Feb 04, 2005 11:07 AM
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(Updated Feb 04, 2005 11:15 AM)
Nature is at work.. Character and destiny are her handiwork. She gives us love and hate, jealousy and reverence. All that is ours is the power to choose which impulse we shall follow.
Seabury, David
Last night I was wondering if in the present, ‘bold’ times, any film-maker would have the courage to make a Bandini now ? The answer came to me within seconds : No, absolutely not !
Because the film directors of today always like to ride on the safe horse. Because film making is more of a business today than a creative outlet. Because the costs of the movie have to be recovered, by hook or by crook. I suppose as we are getting more progressive, we are also getting more insecure and hollow. Success in any endeavor is measured in terms of the money it generates.
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‘Bandini’ is an extremely passionate movie. It is not for the faint hearted.It speaks of love – but mind you, not the candyfloss, pink valentine type of love. But love that hurts. Love that sucks the lifeblood from your veins. Love that makes you want to kill.In my personal opinion, this kind of love does not happen to anyone. It happens to very intense, passionate peoplewho believe it taking it all or giving it all up as easily.
I watched this movie when I was a child. And it had a profound impacton me. I decided that if I ever love a man, then I would love like ‘Bandini’. Of course, in my case I did not have to kill anyone for my love (my common sense always gets the better of me !) but the romantic in me always hoped that somewhere, I am like ‘Bandini’ – loving, losing and yet loving forever..
The actual name of the main protagonist in this movie is ‘Kalyani’. Why she was called ‘Bandini’ was because
(a)She was sentenced to life imprisonment in jail by the state
(b)She had sentenced herself to life imprisonment in love willingly
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Story
Kalyani (Nutan) is a young girl who gives her heart to a freedom fighter, Bikash (Ashok Kumar) who promises to marry her but never comes back even as the young Kalyani waits in vain. She leaves her safe home to search for him in the strange city and takes up a job as a nurse in a nursing home. When she discovers that one of her patients is the one who Bikash has eventually married, she suffers an emotional trauma. In a vulnerable moment, Kalyani murders his wife and then admits to the crime. She resigns herself to a life of imprisonment till a young doctor (Dharmendra) proposes to her and she is given a parole simultaneously. As she embarks on a new life with her future man, her paths cross with Bikash, now ill and broken. Which path will Bandini choose ? The safe haven of the young doctor’s home and hearth or the rough and bumpy path of her love that beckons her….
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Performances
Nutan (my favourite actress) shone like gold in this one. She ceased to be Nutan and became Kalyani. This was the most effective performance of her life. The quiet determination, the passion in those eyes and willpower like steel… she was simply superb. Ashok Kumar was good as usual, playing the resigned lover who could not fight his circumstances. Dharmendraas the young, handsome doctor who falls in love with a prisoner was perfect.
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Direction
Now don’t get me started on this. I can fill pages and pages on the superb direction of this movie by Bimal Roy. Every scene is a masterpiece and though it was the era of black and white cinema, the director has done a wonderful job at highlighting the grey in each of her characters.
The most interesting scene is the one just before Kalyani executes the murder.
The way the director builds up the tension in the air as Kalyani stares out of a dark window is incredible. To add to the feeling of dread, someone is welding right outside the window so that one can see Bandini’s profile etched against the unsettling background of bright light that contrasts with pitch darkness – over and over again !
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Music
S.D. Burman, the Music Maestro gave amazing compositions for this movie - ‘O mere manjhi’, ‘Mera gora ang lai le’, ‘Jogi jab se tu aaya mere dware’, ‘O jaane wale ho sake to’are classics that should be etched in gold. My favourite is ‘O mere manjhi’ – the last song which was an integral part of this movie.
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I simply loved the character of Kalyani because-
Kalyani is a remarkably strong-willed woman who is able to withstand the worst and yet she is endearingly human.She is very clear about what she wants and she knows very well how to achieve it. She does not complain about the hardships she encounters - she does not cry, whine and moan.She is determined and dignified – exactly the kind of woman I would love to be ! At the same time, when she knows that she has done something wrong – she makes no excuses, she blames no one but herself and courageously walks up to bear the repercussions.She is hopelessly devoted to her man and while at one side she kills someone in a rage of jealousy, on the other hand, she gives up a secure future in lieu of an uncertain, adverse fate just for the sake of love.
But then isn’t every woman in love ‘ Bandini piya ki…sangini saajan ki..’ ?
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