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Monday 26 July 2010

Love leads (Ghar)

God, it feels so good to be back. To the comforts of my home, to the interactive sessions of my blog and most importantly, to the joys of old films. After a week-long hiatus, I watched one yesterday. With a simple initiation, a sudden twist gradually tightens this 1978 love story. Manik Chatterjee's Ghar turned out to be an emotionally taut drama with convincing performances by Rekha and Vinod Mehra, and an awesome score by RD Burman.
A gruesome personal tragedy can destroy a couple's life. It can perfectly ruin marital bliss, plant suspicion and turmoil in a lover's mind and widen the crevices left by the disturbing incident. In Ghar Vikas and Aarti's halcyon life goes haywire in just one night. Suddenly, everything is shaken, and stirred...

Vikas Chandra and Aarti marry each other after the boy's rich father opposes the match. He is put off by the fact that Aarti is an orphan, and not wealthy at all. But, Vikas will not relent. For, Aarti is a wonderful person. Ebullient and attractive, she loves Vikas dearly. So, as expected, Vikas is shown the door by the senior Chandra when the couple tie the knot. Stripped of his ancestral belongings and rights, Vikas and Aarti now struggle to find a decent place to settle down (it is Bombay after all!). And, after much running from pillar to post, they get hold of a good house. Aarti takes up the cudgels of decorating the house and soon the couple is seen enjoying conjugal bliss. Aarti is the homemaker and Vikas earns a decent sum to feed both of them and cough up enough money to pay the bills. All is well till one doomed night...
The Chandras go to catch a night show of Loafer. The show breaks past midnight. Vikas and Aarti decide to walk home in the absence of proper transport. A pack of leery louts riding a cab attack the couple on the way. They assault Vikas and abduct Aarti. Next morning when Vikas gains consciouness, he somehow staggers to a police station. Tension mounts till Vikas gets the news of Aarti lying unconscious in the hospital. She has been assaulted and gangraped, a trauma that has numbed her to silence...
The rest of the film deals with the repercussions of the incident on the couple's life, both emotionally and physically. Circumstances change in their home, right down to the bedroom. It's worth noting how society reacts to the rape of the helpless woman. Stark yet subtle, Aarti's pain is depicted with perfection...
Rekha comes into her own in the later stages of the film where she has to portray the rape victim. In her blank eyes, you can feel the stinging spasms of pain she feels. In her shrieks and cries you can sense her grief, shock and fear. In her muted anguish you can read the distrust she has for men now. Through her silent suffering she depicts her helplessness. Disgusted with her own body, she is but waiting for Vikas to look at her like before, with the same trust, attraction and love. She feels dirty and slighted, she knows her character has undergone slander. But, is she to be faulted? She weeps with the hope that Vikas's love will not let the world sully her. Even though sometimes her world is shaken when Vikas appears brusque towards her after the traumatic incident, it is hope and love that helps her sail through. Rekha is immaculate as Aarti. Beautiful and charming as Vikas's sweetheart, she shows why she was an actress of top billing when the situation is stormy. She slips into the skin of a rape victim with utmost ease. Is this the same dusky beauty who was romancing Vikas a while earlier with Aajkal paon zameen par and Tere bina jiya jaye na (fabulous singing by Asha Bhonsle)? With Rekha, you can be sure it is...
The chemistry between Vinod Mehra and Rekha (even though this was their first film together) is almost tangible in Ghar (rumours of their affair were doing the rounds then). Their lovemaking scenes are delicate, their romance is teasing and their vibes are fantastic. Awesome pair, I feel. In fact, I think the death of Vinod Mehra was a big loss to Bollywood. He was very handsome and had a lovely smile. Quite a talented actor, Mehra puts in a laudable performance in this film. Especially in the serious scenes where Vikas has to convince Aarti that in his eyes she is the same pure sweetheart and nothing can jeopardise their love. You can almost feel his anger and pain when his colleagues try to hint that his wife's character is devoid of propriety. He is like a strong wall protecting Aarti against the world's slander and ridicule. The scene where he is trying to get intimate with Aarti, helping her to shun her past and recuperate, is deftly executed. Vikas is sensitive and caring, never harsh or egotistic. A very understated persona, maturely balanced by Mehra.
RD Burman's score breathes finesse into this drama. The best song I guess is Aap ki aankhon mein kucch. A tribute to Rekha's beauty and charisma, this song is a memorable classic from Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. A stupendous love ballad that has stood the test of time...

