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.
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?
