Milestone in INDIAN cinema. Review on Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje - FilmFare Award 1956

Hi friends, last weekend I happened to watch JHANAK JHANAK PAYAL BAAJE. Initially when I heard the name of the movie, an image of some B-GRADE movie appeared in the mind. I was at the verge of giving up the idea of watching it but suddenly then I heard that it’s the extravaganza of maestro V. SHANTARAM now I couldn’t resist it and thought of at least watching the first few frames. The star-cast was again disheartening which included the names that I never heard before: -

# SANDHYA

# GOPI KISHEN

Now again there was repercussion, which ended with the victory of heart over mind. The first frame was so touching that I couldn’t afford to miss the rest. Guruji’s tearing off the girls’ posters who took up dancing as the means to earn pocketful, which included one of his own protegee. Another such girl NEELA, which eventually leads guruji asking his son and disciple to DANCE, fuels the anger of guruji. All the girls are left gaga by the inconceivable performance of the young man. Neela begs guruji to accept her as his disciple to which guruji humbly says-

“ MUJHE TUMHARI DAULAT NAHI MEHNAT CHAHIYE”

Guruji toils hard and pair her with his son to participate in the prestigious competition where he wants his son to win the most coveted title of “BHARAT NATARAJAN”. And then there are lots of twists and turns that lead to………..What?? That’s for you all to find out.

WHAT THE CRITICS HAS TO SAY: -

 “SANDHYA at her best in JHANAK JHANAK PAYAL BAAJE”.

 “GOPI KISHEN, the actor and choreographer of the movie, gives some really exotic dance sequences, which leaves you breathless. He takes classical dance to its peak through this movie.”

 “The sets are lavish but garish. May be the art director was so much moved by the fact that movie will be colored that he forgot to give the hearty touch. But whatever they suit the situation and are great.”

 “V. SHANTARAM’S ‘ZARA HATKE’ theme worked and why it won’t……it’s the magic of the maestro.”

 “The songs, choreography, music everything is fantastic but what the movie will be remembered for is the taut direction.”

 “The comedians were not needed and they make it boring at times.”

SOME FACTS ABOUT THE MOVIE:-

# Sandhya was not a trained classical dancer. She knocked herself out to give the best ever performance.

# Gopi Kishen faced lot of difficulties in delivering dialogues.

# For RADHA-KRISHNA DANCE Shantaram changed floor tiles to white which cost him 5 lakhs then.

# During it’s exclusive premier the who’s who of bollywood were very sarcastic about its success.

# The movie ran housefull for two years in the same theatre.

# It got the PRESIDENT’S GOLD MEDAL for the best movie and also begged the best movie FILMFARE award.

WHAT DO I HAVE TO SAY: -

It’s like a “ NRITYA NATIKA” (story telling through dance and music), there’s RAAS-LEELA, TANDAV, SIMPLE CLASSICAL DANCE, COMPLEXITY OF CLASSICAL DANCE presented in very simple nature.

Simplicity is the touching point of the movie. There is music but the audience are lost in the dance and when they realise that they lost some very beautiful beats and want to play back it’s again the dance the captivates their attention. Dance is the soul of this movie. Till I watched this movie I used to keep PRABHU DEVA, SAROJ KHAN at the epitome of this art but they all look dull in front of GOPI KISHEN.

The movie tells how beautiful and rich classical dance can be.

Though the situations become very dramatic at places, the movie scores well.

SCREENPLAY: -

Who doesn’t know the charm lent by SHANTARAM to the simplest of stories, and this movie is not an exception. Screenplay is simply beautiful.

One among the best in INDIAN film industry.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: -

Stands out, check out the dance sequences and you will go gaga.

LYRICS: -

Classical and masterpieces I would say. What today’s lyrics lack will be known after watching this movie.

SINGERS: -

Now what to say about LATA JI, as most of the songs are sung by her. MANNA DEY also stands out, and so the other singers.

MUSIC: -

If dance is the soul of this movie then music is the heart, I hope that’s enough to describe the music.

PICTURISATION: -

Best ever seen.

I hope all the INDIAN DIRECTORS who are spending 50-60 lakhs on their movies should at least check out the trailors of this movie, who knows this may change their priorities which has been money and known names till so far.

WHY TO WATCH????

If wanna know what real dance is and what a director means to a movie, then go for it.

WHY NOT TO WATCH???

If looking out for some exotic stunts, thrill then please forget it.

Few critics give the credit of its success to the colour but is it so….GO AND WATCH.