Teesri Kasam (1966)

Life is showbiz can be a big challenge, especially for ladies for the lines between morality and professionalism and ambition can be pretty thin ones. We have had many movies that have dealt with this subject in recent times- Fashion and The Dirty Picture being the ones that immediately come to mind. In fact there was a time when women working in such vocations were not seen in a good light. The society never encouraged the women to be a part of such set-ups and the women who did end up working in the entertainment world were deemed social outcasts. Also, before cinema and fashion became as big as they are today, something else ruled the heartlands of our country- the good old village nautanki- a celebration of life and all its covert pleasures. Basu Bhattacharya’s first Hindi film, Teesri Kasam, starring Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman is set in such an era. With a rustic backdrop, this film is a heartwarming tale of love between a nautanki star and a bullock-cart driver (Gaadiwaan).

Hiraman (Raj Kapoor in a typical role of a simpleton) is a naïve village bumpkin who is a Gaadiwaan by profession. A god-fearing and righteous fellow, he gets into some unfortunate situations and which lead him to make two promises to himself- one that he would never transport black-market goods on his cart, and two that he would never transport long wooden on it either. These two small incidents at the beginning of the story set the character of Hiraman firmly in place. Soon, he gets the task of making a lady reach a distant village mela on his bullock cart for which he is promised a lucrative payment. Thus, he and the lady embark on a thirty hour long journey through the wilderness to reach their destination. The lady is an ethereal beauty and Hiraman gets struck by her surreal charm. He discovers that her name is Hirabai-making her his namesake (meeta) in a way. Hirabai too gets attracted to Hiraman’s simplicity and goodness. They spend the entire time talking to each other, with Hiraman telling her stories and singing village songs to her. They don’t even realize when the thirty hours reach an end and they reach the mela.

Hiraman soon discovers that Hirabai is a very famous nautanki star and the biggest draw at the village mela. He decides to stay in that village and watch her nautanki after getting special passes for the same from her. So every night he and his friends start visiting the nautanki where they see Hirabai driving the crowds crazy by the grace and finesse of her dancing and singing. But a lot of the things that Hiraman sees in these excursions make him very uncomfortable. By the day he and Hirabai meet and spend a lot of time together in the process drawing a lot closer to one another than they initially imagined. In Hiraman, Hirabai finds a true friend who loves and respects her for what she is in reality, and not for her fame and beauty. She finds it difficult to keep the fact hidden from him that her vocation is not entirely honorable. Similarly Hiraman gets more and more sucked into the world of his meeta, refusing to realize that it would lead him to nothing else but dejection and him making a third promise to himself.

The story is uncomplicated and the emphasis is entirely on the unconventional bond between two people whose worlds are completely diverse. Their interactions are the highlight of the story apart from some truly melodious songs composed by Shankar Jaikisan. The performances by both the leads are terrific- especially from Waheeda Rehman who lives her character with great empathy and is a complete natural. This is one of the early films of her career, and it is safe to say that she was one of the most beautiful actresses of her time. On the contrary this is one of the later films for Raj Kapoor, and he looks quite elder to his co-star (but this age gap is justified in the story). As far as his act is concerned, he is a complete natural as the shy simpleton who takes an idealistic view of the world. The supporting cast is efficient (though I could identify only a few of the actors). Iftekhar plays a Zamindar who is a frequent visitor to Hirabai’s show and yearns for her affection. Asit Sen and Jhonny Walker too have brief appearances.

The film is presented as an almost musical with the songs hogging a great portion of the runtime. And it takes nothing away from the likeability of the movie as the songs are simply superb which some great lyrics that do a great job of saying what is going on inside the hearts of Hiraman and Hirabai. Also, the entire nautanki bit (including the behind the scene action) is handled in an authentic manner with some artistic cinematography and shot-taking.

Parting Note: Teesri Kasam is an endearing tale of love between two completely different people, with a completely rustic background which in itself is pretty alluring. Its charm lies in its rootedness and honest intentions.

P.S.: Basu Chatterjee is credited as one of the assistant directors on the project. It is safe to say that the master film-maker, who went on to make some great films himself, got some solid grounding in the art under his meeta (Basu Bhattacharya).  

Ittefaq (1969)

To a fan of suspense and mystery movies, there is nothing more satisfying than viewing a taut and fast-paced thriller. ‘Ittefaq’, one of the early movies directed by the much celebrated Yash Chopra (and rightly so), is one such movie that is gripping enough to keep to you thouroughly engaged with its suspenseful plot and unconventional sequence of events. Produced under the BR Chopra banner, which was famous for its mystery movies, Ittefaq can be rated as one of the best thrillers to have been made in Indian cinema. It is an unusual Hindi movie with no songs and a run-time of just over 100 minutes.

The movie starts off in dramatic fashion, and takes no time in coming straight to the point. Painter Dilip Roy’s (Rajesh Khanna in a complex role) wife is found dead in their apartment and he is accused of the crime. His wife’s sister Renu (Bindu) gives testimony against him and despite his many protests and claims of being innocent, Dilip Roy is convicted of murdering his wife. During the course of the judicial proceedings, his wild and unpredictable behavior leads the court to label him as mentally unstable and thereafter he is sent to a mental asylum. One rainy night, Dilip spots an opportunity to escape from the asylum and chances it. With Police on his trail, he enters the first house he spots feasible to break into. He finds the lady of the house, Rekha (Nanda), all alone and forcefully takes refuge there. What transpires in next few hours is what Ittefaq is all about.

With limited characters and the entire drama unfolding almost in one house, the movie has its focus pretty clear and it is one rare movie from its times which has no subplots, no distractions whatsoever. The drama between Dilip and Rekha is the highpoint of the enterprise, with the last thirty minutes being edge of the seat stuff. The only time the movie slacks a bit is around the half-way mark, when it looks like a slight romantic angle in developing between the main leads, but such fears are unfounded as is revealed in the latter half of the film. The twist and the subsequent culmination to the film are fantastically shot and wonderfully performed.

Another element that adds tremendous value to this movie is its background score and its sound design. Each and every sound, disturbing the silence of the night, has some meaning attached to it and plays some or the other role in building up the mystery. The lighting and production values are top notch, and the editing is razor sharp. The characters of the supporting cast are well defined and are performed ably by well known actors from that generation. But as far as the performances go, Rajesh Khanna takes the cake. He is saddled with a very difficult role and is present in almost each and every scene of the movie. In one of the early roles of his career, he performs remarkable, especially during the latter portions of the movie. Nanda, in a very unconventional role does very well and delivers one of her best performance. Iftekhar (the man who can be seen as a Police inspector in almost every movie from that time), plays a CID inspector here and gives an impressive act.

Parting Note: Ittefaq is one of the better suspense movies made in Indian cinema. Fans of this genre will find it highly satisfying, and so will the fans of Rajesh Khanna, for they will get to see one of the best performances of his career.