whats not to like about dilip kumar? starting off as the classic hindi film hero of the 1950s in amar- debonair lawyer saving poor villagers in ‘amar’ he ends up raping a young girl, getting her pregnant, manipulating everyone around him, lying to his fiancée and only when he racked by guilt at the end confesses to his crime. by contrast the only sin of the villain is his obsessive love for the nubile village belle. dilip kumar’s amar is a real anti-hero. there are no excuses for his behavior other than his lust and his urge for self preservation. and he is fantatstic as this screwed up man. around this central character are arranged all the icons of possible salvation- the temple and the courtroom, marriage and the home, innocence and sex. most of these dramas are played off in beautifully choreographed long takes in hard close ups of faces in chiaroscuro black and white or in the forest that separates all the spaces where encounters between the actors occur- whether that is the gorgeously shot opening sequence when the lawyer first meets the girl; or the chase sequence on the stormy night; or the actual killing at the end.
in ‘kohinoor’ nothing taints dilip kumars sunny smile. when meena kumari is kidnapped by the evil prime minister of her kingdom he disguises himself as a singing saint and is actually very funny. otherwise the film is swashbuckling swordfights, song and dance after song and dance and fun enough. she is lovely.
'lsd' gave me nightmares. more than i could take for most of the film, the film wallows in the ugliness of people. all the three stories are a cynical nasty and dark look at north indian machismo and its darker new avatar in the digital age. the characters are spot on, the acting is brilliant and although the stories have been heard before i haven’t seen them like this. the new landscape of the city with its tacky malls and faux greek details shot in the grainy skewed hyper real eye of a digital camera. great film. but i don’t think i have the stomach to see it again.
after all that darkness ‘jhumroo’ was so benign it went by so easy it made no impact in any way on me. aother encounter between the domineering father/city and the submissive/ kindly mother/village. kishore kumar jumps around and makes faces and most comedy songs are really not that funny. thandi hawa hey chandani suhani is the only song i really liked , and the 'katmandu' song.. maybe i just dont have a sense of humour.
1 comment:
Yes, what's not to love about Dilip Kumar? 'Kohinoor' is one of my favourites. But haven't seen 'Amar'. Sounds interesting. Will catch it. But 'LSD' haven't had the stomach to see yet. Kishor Kumar, hmm! Don't get his comedy, too often. But what a voice!
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