Kanoon (1960)

Capital Punishment has a marked prominence in the annals of all recorded history. There has been no civilization where this form of punishment has not been practiced. Be it the Greeks, or the Romans, or the Chinese- all had strict stipulations on human execution as a part of their code of law. Even major religions like Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism have permitted capital punishment for certain offenses. But despite all this, there has always been a serious debate on whether human execution is justified. It has always been argued whether justice is always just; most certainly there have been many recorded instances where apparently innocent have been executed. BR Chopra’s 1960 movie Kanoon essentially debates and discusses this very pertinent issue of whether a human has got the right to take the life of another human, even if it is a means of enforcing punishment. Starring Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, and Nanda in principal roles along with some splendid lesser known actors essaying crucial roles, Kanoon is a resounding statement on the fallacies of human court of justice and on the inadequacies of the written law.

The movie starts off with a cold blooded murder like many of the other thrillers of the time. However this regularity is just a smokescreen for this apparently routine murder hides an uncomfortable truth behind it and exposes the ineffectual nature of our law. The case is adjudged by Justice Badri Prasad (Ashok Kumar) who is set thinking by the completely unexpected things that it throws up. This sets the ball rolling for a gripping tale that interweaves a poignant family drama into a courtroom battle. Another cold blooded murder takes place; that of a wealthy and manipulative city moneylender. The setting of the murder witnesses an unusual turn of events. Advocate Kailash Khanna (Rajendra Kumar) visits the moneylender to obtain some crucial papers that could put his girlfriend Meena’s (Nanda) family into great financial trouble. His girlfriend is the daughter of none other than Justice Badri Prasad, making the renowned judge his to be father-in-law. While at the moneylender’s place, Kailash spots Badri Prasad from a window, making his way towards the house. To avoid meeting his father-in-law and spilling the beans on his brother-in-law’s carelessness, he goes and hides in the other room. What happens next truly shakes the daylights out of him. Badri Prasad takes out a knife, rams it into the moneylender’s chest, and leaves the place smoothly. Completely shaken and not knowing what to do next, Kailash too runs away from the scene of the murder. Once the place is deserted save for the corpse of the moneylender lying on the floor, an aged thief enters the house with the intention of pilferage. However in the dark of the night he steps onto the corpse, leaves his fingerprints on the knife, and while escaping from the window gets caught by two policemen patrolling the area. Expectedly the poor thief gets embroiled in the case and gets implicated for the murder, with all the evidences pointing towards him. Not wanting to give his father-in-law away, Kailash decides to fight the case for the falsely accused thief and embarks on a battle to save him, while making all the efforts to spur the conscience of his father-in-law. What follows next is a riveting courtroom drama and a completely unexpected climax that throws up a host of questions, while answering a few too along the way.

Kanoon is completely a director’s film. It is an explosive subject and each and every scene shows the kind of efforts that would have gone in writing it. The dialogues are emphatic, the silences even more so. Most of the movies have one or two memorable scenes, but this one boasts of a series of such spectacular scenes that create a tremendous impact- right from the first scene, to the culmination of the drama. If one has to choose the most dramatic scenes, surprisingly a lot of them also come outside the court of law- behind the scenes of all the true drama. My vote would go to the interactions between the father and son in law post the murder, when Badri Prasad finds Kailash peeping into his private diary. Also the dialogue between the accused thief and his defendant Kailash is remarkably handled. There is also a superbly done slight side track when Meena starts suspecting Kailash of the murder, having absolutely just reasons for doing so. This delicate interplay of emotions between the protagonists is a delight to watch. The highpoint, though, as expected is the jaw-dropping climax, complete with the tense buildup and replete with an efficient disrobing of facts post the suspense is revealed.

The actors do more than a fine job, and show great dexterity despite the help they receive from the remarkable written material. I haven’t seen much of Rajendra Kumar, but still can safely assume that this would be one of his best performances (most of the others I believe are in the sappy romantic space where he excelled and thus got knighted as the Jubilee Kumar). Ashok Kumar is truly amazing in his highly sinuous role. His effortless ease is hard to miss. Meena is slightly more than a typical Hindi movie heroine and gets good scope to leave a mark. There are no songs in the narrative, though it does boast of a finely choreographed ballet dance performance that blends seamlessly with the story.

Parting Note: Kanoon is simply a MUST WATCH for the people who love their court-room dramas, and also for those who like watching thrillers (though this is not a thriller in the conventional sense). What elevates it from being just an excellent film is its thought, and its purpose which it conveys in the most effective manner possible- through the route of a highly entertaining story. 

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.