Rajesh Khanna -- the name is like a thunderclap in Bollywood cinema. He rose to superstardom in 1969, but had all but faded by 1972 -- a blink of an eye compared to the decades long reign of many other Bollywood stars. But Rajesh razed the ground behind him, sweeping poor Shammi Kapoor, among others, out of the limelight, and sowed the seeds for the rise of Amitabh Bachchan and others in a more "action" vein. So how come I've never seen any of his movies? Honestly, it's because none of them look very interesting. Poised between the goofy charm of Shammi and the angry young Amitabh, a good looking face can only get you so far.
BANDHAN - 1969
BANDHAN is a film about the salt-of-the-earth villagers, people in desperate poverty, who have only their land and their crops for wealth. Naturally the moneylender is a feature villain, yet compared to other moneylenders, the one here is positively angelic, allowing himself to be swayed against best business practices towards compassion to the poor women of the village. But, he has a daughter, Gauri, a wild tom-boy who always gets into fights with the always righteous Dharma (Rajesh Khanna), who as a child even turned in his theiving, no-good father (Jeevan) for stealing. And when Dharma and Gauri fall in love and wish to get married, he goes through the roof. Not helping matters, Dharma's father continues to be the scum of the village, visiting the local brothel and even giving the necklace meant to be dowry for his daughter's wedding to a nautch girl (Aruna Irani, who gets a nice dance number for her troubles). By the end, it seems the two fathers will utterly destroy the two lovers rather than let them be together.
The teasing and sparring turned to love of the two main characters is both entertaining and endearing. The fathers are not played as complete villains, both are given chances for redemption. Dharma's mother (Achla Sachdev) is about the only character I have no use for, she plays the stereotypical Indian mother, without fault, defending her husband's honor because he is a God to her, even when evidence to the contrary daily appears. At last, she drives Dharma out for daring to get angry about his father's indolent ways, precipitating the climactic scenes of the film, which take place in a courtroom, filled with dramatic speeches and desperate looks. The great Sanjeev Kumar makes an appearance here as a helpful barrister, but his performance is unexceptional.
What I remember most from watching BANDHAN is not golden boy Rajesh Khanna, but rather the delightful and playful Mumtaz, wearing beautiful costumes and frolicing and dancing her way barefoot through river and field.
Reviewed by :
http://www.illuminatedlantern.com/cinema/review/archives/bandhan.php
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