Mr. and Mrs. 55

Directed by: Guru Dutt

Starring: Guru Dutt, Madhubala, Lalita Pawar, Johnny Walker

Released: 1955

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

What to do when your daddy has left you millions but only on condition of marrying within a month? Why not hire a poor, honest man to marry, and divorce after a while, with millions secured? Especially since divorce bill has finally passed? But what if your perfect plan does not include possibility of falling in love with your victim? Mr. and Mrs. 55 promises, at first, to be simply loveable, but though it does not lack good moments, performances and humour, it is one of those film of the past that are simply problematic today. For where to draw a line for „acceptable“ amount of traditional sexism?

But let´s focus on good thing first. There is something tragically attractive and beautiful about Guru Dutt, about his whole persona. The moment he appears on screen and stares at Madhubala who has seemingly fallen down from the skies, I am lost. I don´t think even Shahrukh Khan with his intent gazing can surpass him in „looking at a woman as if she was the most beautiful thing walking on the Earth. And while this time I did not experience the familiar tingling around the heart (a feeling I get when seeing Guru with Waheeda Rehman), the lead pair in the film is both likeable and talented. Madhubala induces her character with innocence and obstinacy, decorated with delightful comic timing, while her counter-part is more subdued (and quite himself in a role of poor, mistreated-by-society artist). Johnny Lever and Kum Kum are not as over the top as usual, and Johnny actually acts as as pivotal character. Furthermore his little romance is quite amusing, and in contrast to the drama between the two leads. Or at least neither Johnny not his lady love feel the need to discuss who should be superior in the relationship.

What an utterly delightful film this might have been, had it not, as already mentioned, been so damn old-fahioned-ly sexist. I understand that it was released in the 50s, but that does not change the fact that the more it progresses the more it grates on my feminist nerves. And the worst part? It is not the man to have a a fiery, passionate speech about women´s duties and izzat, it is the heroine. Do not take me wrong. In many ways Anita (Madhubala) is a character who does things her way, even if she starts of as childish. However the complete disregard of women being unfairly treated by society annoys me. Anita´s greedy aunt (who makes sure to pinpoint she learned about „freedom“ from women of America and Europe aka continents of hoes where men need to be pitied) is exactly the type of a „feminist“ who gives feminism the bad name with her misandry, and who does not regard another woman´s own choice of way of life as right and normal. Which, ironically, is actual feminism.

At the same time we have the saintly bhabhi (who has somehow managed to have three school-going children in just four years into marriage) who believes that even when her husband beats her occasionally it´s really all just marital happiness. Urgh. Maybe the mean aunty was not wrong about everything.

Ek Saal

Directed by: Devendra Goel

Starring: Ashok Kumar, Madhubala, Kuldip Kaur, Johnny Walker

Released: 1957

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

There is nothing more poignant then watching a movie about a girl who is slowly dying, knowing that the actress herself will not live long and is actually slowly dying. This depressing thought was the only thing I really took from „Ek Saal“, a drama with some romance and hurting thrown into it. I suspect that my copy of the film had some scenes cut out and I thus did not get to see the entire movie as it was released. There was nothing too obviously missing really, but at times I wondered. After all, it wouldn´t have been the first time something like this happened to me with an old movie.

Usha, a girl of a simple name and manner, as well as extraordinary face and gazillion of gorgeous expressions (yes, Madhubala), is celebrating her birthday and everyone wishes her „A thousand years to live“. Unknown to her though, Usha has a brain tumour, something her rich rich rich father just found out, and his heart is breaking. As it appears his daughter doesn´t have a thousand years to live – not even several more. Just one. And the devastated man decided that the whole year that remains should be filled with happiness and not a single worry for his laadli beti. And so when Usha falls in love with their new estate manager Suresh, who doesn´t return her gentle feelings, father bribes him: for every month he spends pretending to love his ill-fated daughter, he will give him a considerable amount of money. Suresh accepts with head lowered in shame – and joy in his heart!

Because Suresh is in fact a conman, who is only trying to rob the rich family of as much as possible. And such an easy income as this he couldn´t have even imagined. And so he romances the girl and keeps counting his money, and planning a future of sorts with Rajni, his partner in crime. Since it is in his best financial interest to keep Usha alive as long as possible, Suresh searches for a doctor, who would be able to help her. But as the months are passing by, with unmerciful clocks tickling, he is becoming more and more aware that being greedy may not be exactly a virtue. And Usha´s innocence and love also start bringing their fruit. Suresh falls in love – for real. And unfortunately the possessive Rajni will have none of his lovey-dovey nonsense.

Why does Usha fall in love with Suresh? That was what I wondered in the first place. And I suspect that is where something was missing from my copy – because I don´t like an idea she simply falls for him just like that, in a matter of a few days, considering he didn´t show any interest in her whatsoever, plus was so bothersome to her at the beginning. Whatever the case, her love also chose to be quite blind. During the film there are several situations during which Suresh nearly shows his true face (like not believing in God and hiding suspicious letters before Usha), yet she never question him on anything, doens´t even stop to think about it. Then again perhaps Usha does have such a naive, almost childish mentality, considering her father decides she shouldn´t even know about her own state of health. Madhubala is as gorgeous as ever in the film, making Usha almost an ethereal creature, though not exactly someone you could relate to. She makes a nice couple with Ashok Kumar, who in his turn delivers a good performance too. Suresh and his change of mind (and heart) do not happen overnight and the inner struggle shown as a dialogue with his own mirror image/photo, who gain live for a few moments, is probably the most interesting aspect of the story.

