Nimmi, who puts over a convincing portrayal in P. V. Films' "Angulimaal."

Director Vijay Bhatt is noted for his period films, like “Ram Rajya,” “Bharat Milap”, “Chaitanya Mahaprabhu” and “Baiju Bawra.” An addition to this impressive record is “Angulimaal,” in which Bharat Bhooshan plays the title role.

The story, set in Bhuddhist times, depicts the life of a scholarly youth who is destined to live two lives of completely opposite charac­ter—as a killer and as a saint. He shows prowess in all the arts and is expected to bring a good name to his family and the community, but finds himself on the wrong side of the law due to the jealousy of some of the inmates of the Ashram where he is studying.

Wrongly accused of gross moral lapse, he runs amuck, kills hundreds of innocent people and lives a savage life. In the end, however, he is reformed and accepts the Buddhist teach­ing and way of life.

The story as well as the complexity of the character he portrays provide Bharat Bhooshan with plenty of scope for histrionic expression. The three main facets of the title role—the scholar, the killer and the saint– are so diverse that it is only the deep under­standing and sincerity of Bharat Bhooshan that make the character real.

As the hero’s beloved, petite Nimmi puts over a fine portrayal. It is refreshing to see her on the screen again after a long time. Anita Guha gives a compelling performance, and Ulhas is convincing as the guru. Chandra­shekhar, Achala Sachdev, Manmohan Krishna, the late Prem Adib, Vinod Kumar and Sheila Kashmiri are adequate in their respective roles. Dancing starlet Helen does justice to her dance numbers.

Maestro Anil Biswas has written a fine music score, and the theme song, “Buddham, Sharanam, Gachhami,” is inspiring. Bharat Vyas’s lyrics are appropriate to the theme as well as the mood of the film.

Bhavani Prasad Misra’s dialogue, Kanu Desai’s art direction and V. Avdhoot’s photo­graphy together help to make “Angulimaal” a memorable film (Source – Filmfare Magazine – February 24th, 1961)

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1960, Genre – Historical/Mythical, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer –Thai Information Service, Director – Vijay Bhatt, Music Director – Anil Biswas, Cast - Bharat Bhushan, Anita Guha, Ullhas, Achla Sachdev, Manmohan Krishna, Prem Adeeb, Kesari, Helen, Nimmi, Chandrashekhar

Raj Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala in Sangam (1964)

Sangam is Raj Kapoor’s first colour film and the first one that he shot abroad. Although other film-makers had gone abroad before, this movie created a trend that grew when colour cinema added to the spectacle, until by the 1990s it became almost mandatory to have scenes shot in Switzerland, however irrelevant to the story.

Sangam’s story is a love triangle, in which two friends, Gopal (Rajendra Kumar) and Sunder (Raj Kapoor), are both in love with the same woman, Radha (Vyjayanthimala). She is really in love with Gopal and finds Sunder’s desire for her unappealing but, when the latter returns as a war hero and declares that he only survived because of his love for her, she feels duty-bound to marry him. He is sure that she and Gopal are having an affair, despite Gopal’s attempts to reassure him otherwise. Finally, Gopal commits suicide as the only way of convincing him of Radha’s innocence.

This is one of many films where the primary relationship is between men rather than between men and women, where friendship (dosti) may be viewed as homosociality (male-bonding) or as homoeroticism. The distinction between the two is always blurred and this ambiguity may be one of the attractions of the theme to certain viewers and audiences.

Raj Kapoor once again plays an irritating, unattractive, immature type of man, as in he did in Andaz. It is unclear if this is to justify Radha’s distaste for him here or whether this is considered to be an acceptable form of masculinity. Looking at some of the roles Shah Rukh Khan has taken in recent films, even though he wins over the audience with his charisma, the latter may be the case. However, here Sunder is ultimately shown to be sensitive, largely revealing this other side of himself through music. The film is also about how women can come to accept and even love their husbands, even if initially they think this is going to be difficult.

