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.....
