One woman's hard fate. A very high-quality, magnificent film was created based on the novel by the Punjabi writer Rajindar Singh Bedi. The film tells about the bitter unenviable fate of a woman in the Indian society bound by harsh customs and traditions. The film takes place in the countryside (I love village motifs in films, it is there that you feel the real India, magnificent landscapes, way of life, traditions and customs - everything that so inexorably attracts you to constantly learn and learn this amazing country).
So, we show the history of an ordinary family, which rests exclusively on two men. The oldest heads of the family are elderly parents, the father is blind and helpless, the mother is a bad woman, from whose mouth nothing but swearing is pronounced, the two sons are the eldest (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), married to a woman named (Hema Malini), the couple have two minor children, the youngest MangalKharb>Kharb>Kharb> and a young man in the film. The family is maintained thanks to the earnings of the eldest son Trilok, engaged in haulage. In addition, he drinks part of the money, beating his wife. Once Triloka are substituted by a local usurer and a pandit, because of which Triloka dies, so the family was left without a breadwinner. Life Early already difficult turned into a real hell, money is constantly lacking, mother-in-law daily abuses. All the care of the family fell on the shoulders Mangal, he also began to engage in haulage. Constantly reproached by her mother-in-law Early she finds no place for herself, she is even ready to sell herself just to earn food for her children. And once the panchayat of the village, at the council of elders, supported by the parents of the deceased Triloka, decides to marry again Early for Mangal (the custom of "covering with a veil" has not yet been canceled) - no expenses for the wedding. But neither was it, the fact is that Mangal is in love with a gypsy girl (Punam Dhillon). What is the meaning of Early? After all, she raised Mangala, treats him like a son, and now accept him as a husband? In India, the older daughter-in-law, in relation to her husband's younger brothers and sisters, is perceived as a mother. Not infrequently in the old movies the phrase "The daughter-in-law is like the mother" sounds. Revered, respected, loved by younger family members, no less than her mother. And given the situation that sometimes the older brother remains with younger brothers and sisters in his arms, after the death of his parents, and they are usually still in childhood and adolescence. And when their daughter-in-law, the older brother's wife, enters their house, she begins to educate the younger ones, becomes their adoptive mother. How many more trials will fall to the share of the heroine Hema Malini? If you want to know – watch the movie – you will not regret it.
The cast is brilliant: Hema Malini. Her heroine is not quite like traditional widows, she is not meek when she is able to raise her voice, this is a kind of mixture of Zita and Gita, seasoned with tragedy and drama of what is happening. At the beginning of the film, it is clear that she still loves her husband, regardless of all the humiliations she feels from him, but she tries to resist his drunkenness. Hema did a great job, her eyes, her smile, she was able to convey everything and tenderness, love, despair, pain, and emptiness.
Kulbhushan Kharbanda Very natural in the presentation of character and convincing as always, and what else can be expected from the master of “parallel” cinema, working with such directors as Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, however great the game. His character isn't clear, though. Yes, he suffers from addictions, sometimes beats his wife, but everyone clearly knows that the whole house is kept only thanks to him, he loves his children and the loss of the breadwinner has become a universal grief for the family.
Rishi Kapoor. Well done, well played, in the romantic line with Punam Dhillon looked very organic. But his hero Mangal is kind in soul, not afraid of responsibility, although at the beginning of the film Mangal everyone is considered a worthless guy climbing in other people's gardens, shooting from a slingshot, a kind of overgrown, the rest of the time he just sleeps doing nothing. But with the death of his brother, he is transformed - this is no longer a boy, but a husband. Rishi is very emotional in the film, and again in his hero there is a spirit of opposition to customs and traditions, although he puts up with fate, but only for the sake of the future of his nephews and out of respect and pity for his daughter-in-law. And how much he's been through it. I consider this role of Rishi the most striking in his career, although many people rate him for his role in the film Bobby, after which he became mega popular. I like him in "Bobby" too, but he's still a kid, not experienced, angular, young. And here he's incredibly good, just irresistible. I just can't look at him every time I watch this movie. For me in this film characters Hema and Rishi, the brightest and most important.
Punam Dhillon. Lovely, sweet and mischievous. In addition, she is a gypsy, feeling a free spirit, madly loving Mangala, but her fate is also not enviable - parting with her beloved hurt her soul, but she found the strength to forget him. Excellent work.
Dina Pathak. My mother-in-law coped well with the role of the bad character, although I have not seen a special variety in her images anywhere, the same techniques, the same intonation in her voice, there is no special variety.
About the film as a whole: As I have already noted, Firstly, I was always hooked by films with such subjects, secondly, the writer is a Punjabi, thirdly, the village theme, customs, way of life, traditions, in the fourth - the magnificent game exclusively of all actors involved in the film. What else do you need for pleasure? A great film, with a great plot, will appeal to all fans of retro cinema in India. Check it out.
10 out of 10