It is interesting how Hindi cinema has over
the decades defined different emotions for different seasons. So while monsoon
is unanimously identified with erotica, remember – Kali ghata chaye mora jeeya ghabraye... (Sujata), thunder and lightning
with drama, Roop tera mastana... (Aaradhna), spring with its myriad colours is time for
festivity and in Indian films an occasion for more song and dance – Gulmohur jo tumhara naam hota... (Devta). For some reason lyricists always draw parallels between autumn and reflection – Zindagi
ke safar mein guzar jaate hai jo maqam... (Aap
Ki Kasam) and it’s my observation
that summer in usually the beginning of a crisis for the protagonist.
Remember the beautiful bride in Paheli as she stops by the village pond to rest her feet for a while? The butterfly was just a distraction; the summer was the beginning of duvidha or conflict for Rani Mukerji.
So many images of summer in cinema conjure in my mind...
KA Abbas’ Do Boond Paani depicting the despair of a tiny village in Rajasthan deprived of rain and how the village women with pots on their heads walk miles for just a drop of water.
A forlorn Dimple Kapadia roaming bare-feet on the sands in Kalpana Lajmi’s Rudaali and a tanned Shabana Azmi squinting up at the scorching sun while working on a barren land in Mrinal Sen’s Genesis.
One recalls the starved woodcutter Om Puri slaving without a break in Satyajit Ray’s Sadgati and finally collapsing with a sun stroke. The beautiful Smita Patil who played Om Puri’s wife is horrified that her husband, who went to earn his daily bread is no more. Sadgati raised pertinent issues about human rights and won many awards too.
Mahesh Bhatt’s debut film, Manzilen Aur Bhi Hain, portrayed the
desperation of three runaway convicts striding through a desert for days unable
to find their way out. A time comes when a delirious Prema Narayan (the heroine of
the film) starts hallucinating water everywhere and when the illusion breaks so
does her spirit!
Dev Anand in Vijay Anand’s Guide happens to pass a village and falls asleep outside a temple. A priest covers him with his shawl and Raju is mistaken for a swami. The villagers believe that this swami will bring rain and respite from the summer. Dev Anand knows this isn’t possible but has faith in people’s belief in him and submits to faith. The conflicting dialogue between Raju the guide and the Raju the saint in the climax is the highlight of the film and predictably, when the hero dies, the heavens open up and there is heavy shower!
In Sholay Hema Malini danced to O Jab tak hai jaan jaane jahan main nachungi... on glass pieces strewn on the rocky ground and the story goes that filmmaker Ramesh Sippy personally enacted the exact pose and expression to Hema Malini, where she has to look up (also used on the poster) at the blazing sun before falling on the floor.
Prakash Mehra captured a heart-rending scene
in Sharaabi when an ageing Om Prakash
drags a cartload on a hot afternoon to earn a few rupees to buy a drink for his
master Amitabh Bachchan. When Om Prakash loses balance and crumbles, the hero
crumbles as well.
Govind Nihalani’s portrayal of summer in Vijeta when the young pilot finds himself stranded in an alien land was surreal – Kunal Kapoor in crisis can only think of his mother.
In Amol Palekar’s Thodasa Rumani Ho Jaye is about a village fighting drought and a lonely heroine seeking love. One day, Nana Patekar who plays a Rainmaker / Barishkar comes to the village and helps the villagers find water and the heroine love.
My favorite summer scene is Amitabh Bachchan seized by shooting pain and holding his head stranded in the middle of a buzzing street as people, screeching vehicles pass by…the film was Majboor and the scene a turning point in the film.
In Deepa Mehta’s Fire Shabana Azmi is on the terrace for a breath of fresh air during summertime in Delhi, when
joined by her co-sister Nandita. It is a quiet casual scene but the beginning
of a bonding between the two women.
And last but not the least, Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan told the story of the spirit of Champaner fighting drought, tax, exploitation and victimisation under the British rule. In the climax, when Aamir Khan and his team win the cricket match and their freedom, the Kale megha paani toh barsao… is a scene to remember for a long, long time.
(Bhawana Somaaya has been writing on cinema for 30 years and is the author of 12 books.)
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