15 comments:

  1. hi really nice blog and same for all the post these movies are not so famous but had really good stories except aankhein, liked ur blog ...quite nostalgic

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  2. @Ravish: Thank you Ravish. I'm glad you like my work here. Yes, these films do have some memorable stories. Ankhen is more of a potboiler with plenty of action. i guess that's why it is still so popular :)
    Thank you for the comment and keep reading :)

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  3. I love the songs of this movie...always wanted to see it just coz of the songs. But when I eventually saw the movie, I somehow didn't like it much. Rekha has done the role of a rape victim very well and Vinod Mehra is great as Vikas. It's the first half I didn't like much - I found Rekha very kiddish and quite irritating at times. Or may be it's because I was expecting too much from the movie.

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  4. @Sunheriyaadein: Yes, that's why I've written that Rekha shows off her true merit in the second half when she plays the rape victim. Her emotions are superlative here. I think the film grows in the second half.
    And, ya the songs are just awesome!!

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  5. i had watched this one back in school.....still hum the songs...outstanding music,, Ghar is one of those movies which gave me a wrenching feeling inside on seeing the society's reaction towards a rape victim....it also kinds of scares you to the bone thinking how difficult it can be for the victim to keep answering the happenings of the incident...liked your writeup....wanting to watch it once more :)

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  6. Another film I've heard a lot of good things about, but haven't yet got around to watching. But the songs are fabulous! My favourite is the wonderful Phir wohi raat hai. Beautiful...

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  7. @Dimpy: Thanks for the praise :)
    Yes, Ghar depicts the true plight of a rape victim in the Indian society to the hilt. Another true depiction is in Dahaan (though it was close to assault).
    Isn't it amazing how the dark gloomy ambience is juxtaposed with the fabulous songs!!!

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  8. @Dustedoff: I had missed Phir Wohi Raat hain. Thanks for reminding me of this breathtaking number. The music of the film is sheer bliss. This is a really good film. I'm sure you will like it when you see it :)

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  9. lovely review as always,and i feel great to be back too, aap ki ankhon mein kuch is one of my favourite songs of all time, i love the patey hue bits at the end and altohgh many think this film marked a turning point for Rekha's beauty i tend to disagree as i've always found her beautiful from the very strat when she had her dark skin

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  10. sorry i meant 'aaj kal paanv zameen par' as its the one that has patay hue (excuse my spelling) but you know the bits i mean, and of coures i love aap ki anknhon mein too but not as much as aak kal paanv'

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  11. @Bollywooddeewana: Great to have you back. Yes, both the songs are just awesome. I also love Tere bina jiya jay na. Awesome score by RD Burman. And, Rekha will keep being the enigmatic brown beauty no matter what!! She is just spellbinding here :) Thanks for the comment :)

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  12. hey hi! great write up as always. :)
    This is one of those handful of sincere movies, IMHO, rolled out in the 70s, amidst a sea of potboilers. Love each and every song of the movie. its music sounds so Papa Burman,with due rgds to RDB, esp. "Phir wohi raat hai...". one of the best RD albums.
    About the movie - haven't seen yet. goes to the must-watch list. (movies from 50's and 60's still pending!the list is growing at a faster rate after subscribing to ur blog posts! :P )

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  13. @Punya: You said it Punya. So many films to watch and so less time. I myself have to watch so many films and am so looking forward to them. This one is a must watch because of the way it has been handled. And, the songs are just mindblowing. Thanks for the comment and keep reading :)

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  14. I saw this a couple of nights ago and Rekha is indeed fantastic so is Vinod too but the whole thing especially the neighbours reaction was a tad bit over the top especially their whistling and chattering when Vikas was present and the way they kept staring either people were very nosey or had no sense of subtlety about them back then or the director felt that was needed to portray people's reaction to her rape i don't know

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  15. @Bollywooddeewana: I think the director wanted to show how most people would react in such a case. rather than seriously sympathising there are actually those who want to gain entertainment out of somebody else's trauma. Thank you for the comment and keep reading :)

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