The film’s songs have become classics of Hindi cinema. While they are good even outside their filmic context, it is their placement in the film that makes them great. The popular ‘Bol Radha bol’ is enjoyed no doubt for Vyjayanthimala’s appearance in a swimsuit, although Raj Kapoor seems somewhat sleazy. Rajendra Kumar, the woman’s choice, once again plays the sensitive man who has to suffer and die. This aspect of his character is expressed in his songs, such as the evergreen ‘Prempatra’, which is gentle and romantic. The song in which Radha teases Sunder for not giving her any fun (whatever that may imply) on their honeymoon, ‘Budha mil gaya’, is quite shocking, while ‘Dost dost na raha’ remains the song to quoted by Hindi-speaking Indians wishing to complain about the behaviour of friends. The way it is shot in the film, bringing out the characters’ inner feelings, illustrates Raj Kapoor’s total mastery of the medium of the Hindi film – Rachel Dwyer

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1964, Genre – Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – R.K. Films, Director – Raj Kapoor, Music Director – Shankar Jaikishan, Cast - Raj Kapoor, Vyjayanthimala, Rajendra Kumar, Raj Mehra, Nana Palsikar, Iftekhar, Lalita Pawar, Achla Sachdev

Sadhana in Waqt (1965)

Waqt was a landmark in many ways: it is a multi-starrer with four main heroes and two major heroines; it set a trend for showing the lifestyles of the super-rich; it is a ‘lost and found’ film, a storyline that became a favorite in the 1970s; and it has memorable songs.

A prosperous merchant, Lala Kedarnath (Balraj Sahni), believes nothing can disrupt his happy family life until an earthquake tears his world apart and he loses everything including his loved ones. He is on the verge of finding his eldest son but, hearing he has just escaped from an orphanage where he was beaten, Kedarnath kills the warden and goes to jail for twenty years. The eldest boy, Raja (Raaj Kumar), is raised by a criminal and becomes a professional thief, while the second son, Ravi (Sunil Dutt), is adopted by a rich couple and trains as a lawyer. They both live in Bombay, while the youngest, Vijay (Shashi Kapoor), looks after their mother in Delhi, where he falls in love with Renu (Sharmila Tagore), a rich college girl.

Raja and Ravi both love Meena (Sadhana) but Raja, finding a childhood picture of Ravi, realizes that he is his long lost brother and sacrifices his relationship with Meena. Vijay has moved to Bombay, where he is hired as a chauffeur by Renu. Ravi reproaches Renu

for having an affair with his driver, then Meena’s parents object to Ravi marrying their daughter when they do not know who his parents are.

Raja throws a party to announce the identity of Ravi’s parents. Although other members of the family bump into one another — such as Vijay and Kedarnath — no connections are made.

When Raja is framed in a murder, he hires Ravi as his lawyer. A courtroom drama ensues, in which Vijay appears as a witness; then his mother comes into court. Kedarnath recognizes her and is reunited with Vijay, after which Raja reveals that he and Ravi are his other two children. The family returns to open a shop, with the two future laughter-in-laws settled into the family.

The film is an example of an early ‘lost and found’. Although Waqt hows the family separated by an earthquake, probably referring to the Quetta earthquake of 1935, it requires only a little imagination to see its as a partition story, where the earthquake is a metaphor for a far greater human upheaval. The line of migration from Punjab to Bombay is the one followed by many in the Hindi film industry.

Waqt is justly famous for its whole new glamorous ‘look’ in clothing and lifestyle. While the outdoor locations were in Kashmir, Simla, Nainital, Bombay and Delhi, the film spares the viewer no detail of the lifestyle of the super-rich, who have motor boats, American cars, throw lavish parties and live in houses adorned with fountains, circular beds, sunken seating and grand pianos. This set the style for a whole ‘look’ for Hindi films, away from the drama of feudal riches to newly upwardly mobile social groups. The women are glamorous in every respect, displaying highly stylish outfits, diamond jewellery and elegant grooming. The men wear the tight suits that were fashionable at the time, while only the older generation appears in ‘traditional’ clothes.

Waqt has enduringly popular songs, composed by Ravi with lyrics by Sahir, including ‘Ai meri zohrajabeen’ (Manna Dey) (which Yash Chopra’s son Aditya includes in his debut film, Dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge, as a love song for the older generation) and ‘Aage bhi jaane na tu’ (Asha Bhosle).

Waqt was the first colour film made by B. R. Films and established Yash Chopra as a major film-maker, a position he still holds nearly forty years later after directing films such as Dhool ka phool (1959), Daag (1970), Deewaar, Kabhi kabhie, Trishul, Silsila, Chandni, Lamhe, Dil to pagal hai and Veer-Zaara (2004), and producing other films, such as Dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge – Rachel Dwyer

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1965, Genre – Drama, Country – India, Language – Urdu/Hindi, Producer – B.R. Films, Director – Yash Chopra, Music Director – Ravi, Cast – Sunil Dutt, Sadhana, Balraj Sahini, Achla Sachdev, Raj Kumar, Rehman, Sharmila Tagore, Shashi Kapoor, Shashikala