Bandini (1963)

This film has a number of actors I really enjoy, and they all give solid performances. Dharmendra's is particularly -- I want to say, delicate, but that doesn't sound as manly as it should. Each flicker of his face is perfect, with subtle changes that express clearly his preoccupation with his work, his distractions, or his emotions. And Nutan's face has always struck me as not only beautiful but tender and intelligent, and her eyes are invariably expressive and lovely.

The storytelling is exceptional, diving into the plot immediately and continuing steadily, unveiling information bit by bit. We start out with the transfer of a new -- batch? is that the word? -- of lady prisoners to a jail. Kalyani (Nutan) catches the eye of the deputy jailor (Iftekar) because of her great beauty, youth, and quiet dignity.

Shortly after the transfer, one of the lady prisoners becomes ill with tuberculosis, and the jail doctor (Dharmendra) is summoned. The doctor tells the head jailor (Tarun Bose) that he will need someone to stay and look after her, and the jailor requests a volunteer. The other women silently hide behind their blankets, but Kalyani steps forward.

When he takes her papers to put these orders on them, the jailor is shocked to see the crime she is undergoing punishment for -- murdering someone with poison. The doctor asks about his reaction and learns about her crime.

The young (and handsome!) doctor, however, is an unusually kind, loving, and forgiving man, and he withholds judgment.

During the illness of the patient, the doctor begins to fall in love with the melancholy and mysterious Kalyani, but she begins to avoid him. Eventually she tells him that associating with her would be bad for him and that her past is incompatible with a happy future with him. The doctor sadly resigns and returns to his hometown. The jailor, who sympathizes with both, tries to intercede for him and begs Kalyani to tell him her story. She does.

Kalyani's past includes a freedom fighter (Ashok Kumar), a string of very bad luck, an incident of nobidity, and a moment of insanity. "Nobidity" is a word I just made up. It means "an act that a character believes is noble but is in fact simple stupidity; the making of a pointless sacrifice for someone, generally in direct opposition to what that person wants; a plot device that greatly aggravates Bollywood viewers."

So the nobidity part was a bit aggravating, and I'm not really sure how I feel about the ending. But still, the movie was unusually well scripted, intelligently told, and finely acted. Camera work, music, too -- everything was above par in this movie, with meaty, "artistic" undertones that add to rather than distract from the main storyline.

Whether or not you agree with everything the movie is saying is another question, but it certainly is beautifully told.

With lots of beautiful people.

Isn't Nutan just the cutest thing?

Achhut Kanya (1936)

 
If my records are right, this was the 150th Hindi film I've seen!

The earliest film I'd seen before was from 1951, so this is much earlier, and my knowledge of India and of the film industry from that time are pretty slim. Still, here are my impressions.

The film is set up as a flashback, with only a few minutes in the present day (as in, 1936-ish) and most of the film in the distant past.  The frame story starts with a troubled couple driving up to a railway crossing. They are told they will have to wait an hour to cross because ghosts wander at this time. They get out and end up standing in front of a memorial which says, "She gave her life that others might live." A sage appears out of thin air and offers to tell them the story. Learning that hearing the story can give peace of mind, the woman readily requests it, and the story begins.

Kasturi (Devika Rani) is an untouchable girl who spends her time roaming with the Brahmin boy Pratap (Ashok Kumar). The fathers of the two are close friends in spite of their difference in caste because Kasturi's father, Dukhia, had saved Pratap's father, Mohan, from a snake bite when Kasturi and Pratap were small children. Unfortunately, the friendship between the families gives Mohan's business enemy, Babulal, a chance to stir up the village against him.

At the same time, Pratap's mom begins suggesting that it is no longer right for Kasturi and Pratap to see so much of each other, as they are now of marriageable age. They are told to stop seeing each other, and the parents set out to arrange marriages for them, which apparently was supposed to help them forget each other.

The film progresses steadily from there, without big twists or miracles. I was struck by the even pacing of the film and by the submissive acceptance of Pratap and Kasturi, with none of the heart-wrenching sob scenes, farewells, or dramatic music I've come to expect in later Bollywood films. The frame story has made it clear that the ending will be sad, and the whole tone is pretty melancholy, but the engaging side characters keep the story moving. The cast of side characters is excellent, especially the family members.

I really enjoyed the music, which reminded me oddly of traditional English ballads, in spite of the very Indian sound; perhaps it was the beauty and simplicity of the melodies. I found it interesting that Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar sang their parts themselves, and did a very good job, too! (If you follow the link to this video to youtube, this song has captions available, and they're pretty cute!)

It was great to see Ashok Kumar so young! According to Wikipedia, this was his first film, in which he was cast as a last minute replacement by the director due to a scandal involving the original hero. Ashok Kumar had been the laboratory assistant. A comment on Memsaab's review of the film (which she had seen without subtitles -- several of the details are a little mixed up) mentioned that one of the side characters, Mannu, was also the assistant in charge of continuity. I wonder if that was more common back then?

Thanks to Memsaab for the link to this film!