Thikana (1987)

There was a time when Mahesh Bhatt used to make films. Good, bad, ugly- whatever- but they were never business projects, just stories that he used to put to life on celluloid. And more often than not they were stories that emanated from the heart that aimed to strike a cord with the hearts of the patrons. Strike a cord with hearts. Nothing above. Nothing below!

Thikana is one such story that is quintessential Mahesh Bhatt of the 1980s. Emotionally verbose, melodramatically intricate, perfectly imperfect, and remarkably sinuous. And yet at the core the film’s simplicity is akin to a child bawling in pain in front of his mother. Save the last thirty minutes when it deep-dives into the pits of mediocrity, the film could have been a well remembered one.

The genre of the movie can be defined as pulp fiction at best- the kind which is available in abundance in the bookstalls of the railway stations across the country. The sub-genres can be described as concentric circles- with mystery forming the outermost circle, and drama forming the central core. The story is woven around the travails of an idealist lawyer, Ravi, who is also unabashed drunkard. Anil Kapoor plays this wasted young man who is pitied, detested, and admired in equal measure. This is established by scene early on in the movie when an inebriated Ravi returns home one night to the caustic remarks of his widowed mother and the comforting presence of his elder sister Shashi (essayed by Smita Patil). What follows next is a full blown melodrama where a semblance of sobriety is incorporated through some wonderful dialogue. The very next morning, however, normalcy is restored, acting as a subtle metaphor to the new day and the fresh start it indicates.

Some other powerful scenes follow, one in which when Ravi’s self-respect is questioned he decides to do away with the ideals he had inherited from his father. In the court of law, he is asked to prove that a young girl is of legally marriageable age, when she clearly looks like being years away from that. How Ravi’s hands waver while signing the testimony and how he admits to have been led astray by his own insecurities, is a study in how a single powerful scene can etch out a characterization that in most movies a series of scenes cannot. Some remarkable scenes between Shashi’s fiancé Ranbir Singh (a police officer- enacted by a superb Suresh Oberoi) and Ravi follow. In fact it is the relationship between these two men and their confrontations constitute the most emphatic part of the movie. A cameo by Anupam Kher is worth mentioning, but just like the movie- it is overstretched and redundant beyond a point.

The most striking part of this movie however is that each and every character has grey shades. And thus the dialogue is so forthright that it gets uncomfortable for an average Hindi movie watcher after a while. But what’s not unusual here is the generous use of songs, and none of them worth a mention. And neither the unnecessary and completely headache inducing last part of the movie, which kind of overshadows the merits of the first three-fourth of the movie to a certain extent. It looks like a lot of it shot keeping the commercial prospects of the film in mind. But in retrospect it might have just backfired.

Performances from Anil Kapoor and Suresh Oberoi are the highlights. Smita Patil is her usual poor weepy self and Amrita Singh (who plays Ravi’s love interest) is in her usual flashy yet lost avatar.

Parting Note: The film is engrossing for most parts and has some remarkably well-written moments of drama. However the last half an hour prevents this movie from being a fondly recalled one.

Trivia: This film was released after Smita Patil's demise and thus its release was dedicated to her.

Saaheb (1985)

Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee enthralled many in the 1970s with their uncomplicated approach to film-making. Their simple tales set in the middle class India acted like a breath of fresh air during the times when Masala potboilers were ruling the roost. In the 1980s however, both these maestros started losing their steam. During that time there were many directors who tried to follow their template and come up with their own takes on the urban middle class people and their day to day living. But most films ended up being a pale shadow of the kind of cinema that was seen in the 1970s. A few notable exceptions were few and far between- for instance Sai Paranjpe most certainly offered something to cheer about with her troika of Katha, Sparsh, and Chashme Buddoor. But still the standard of film-making in the 1980s wasn’t as high as the preceding decades.

Anil Ganguly’s 1985 family drama Saheb starring Anil Kapoor as the central protagonist is one of those rare good movies in the 80s that managed to enliven the spirit of the kind of films made by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in the 1970s. It is an ensemble cast film, but the focus is mostly on Anil Kapoor’s character Saaheb who is the fourth and the youngest son of a retired patriarch Badri Prasad Sharma (Utpal Dutt in a remarkably restrained role). His family is a typical middle class joint family headed by a sexagenarian and ably run by the eldest mother-like ‘Bhabhi’ (Rakhee Gulzar in a quintessential middle aged woman role). Saaheb’s elder brothers and their wives (except Bhabhi) are too much into their own little world and hardly care about the issues and worries of the household. Saaheb’s younger sister ‘Bulti’ has reached the marriageable age post completing her graduation, which, incidentally Saaheb has not been able to complete despite three attempts. The reason for Saaheb’s lack of interest in studies is his love and passion for football. He is the star of his university football team in which he plays as the goalkeeper.

The movie has got not story till about the last half an hour. It is just a pleasant depiction of the world in which Saaheb breathes and aspires. His interactions with his family folk are really interesting. His three brothers and two younger Bhabhis consider him to be a good for nothing fellow, and are always ready with scathing remarks at his idleness despite him doing all their menial jobs with a smile on his face. Saaheb’s father appreciates his zeal for the sport but at the same time is skeptical at his future prospects, especially because he is unable to land even a decent job owing to his lack of qualification. He shares a lovely relationship with his younger sister who respects him despite not knowing anything about the sport he loves. As for his eldest Bhabhi, she is more of a mother to him than a sister-in-law. There is romance too in his life, with Natasha (Amrita Singh in a boisterous role she would repeat in Chameli ki Shaadi), a girl next door having a huge crush on him and making it loud and clear at more instance than once. This romance leads to a few unnecessary songs, including ‘Yaar Bina Chen Kahan Re’ (a really popular and rhythmic song- vintage Bappi Lahri). These songs obstruct the narrative but one can’t really mind them in a film of this nature.

The last half an hour is what elevates this movie from being ‘just average’ to ‘good’. When his father and their home faces a huge financial challenge, Saaheb makes a great personal sacrifice to bail everyone out of the trouble.

Utpal Dutt having a heart to heart with his family

This is a movie that needed strong performances, and the stalwart Utpal Dutt leads the way with a completely natural portrayal of a helpless man just wanting to see his children happy. Recognized for his comic roles and highly energetic characters, here he does a complete U-turn and takes up a laidback character that lacks much drama. Watch him in the scene when he explains his financial position to all his children and asks his sons to take the responsibility of getting their young sister married off. Rakhee Gulzar comes up with an amazing performance by bringing to her character the right amount of affection and selflessness. But the star of the show is a young Anil Kapoor. He is in the title role and the entire drama centers around him, and for such a young actor lacking experience, he does a remarkable job. Post watching Saaheb, I have a completely different impression of Anil Kapoor the actor.

Parting Note: Saaheb is pleasant watch that excels because of its performances and its lack of pretensions. Although it is not the perfect film (with a shoddy comic side-track involving Deven Verma, and 2-3 unnecessary songs), it still has a likeability attached to it that is a result of its honest intentions.