Neel Kamal

Directed by: Ram Maheshwari

Starring: Waheeda Rehman, Manoj Kumar, Raaj Kumar, Lalita Pawar, Balraj Sahni, Mehmood, Shashikala

Released: 1968

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

Do you remember a scene from Kaagaz Ke Phool when an aspiring actress played by Waheeda Rehman attends a party and styles herself for it according to latest fashion trends? She then bumps into a director, played by Guru Dutt, who discovered her and is in for a nasty surprise when instead of flattery she is scolded by him for ruining her unique charm, which lies in simplicity. I felt like Guru Dutt while watching Neel Kamal. Somehow I felt that the dramatic 60s styling with mad cat eyes and huge hair never suited Waheeda Rehman, arguably one of the most gorgeous women on screen ever. Her beauty has been done justice by black and white film the most, where indeed no trappings of fashion would distract from her soulful face. By no means am I saying she looked bad in this film – after all that may not even be possible and her innate grace is as overwhelming as ever – but somewhere down the line I was not happy with her styling. How could I know that would actually turn out to be one of many voes offered by the film.

Neel Kamal is one of the films that cannot decide what they really are supposed to be about. Is it a horror? A reincarnation mystery? A family drama? There are even (very slight) hints of psychological thriller. From many ways they could the makers pursued the most unfortunate one and went on with weepy saas-bahu melodrama in which ultimately all characters loose their likeability. I would also say they all loose their brains, but most of them have none to loose from the beginning. In fact the supposedly mentally disturbed heroine is, for most part, the only one who has some logic left, while everybody else only have heads so it doesn´t rain into their throats.

The premise sounds intriguing, make no mistake. Once upon a time a sculptor was in love with a Princess, but instead of happiness he found death because of it. His immortal pyaar stalked the palace even as centuries went by and it fell into ruins. And finally, after years, a young woman hears the voiuce of the culptor calling out to her, for even though she is named Sita, she was once the Princess Neel Kamal. But is it all real? Or is Sita mentally disturbed or ill? In any case it lands her into a big pile of poo as the film goes on.

If I decide not to judge the movie for the old-fashioned sexism it stands for (complete with Sita having to undergo a harsh test to prove her innocence to a very undeserving hubster and nasty girls wearing western attire whilst pure heroine would never don anything but a saree) there are still too many things completely wrong about it. First of all – Sita is obviously a sleep-walker. Instead of trying to cure or at least help her condition the only worry her father has is who is going to marry her (and a doctor himself very scientifically supports the idea that the best remedy for sleep-walking is marriage), and when she does marry he doesn´t even make her new family aware of her „disease“, even though it is pretty life-threatening. Sita´s husband keeps randomly changing his mind about his wife according to what he is told the latest. He never bothers to actually ask her. And one look at an old statue combined with some crap about ghosts he deduces in his mind is what actually makes him believe her, instead of a delayed information from her father about her sleep-walking.

I wished the film would focus on Sita and her battling with her disease/visions/past life, but the makers did not find a time for that, wasting too much footage on her nasty sister-in-law played by ever-annoying Shashikala and her husband who looked like from another world altogether, played by Mehmood. Their subplot ranges from heavily awkward to downright embarrassing. Not to mention next to useless to the main story. Completing the mosaic of insane characters, who are concerned with everything BUT the source of what happens to Sita, is the devilish saasu-maa Lalita Pawar, who makes Sita´s life a living hell so it is OK for her to just change her mind at the end cause she don´t wanna live in an empty house yo. And nobody even wants her to say sorry. And since I really wanted Sita to send them all to blazing hell by that point I could only roll my eyes in frustration.

Neel Kamal wastes not only a promising plotline, but also its first class actors. Waheeda Rehman carries it all on her elegant shoulders, but seems as weary as her character while doing so. At least she gets to use her amazing dancing skills in several songs. Manoj Kumar as a confused pati parmeshwar looks handsome and has nothing to work with. Even seeing his plight over doubts he may have as a loving husband would have been interesting, but you know, let´s have a catfight between Shashikala and another random lady over a man neither loves instead. And over-possessive ghost Raaj Kumar, who keeps trying to kill his reincarnated love and just when she says OK decides it´s actually not that important, was quite weak.

Neel Kamal disappointed me on many levels, as a film that could have been exciting and different, but ended up being very „common“ and tiring.

Anupama

Directed by: Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Starring: Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Shashikala

Released: 1966

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

Not many films venture beyond portrayal of love between hero and heroine – or rather not as many as I would like. Films that don´t only tell story of romance, but include an intricate web of relations, old and new, some of love, some of respect and some of hate. And more than one are complicated, and more than one has to be kept in mind while making decisions. Anupama is such a film.

The story opens with a blissfully married young couple, Mr. And Mrs. Sharma, very much in love and seemingly on their way to even more happiness, as they soon are expecting their first baby. However after a long and complicated labour the lovely Mrs. Sharma dies, leaving behind a baby girl Uma and a completely desolate husband, who is unable to even look at his daughter, unless he is completely drunk. Uma thus grows up into an extremely isolated young woman with little confidence in herself. She is craving for her father´s love, or at least an approval, and at the same time she is terrified of him and his drunken expressions of paternal love. But her life seems to be changing upon meeting a group of friendly young people, a handsome writer and poet Arjun among them.

The character of Anita „Annie“ played by Shashikala, got on my nerves for most part. I understand she was supposed to be a completely opposite of Uma (who speak so little in the film you actually fear she has gone mute), but there is a point after which „over-the-top“ transforms into „highly unconvincing squirrel after a barrel of coffee“. The film also drags a bit in the middle, but it is all worth it in the end - end, that refuses to be a melodrama full of clichés. The story progresses, the characters remain who they are, they don´t do things which are drastic, extreme or completely unexpected, they stay true to themselves, even though, of course, changes make them take actions.

Dharmendra may be known best as action hero, but his good-natured, humble poet was played with much feeling, beautifully. His character is a daydreaming writer, yet never a hopeless case of uselessness (as it sometimes happens with artists shown in films – they are in love with a girl and their genius mind). He is earthy, calm, pleasant. He doesn´t go around giving lectures on the meaning of life – and whatever might come close to it feels very natural and never pretentious.

Young Sharmila was stunningly gorgeous. At times I had a feeling her big 60s hair interfered a bit with who the character of Uma was supposed to be – a very shy, introverted girl who never goes out (apparently the director had the same feeling, but Sharmila refused to listen), but for most part the innocence was so clearly mirrored on her face it let one forget about anything else. For a long time in the film I was worried that she had not much to do apart from looking glorious, but her character ultimately proves to be a heart-stealer. Uma collects up her courage and walks out on her old life with dignity and without need to have a nervous breakdown and throw a fit while making her father feel like crap for mistreating her for so many years (even though that is exactly what he deserved).

The gorgeous black and white cinematography is visual delight, and the music too matches all the beauty the film is stuffed with. My two favourite songs have to be Kuch Dil Ne Kaha and Dheere Dheere Machal. Indeed, Anupama is beautiful.