Kuldip Kaur as Rajni is one sassy character with an attitude. She is no walk over, and she doesn´t just sit about making empty threats. She goes out and actually does what she wants without any delays. She does make you hate her, at the same time I realised I admired her to an extent. Same cannot be said for Johnny Walker with his completely useless comedy track, that gets way too much space for my liking and I recommend to fast forward through it, because it really IS useless.

Ek Saal did not win me over. It failed to make me feel emotional. As I have already said at the beginning, only the knowledge that Madhubala, playing a girl dying of brain tumour, was slowly, slowly dying of her weak heart, stayed with me once the closing credits kept rolling.

Chaudhvin Ka Chand

Directed by: Mohammed Sadiq

Starring: Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, Johnny Walker

Released: 1960

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Even in black and white the visual beauty of this movie is astounding. The costumes, the sets - and of course the heroine - all is just overwhelmingly gorgeous. Wonderful camera work that takes into account the magic of light and shadow managed to capture even the smallest details. As a result Chaudhvin Ka Chand reminds one of a long lost fairytale or a dream long ago forgotten, but all the more familiar once before our eyes again. And once the films switches to colour for a little while, during the iconic title song, you could just faint at all the beauty. Interestingly enough having only that one song in colour while the rest of the film is in black and white, only ads to the magic overall. Sadly, the story itself let me down. When Pyare (Rehman) sees a beautiful girl at a market, he is completely besotted and immediately falls in love.

I so don´t blame you Pyare.

However soon he looses her in the crowd. Fortunately for him the very same girl attend his sister´s birthday celebrations, and so Pyare entrusts a servant with a task to find out her name and whereabouts. The servant indeed does have a name for him after a while, but unknown to Pyare, she got mistaken and identified another girl for him. Without checking anything or asking anyone (least of all his own sister), Pyare has a marriage fixed, and the only thing that seems to be between him and his love is his mother insisting he marries a daughter of a priest and family confidant. Pyare thus seeks help with his best friend Aslam (Guru Dutt), and wants him to marry the priest´s daughter in his stead, to save his own happiness. And Aslam, a good friend he is, readily agrees.

Without even looking at his friend´s new bride, that he himself drove into his arms, Pyare is in for a nasty shock, as he realizes the girl he is supposed to marry is not the one he´s been looking for. And it shall remain unknown to him for a long time after that still, that it was actually Jameela, a daughter of the priest, who now has found her home with Aslam, who too has fallen madly in love with her. Till now I was absolutely charmed. However as much as I loved the first half, that much I was shaking my head over the second. Yet again we deal with sacrificing love on the altar of friendship, a concept, as I understand, this movie actually made popular, however in this particular case it is all worse because one of the friends already married the girl in - and yet he still is trying to find way to to push his wife into somebody else´s arms. I was genuinely frustrated by the character of Aslam for doing everything stupid just to ensure his friend be happy, while in the process he is destroying himself AND the woman he loves, without giving her any explanation. Why is he so unable to tell his friend the truth, I might understand, but why he is equally as unable to share the secret with his wife? Especially after he must have realized she is not leaving him in spite of anything? The scene in which he tells her a story about a precious stone that a friend unknowingly gave him, in spite of wanting it himself, made me want to scream that this was no inanimate object he was speaking about, it was his own wife, and to compare her to a thing, no matter how precious, was just completely off-putting.

In the end I was seriously mad as selfish Pyare, for whom the whole world obviously needed to make a sacrifice, and I was rather miffled with Aslam, who goes nearly mental by the end of the movie. At the same time I did feel sorry for his plight, which I guess has a lot to do with Guru Dutt´s ability to portray a complete disintegration of a personality with such conviction. Johnny Walker as the third friend has way too much screen time for my liking, fortunately his character was not so completely over the top as usual, and so I could tolerate him. 

Waheeda Rehman is a stuff of legends. It was definitely not enough of her in this film, that ultimately is more about the two friends than love between husband and wife (which is a pity because her scenes of marital bliss with Guru Dutt were the highlight of the film for me), however she was an appropriate choice for a film like this, because apart looking as breathtaking as if she has just stepped out of the pages of a Tolkien´s book, she is one of the few actresses who just needs to be in the frame and she completely draws attention to herself and leaves audience in awe and wanting more, in other words exactly the kind of a woman that could make others fall in love at the first sight so passionately.

