From where we left last time, we continue to journey through
the fascinating world of poetic masterpieces from the pen of Gulzar. Another milestone
movie without which Gulzar would not have been him what he is now is Aandhi.
Based on Indira Gandhi’s character, the lead role, Aarti was played by Suchitra
Sen and the male lead was J.K, a doctor played by Sanjeev Kumar. The film chronicles
the rise of feminine power. Aarti, a daughter of a politician is a married to a
doctor much against the will of her father. After the novelty of marriage is
lost, she feels that she is compromising on her political career. Small tussles
erupt between the politically ambitious wife and the much simpler doctor husband.
The struggle to keep the balance between the political ambition and the
personal life ultimately leads to the separation of both. Aarti pursues her
political career and becomes a likely candidate for the post of a minister. But
as fate would have chosen, the doctor, who is know a famous doctor, is
appointed as Aarti Devi’s personal doctor. However, this relation is not known
to the outside world, other than their tight circle of friends and family. As old
age creeps up, the hero and the heroine are brought together by the growing urge
of companionship. But the coming together is not easy as both the characters
are confronted by each other’s ideological clashes. Aarti does not want her
political career to be stigmatized as a ‘separated woman’- a situation very much prominent in the 70's Indian society. They say life is a
great tutor and this is again proved here as both of them work out their way
together out of the situation. While the movie was a bit controversial due to
the political backdrop of Indian politics, Gulzar was at his best as usual – with
some fine poetry highlighting the grief and loneliness with songs such as 'Tere bina
zindagi se koi shikva…' just immaculate!
Gulzar’s style of writing reflected his sense of immense maturity
in every aspect of literature. He wrote love songs, songs of grief, songs of
loneliness, songs of free and wandering spirit, songs of humanity and
compassion. There was a song for everyone – the lover, the child, the common
man, the woman, the pacifist, the grief stricken. Every one of us identified
ourselves with his poetry. He even made films with a social cause. One of his
most noted films on society was the Vinod Khanna – Meena Kumari starrer ‘Mere
Apne’ which is a satire on the changing social structure of the 70’s when
families became smaller and smaller with both the parents working. Aanandi, played by Meena Kumari, has been a widow for most of her life. Out of no where, Arun Gupta played by noted Marathi actor Ramesh Deo, appears and claims to be a distant relative. He literally begs Aanandi to come and stay with his family in the city. The changing
family required someone to take care of the child at home, for which senior
members of the family were used. Used because they were treated just as a
commodity – a person who has to provide babysitting services and in return will
get a two time meal and a house to stay. Aanandi soon realizes that she is not welcomed in the Gupta family and that she is no more than a maid supposed to do household chores. She is thrown out of the house and is befriended by a child beggar who gives her shelter. She starts observing the
changing lifestyle and with time how family values have vanished. This changing family structure has been
supported with another backdrop of the changing society when she sees Shyam played by Vinod Khanna,
an educated youth engaging in gang wars with his old college mate Chainu played by
Shatrughan Sinha and wasting life’s most productive years. Her good nature earns the sobriquet of Nani Ma as she tries to inculcate goodwill among these wasted youth. The film ends with the death of Nani Ma who is shot in a gunfight between these gangs.
Gulzar edifices the
turbulent 70’s with this satirical song aptly titled – ‘Haal chaal thik thaak
hai’. Lines in this number such as – 'Gol Gol roti ka pahiyaa chala..peeche
peeche Gandhi ka rupaiyya chala’ gives us an idea of the great socio-political
unrest of the 70’s. This was the period of the Emergency and chaos threw the
life of the common man out of track. Among these tough times, saner minds
like Gulzar always made a contribution to the society in their own ways. While
on one side, there were regular rich girl-good boy movies, Gulzar’s work always
stood out – often highlighting the neglected subjects of the society.
For now, it’s a wrap here.
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