Dharmendra: alternative portrayals

In continuation with my previous post, I'd like to make a slight point about the wonderfully charming, handsome and talented Dharmendra(ji). I mean, it is so ironic that the man is best known for his roles in action movies (most notably, Sholay), and his dialogue " Kutte, main tera khoon pee jaunga", and his jauntiness, his comical antics, his signature dance moves, and his overall "macho" persona.

    

I mean....it is so totally not right!!! I wish he was remembered more for his portrayal of the sensitive, thinking, idealistic common man that he so effortlessly played in movies like "Bandini", "Anupama", "Anpadh","Satyakam", "Guddi" and other such movies that he worked in during the 50's-70's. "Sholay" again was one of his highlight movies, and his garrulous, dare devilish, romantic Veeru was a perfect antithesis to Jai's brooding, contained persona.  Watching it today is a bit poignant because Dharmendra was never to star in anything worthwhile again. Though he continued to work as a hero till the end of the century, developing a tough new Garam Dharam persona along the way, the films he made were consistently appalling and by the time he went into semi-retirement in 2000, he was a B-grade movie star.

    

But watch Dharmendra(ji) sing "Ya dil ki suno" in Hemant Kumar's melancholic voice-over and you will instantly relate with his sensitivity and range, which unfortunately was not tapped properly in his latter work.

Or watch scenes from the movies listed above to understand that he was definitely better as an actor playing roles that gave him an opportunity to show his sensitive, understated, charming, slightly flirtatious side that will make any woman fall head over heels in love with him.

Bandini

Satyakam

Anupama

  

Guddi

The fascinating aspect of this phase of Dharmendra's career is that he became the vehicle for Bengali literary realism in Hindi cinema. Just as Guru Dutt's "Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam" was a Bengali film in Hindustani GARB, so too were "Bandini", "Anupama", "Manjhli Didi" and "Satyakam". That a strapping Jat hunk managed to play the bhadralok protagonist with such intensity and conviction is an achievement for which Dharmendra gets too little credit.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's movies in the 60's and 70's

    After all the hullabaloo associated with my PhD confirmation examination, I've retreated into my good old cocoon, nestled against old books, movies, thoughts and dreams that are most dear to me. In fact, I've been watching movies like crazy. The week of my exam, I watched the new line of Hollywood movies that have been nominated for the Oscars, starting with "12 years a Slave", then "Her", "American Hustle", " The Wolf of Wall Street", and so on....

     After the exam, it was back to the good old Hindi movies. And as I watched "Guddi", "Abhimaan", then "Anupama" and "Satyakam", I sort of wondered as to how Hrishida's movies shifted in themes when you look at them ranging from the 50's to the 90's. I always considered Hrishida's movies to be rooted basically in humor, testimony- most of his popular work like "Golmaal"(1979), "Chupke Chupke"(1975), "Kubsoorat"(1980), "Mili"(1975), "Baawarchi"(1972), "Guddi"(1971). Even in "Anand"(1970), where the lead protagonist suffers from a fatal disease, the underlying melancholy is buoyed by humor and a "fun" outlook towards life.

    But if you look at his earlier work, especially his debut movie "Musafir"(1957), "Anuradha"(1960), "Anupama"(1966) and "Satyakam"(1969), you invariably feel that his earlier works reflected more serious, deeper themes and were dealt with less lightheartedness than his "signature" films. Not that they were of any less impact;just that they somehow seem different than his usual style.

   "Musafir" was in fact totally unique in it's narrative structure, because it was shot in an episodic format and dealt with three stories of three different set of people and their encounter with the three most significant events in a person's life i.e. birth,marriage and death. The cast was a formidable one, with stalwarts like Dilip Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Durga Khote. 

"Anuradha" had a lonely wife played by the beautiful Leela Naidu who becomes increasingly disillusioned by her Doctor husband wonderfully played by Balraj Sahni, who neglects his wife in his workaholic lifestyle.

"Satyakam" was again a serious movie that depicted Dharmendra as the no nonsense, hard working idealist who shuns the changing trends of society and refuses to compromise on his ideals. 

By far, my most favorite film, "Anupama" blew me away with its sheer simplicity, minimalism and beauty. I mean, as far as I know, Dharmendra never looked as handsome and romantic, and my darling Sharmila was never portrayed more vulnerable, beautiful and engaging. I mean, the film is sheer poetry. 

 His later movies were more garrulous and lighthearted, and believe me when I say that I've actually lost count of the number of times I've watched "Chupke Chupke", "Guddi", "Golmaal" and "Mili". I mean isn't that what good movies are about? The fact that you watch them repeatedly, discovering something new to wonder about each time, and every time you laugh and cry for the same reasons and yet you never ever feel bored or let down? Something that current movie makers need to really understand. A great movie need not make 100 crores. It only needs to live forever in the hearts of movie lovers, needs to continue to have a life in a DVD format, or You Tube views, still ascertaining its magic and impact on people.

      How I simply adore you Hrishida.....