Seventy years is a long time to be watching (and making) films. In the run up to Independence Day, The Quint brings you the story of India through the films she has loved; the ones which have defined how she looks at herself, and how we as Indians look at our past. Read earlier parts here:
Also Read: As India Turns 69, A Look at the Films She Loved: The Golden 1950s
1957-1967: Technicolour, With Splashes of Grey
1957 was a landmark year for Indian cinema. A slew of iconic films followed one another, each one with a different idea of India. But with the turn of the decade, the idealism of the 1950s started giving way to technicolour escapism. From gritty, neo-realist films which took a hard, long look at the poverty in India, films started being set in upper class families strangely devoid of any markers of caste or religion.
India was slowly emerging from the struggle of the Independence movement, but the screen didn’t reflect the reality in the country. While heroes and heroines pranced in the Himalayas, corruption divided society between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’, paving the way for the rise of the ‘Angry Young Man’ of the 1970s.
Mother India (1957)
Mother India is more than just a film.
Arguably one of the best Hindi films in cinematic history, the story is deceptively simple. A woman, Radha (played by Nargis) is faced with mounting debt, an unfair zamindari system and crippling poverty. Through all her tribulations, she stands steadfast, even after losing her children. But more than the characters, this film is about metaphors.
The woman dragging the plough behind her is India, beleaguered by poverty and facing a bleak future. Mehboob Khan’s definitive classic is often seen as a visualisation of the ideal Indian woman: Sacrificial, principled, gritty and determined.
Pyaasa (1957)
Guru Dutt’s silhouette in a long, shadowy doorway, with the words ‘yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye..’ floating in the air, is the most incisive moment of social commentary in Indian cinema.
Because the man in the doorway, is not just any other man, he is a poet who has reached the epitome of disillusionment, thanks to society’s double standards.Off screen, he is also one of the greatest filmmakers in India.
Often featuring on the greatest Indian films list, Pyaasa is a great film because of its stunning score by SD Burman, the sensitive portrayal of Gulabo by Waheeda Rehman and the haunting embers in Guru Dutt’s eyes.
But it is a classic, because its critique of Indian society — ravaged by class, religion and hypocrisy — still piercingly resonates in 2016. As we watch Vijay and Gulabo walk into the sunset in the last scene, we inevitably root for the outcasts; and that’s the defining beauty of Pyaasa.
Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
Mughal-e-Azam is not a film. It is an inheritance.
Every Indian has heard of Mughal-e-Azam, is familiar with its legends, has hummed its songs and has revelled in the grandeur of its cinematography. When the film was released in 1960, it was an event unto itself; the film had spent nearly ten years in production and was the most expensive Indian film made at that time.
And 56 years later, each second and each rupee shows on the big screen. From the arch of Madhubala’s eyebrows as she twirls in pyaar kiya toh darna kya.. to the royal back and forth between a formidable Prithviraj Kapoor and an arrogant Dilip Kumar.
Every frame of Mughal-e-Azam is a testament to the audacity of K Asif’s imagination. Mughal-e-Azam takes India’s timeless story of forbidden love, and makes a royal, rebellious affair of it.
Junglee (1961)
On a snowy slope, an exuberant Shammi Kapoor shouted ‘Yahoooo!’ and a youthful, confident India decided to shed its shackles of the past. With the bright, frothy films of the 1960s, steeped in excellent music and idealistic romances, the struggle for Independence seemed a mirage of the past.
No movie exemplifies the excitement and idealism of the 1960s better than Junglee. Set in a Kashmir free of militancy and violence, Shekhar (Shammi Kapoor) is reserved, forlorn and rule-abiding. Until he is hit by the carefree and lively Rajkumari, and discovers an uninhibited side to himself.
Which is why when he cheered ‘Yahooo!’, a generation of filmgoers cheered along; discovering themselves on the way.
Saheb Bibi aur Ghulam (1962)
At the outset, Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam looks like a story about the decay of feudalism in the British Raj. But pry a little deeper, and the film reveals itself to be a scathing critique of existing structures; feudalism under the British Raj or License Raj in Independent India.
Seared into collective consciousness with a stunning Meena Kumaari looking longingly after her husband, Abrar Alvi’s film explores the loneliness of an aristocrat wife, Chhoti Bahu (played by Meena Kumari) and her friendship with Bhootnath (played by Guru Dutt). If India was an idealistic and gritty ‘Mother’ in Mother India, in Saheb, Bibi aur Ghulam, she is swaying with indulgent riches; but perennially in search of a heart.
Waqt (1965)
The trope of the Hindi film which loves ‘Happy Endings’ started in the films made in 1960s. And what better example of a typical Hindi film ending, than the one in Waqt? All the characters — despite class differences, murder and past bitterness — manage to find happiness at the end.
The people in Waqt seem far away from Gulabo in Pyaasa and her world. The first multi-starrer in Hindi cinema existed in a strange world where even thieves are sophisticated and drivers look like Shashi Kapoor.
But despite its obvious faults, Waqt is a delight, if only because it is a fine example of popular Hindi cinema. It is peopled by glamorous stars (Raaj Kumar, Sadhana, Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore) and happy families untroubled by the dysfunction and poverty of the world.
Guide (1965)
Wahaan kaun hai tera musafir, jaayega kahaan?
As SD Burman’s dulcet tones fill the screen, your heart soars, even as you are faced with visuals of a man alone, disillusioned and devoid of love or family.
Dev Anand’s Guide is a rare film, in that it focuses on the existential angst of man. The film ensures Raju (played by Dev Anand) gets everything he ever desired for — his one true love, Rosie (played to stunning effect by Waheeda Rehman) and wealth. But then, instead of snatching it all away, the film shows Raju walking away from the world.
His decision to renounce the world seethes of disillusionment with material riches; a welcome change in Indian cinema of the decade which was satisfied with its picturesque romances.
Guide sparkles when it underplays the romance between Raju and Rosie (incidentally, a dissatisfied married woman who melodiously sings of suicide.)
But it stings painfully, with Raju sitting on temple steps, looking for salvation.
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