While the plot and the story were disappointing for me, the technical aspects of the film win some points, as already mentioned. Also - some of the scenes are just wonderful examples of love and romance. Aslam scaring his shy bride describing how hideous he is until she panics and throws the veil away from her face to look at him, when he finds her asleep by the door, waiting for him and carries her to her bed, even a little scene near the very end, when he stops her going into the room Pyare just died and silently draws a veil over her face, the very face which was the reason of that death – all that and more made me fall in love with the love Aslam and his wife shared. All I wanted was for Aslam to come to his senses, and after some impuls stand up for his love, rather then mope and making her suffer for the sake of a selfish friend. Yes, there was a scene like that, however unfortunately it did not lead to a finish I would have preferred. So did I like the film or not? Looking back I did, however I realized I pretty much erased all the scenes that made me fume with frustration from my memory. All that I remember and that I dearly love is the beauty - of the costumes, the sets, the music, Waheeda and her loving moments with Guru Dutt.

Kaagaz Ke Phool

Directed by: Guru Dutt

Starring: Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Johnny Walker

Released: 1959

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

This is what stirs the heart. This is what deserves to be called epic. This is what amazing films should be like. And nobody can convince me now, that Guru Dutt is not the greatest of all Bollywood directors ever. And a wonderful actor too. Kaagaz Ke Phool is a story about a man who looses everything, and gets to a point in life, when he even knowingly refuses what he desires most, because his spirit is all but spent and he feels he has nothing to give in return. Many argue that Kaagaz Ke Phool was to Guru Dutt what Mera Naam Joker was later to Raj Kapoor – an autobiography of sorts, a confession of inner feelings. But while Raj Kapoor opted to become a „joker“ on screen for his magnum opus, Guru Dutt chose his film to be set – in film studios and „behind the scenes“. A film with similar concept – of unveiling the mysterious (at that time) world of film studios and filmmakers, was Guddi, but in comparism Guddi was a light-hearted picture about a girl who needs to sort out reality and fantasy, while Kaagaz Ke Phool is like a mirror of somebody´s soul, of the most intimate feelings and beautiful in all its sadness – all of which are chief characteristics of Guru Dutt movies after all.

In a one huge flashback we are told the story of Suresh Sinha (Guru Dutt), an extremely successful and critically acclaimed director, who has wonderful career, but highly unsatisfactory personal life. He is married, but his wife has left him after he joined the film industry, faithful to the idea of the time that all people connected with films are despicable, low and „dirty“ creatures. More than his wife however Suresh is missing his teen daughter Pammi, whom his wife is trying to keep away from him. After yet another failed attempt to bring his daughter with him to Mumbai, he (yet again) tries to find solace in his work. But not even that seems to be working, because he cannot find an actress to portray Paro in his „Devdas“. Until one day a girl as fresh as a flower and as different from fashionable glamour divas of silver screen as possible, awkwardly appears right in from of his camera by mistake, clutching a coat he had given her not long ago, when they met during a stormy night, seeking shelter under a tree....

Guru Dutt as a performer was extremely natural. I don´t think that apart from him and Dilip Kumar there has been an actor who would need so little words and expression and yet manage to convey perfectly what the character is going through. He also gives you a feeling there is so much more, still more of that pain and questioning the world, than what is shown through the scenes and dialogues – and songs, that are beautiful and full of beautiful melancholy. Somehow one is not capable of just walking away from the film, even though it is, in a way, quite depressing. Finally one has to wonder how much of his personal life really found place in the script. The thought of him predicting his own premature and lonely death is chilling, even though I am inclined to believe it was all just a very sad coincidence. At the same time, the storyline about Suresh and Shanti, may very well be a heartfelt confession....

 

Shanti, a girl already mentioned, that girl who wants nothing but to return a coat, but is made waiting during the shoot, which she delightfully yawns through, is played by Waheeda Rehman. Waheeda Rehman, whom Guru Dutt called his inspiration, and who unquestionably belongs among the most graceful, gorgeous and talented actresses of India ever (I am not discussing this with anyone). One could stare at her forever. Hers is a beauty that touches the inner you, that comes straight to your heart. She can move you to tears just by being on screen, her gentle and yet overpowering presence is extraordinary. Her pairing with Guru Dutt is nothing short of perfect. It is as if they were meant to be. That is all you know watching them. A few softly spoken words, several fleeting touches. And that is all. And yet you know that this is Love happening in front of your eyes. It is no secret after all, that they loved each other in real life as well. Unhappy in his marriage , and feeling misunderstood by everyone (just like the character of Suresh) he found comfort in the young actress, who loved him in return, never exploiting his position in the industry for her own goals, not using him as a stepping stone to secure her own future. 

Love is the backbone of the movie, but there is still enough space to other issues to be touched as well. The ungratefulness of the world, the hyenism of the machine that is film industry, the disdain with which some people even today look upon cinema, even emotional turmoil of a child whose parents do not live together. Emotional blackmailing and voluntarily fall of grace too have place in this story. The excellent camera work and lighting of the film are not made justice by new DVD prints, that rarely are of good quality. Time was not kind to the film reels that Guru Dutt once presented to the world.

Kaagaz Ke Phool is no paper flower which looks beautiful but has nothing else to offer but a shallow, short-lived infatuation before the colours fade. It is a most beautiful rose with soft petals of vibrant tones, blooming eternally.