandran playing the Rajesh Khanna role).

The sets had to be built at a scale to allow elephants to pass through; the pachyderms came from a circus and were trained to do tricks, but making them ‘act’ was the job of clever editing.  Still, the film had a message of humanity and enough entertainment to make kids watch the film repeatedly and then catch telecasts on Doordarshan.

Films made today are undoubtedly slick, and have computer generated animals. Kids are also smarter and have seen more sophisticated films made for them; but back then, in the age of innocence, the film turned out to be a blockbuster and Chinappa Devar’s investment paid off. It turned out to be the biggest hit of his career (many of his films centred around animals). Rajesh Khanna bought the bungalow from Rajendra ‘Jubilee’ Kumar. Salim-Javed went on to make movie history.

Mujhe Jeene Do (1963)

The Bandit Of Chambal

Once upon a time the dacoit film was a genre by itself in Hindi cinema; this week (March 1, 2019), a bandit film releases after long gap—Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya, set in the notorious Chambal Valley of Madhya Pradesh.

Sunil Dutt’s Ajanta Arts produced Mujhe Jeene Do (1963), directed by Moni Bhattacharjee, the gritty drama written by Agha Jani Kashmiri, has none of the false glamour and bravado that invariably creeps into films about bandits.

There is no back story to Jarnail Singh (Sunil Dutt)—the viewer was expected to understand what turned this brave and proud man towards a life of crime. Like many other outlaws, He probably lost his land to a cruel zamindar and could not bear the thought of living a life of slavery. Life on the run has hardened him—in the first scene, he kills a man who refuses to sell him ammunition. Even as his wife Champa (Nirupa Roy) carrying an infant in her arms pleads with him to spare her husband’s life, Jarnail drags him to the village square and shoots him dead. This incident unites the entire village and enraged men swear revenge. Meanwhile, the cops led by a Superintendent of Police (Tarun Bose) dedicated to wiping out the dacoit menace, stay one step behind the Jarnail Singh gang.

On their next attack at a wedding in a rich man’s (Sapru) house, where the alluring Chamelijaan (Waheeda Rehman) has been called to perform, Jarnail Singh is smitten by her and kidnaps her. Chamelijaan refuses to sing or dance for him, so Jarnail gives orders that she is to be given no food till she relents.

There are some comic scenes involving Jarnail’s buddy and the gang’s jester Dara Khan (Rajendranath), who can see through his friend’s heart and is overjoyed that at last Jarnail has found someone to guide him to the right path.  Chameli, who is otherwise defiant, melts when Jarnail proposes to her.  She agrees only later, to stop him from killing a gang member Kripal (Siddhu), who was molesting her. Kripal breaks away from the gang and forms his own ragtag bunch.

Chameli gives birth to a son at Dara’s house, where his mother (Durga Khote) and sister (a very young Mumtaz) help.  Soon after this Dara is killed by Kripal’s bullet.  Jarnail is shattered by the death of his best friend. Already his gang is being weakened by police attacks.

For the sake of his family, Jarnail wants to a give up this nomadic way of life.  He tells Chameli to take their son and settle down to a decent life in a village. Chameli chooses a home next to Champa’s and finds a friend in her; she also pretends that she is a widow.

At school, Chameli’s son inadvertently gives out his identity, and the village mob attacks her home.  She is saved by Champa, who believes that innocent family members should not be lynched for Jarnail’s crimes.

Jarnail agrees to surrender, the cops and villagers gather outside the village to wait for him as he rides in alone and throws down his gun. Kripal shoots him before he can reach; before dying, Jarnail atones in a way, by saving Champa’s son who has run into the crossfire.

The film was an authentic portrayal of the lives of dacoits. The unit of Sunil Dutt’s Ajanta Arts shot in actual bandit territory in the Bhind-Morena ravines in the Chambal Valley, at some risk to their lives. They had to shoot under police protection.

The songs composed by Jaidev and written by Sahir Ludhianvi were brilliantly integrated into the narrative—such beautiful numbers as Ab koi gulshan na ujde Raat bhi hai kucch bheegi bheegi, Nadi naare na jao Shyam, Maang meri bhar le rang, Tere bachpan ko jawani ki dua deti hoon.