It happened one night (Jagte Raho)

It takes guts to invest your bucks in a film like Jagte Raho. But then, Raj Kapoor was no ordinary artiste. He always tread a unique path, with a vision that stood out from the hoi polloi. I'm sure when he decided to produce this Shambhu Mitra and Amit Mitra directorial venture, he knew he was hitting the right cinematic button. A film that has no lead pair, no romantic angle, no formulaic story, can only be successful if executed with utmost aplomb. And in that, Jagte Raho is a top draw. A stunning social commentary on the venality and dishonesty of most city dwellers, this story tells one sole incident in such a unique fashion that it is difficult not to sit up and take absolute notice...

Madhulika's review of this fabulous 1956 social satire piqued my interest in this Raj Kapoor starrer. I have to admit that since Kapoor looked hardly as fancy in this film as he did in Awaara and Shree 420, I've always avoided this one. Till I read Madhulika's review.
What a way to bring together a veritable cast of character actors from tinsel town. You have Pradeep Kumar, Pahari Sanyal, Iftekar, Sulochana, Nemo, Motilal, Rashid Khan, Daisy Irani, Nana Palsikar and even Nargis in this ensemble enterprise. Everybody performs stupendously making the film thoroughly exciting.
But what is more enthralling is the way that the dirt in society is depicted. On their vigilante, there are so many police chowkidaars who catch forty winks even though they are supposed to stand guard the entire night with their cry of jagte raho. And the one who is at all responsible punishes a poor villager who wants just a bit of water to quench his parched throat. When taps run dry, just like the cruel souls of city dwellers, this poor man has to sneak into the living quarters of the citizens to pacify his thirst. Accordingly, a shrill outcry of the chowkidaar labels him a thief and pandemonium ensues. All the dwellers in this quarters are up and awake. But, none is brave enough to search for the thief alone. It is their hollowness that prevents them to do so. For, they know very well that they themselves have dangerous secrets to hide...
The thirsty man is party to one secret after another. This is a place where proper educated men carry on clandestine affairs with women, but are not courageous enough to own up their love. Women are better off gulling their parents rather than sticking to the truth. What squalor is hidden under beauty and so called truth.

While a man looks all hale, happy and hearty from the outside, he is suffering from the germs of addiction. This man seeks advice from the neighbouring pandit, who is himself a greedy man. Even though one does not have the money to pay his rents, he is absolutely sucked into the vortex of gambling. For that he can even steal his wife's jewellery. I think the scene where Pahari Sanyal and his wife hurl things at each other, the director very cleverly exhibits two boards on the wall. One says, "Pati param guru" and the other "Patni laxmi swaroop". And here is this couple who have nothing but distrust for each other. What an absolute sham!!!

The other wife is this suffering woman who is subject to abuse by her drunkard husband every single day. He wants to disrobe her off her dignity and honour, something that this beautiful woman will not let. So, the result is that her husband stays away from her, intoxicated in brothels and always too inebriated to reason.
Isn't it awesome that though the film deals with very grave issues, the commentary is doled out in a somewhat comic fashion. The exchanges and action are funny, the lesson laced with humour. But somewhere in the laughs you realise the shallow existence of these city denizens. For instance, when the poor man tries to evade everyone by hiding under a drum, it is this very drum that attracts two traders, who are so miserly that they would even fight for a battered and damaged drum.
It is rather funny to see so many people after one man. Infact, it is funnier when these youngsters try to label their cause as a great one and become volunteers for something that is rather lame. They form a band with drums and trumpets. It almost becomes a picnic for them. A picnic that can be helpful to extract some easy money from the rich entrepreneurs living in the tenement.

Then there are the band of Sikh who are forever willing to brandish their kirpans, but there are also those who faint with laughter when tickled crazy. The youngsters who run around like headless chickens raising a hue and cry over a thief who no one has seen. But, they will never spend a minute to think about whether that man is actually a thief or is he just a poor scared man trying to save his skin from some blood hungry nomads.
Slowly the plot thickens and one gets to witness the deceitful persona of businessmen. Every single man here an illegal source of income and each one is most eager to pull his neighbour down. There is the old man who manufactures country liquor illegally in his house and the man who makes counterfeit notes. What won't they do to survive---they will lie, cheat and even kill. A doctor who is supposed to save lives, is most happy to forge death certificates and earn some quick bucks by partnering with an unscrupulous businessman. What is this doctor who can even become a demon and poison an innocent man?
An effective method of weaving in the role of the media increases the fun element in the film. Yes, they are shown to overhype every single incident. A mere thief is now called a band of dacoits and mountains are purposely made out of mole hills. But then the lust for money reigns supreme all the time...

A tiny incident snowballs into a situation that goes absolutely out of control. The poor man is instigated to speak his mind and injure people. But, he is not to be faulted. It is the system that forces him. Disillusioned and awestruck at the absurdity of the minds of city dwellers, this man is almost going to strike the child who suddenly opens the door to him. His action is not unprecedented. After all he is hurt by the taints and soiled by the dirt he has seen till now. But, the innocence and purity of this child strikes him once again. Not all is bad in this world, he learns anew. It is this young angel who teaches him that if you have not erred, walk out with your head held high, with a confident smile on your face. This changes our villager.

And we instantly find a change in Raj Kapoor's expressions. All this while he was this mousy villager who keeps escaping from one corner to the other. Even when he helps someone, he is too meek to say so. He never speaks, he just gasps some words. He only emotes through his eyes. But now Kapoor smiles and strides. We do not see him squirming anymore, he is not the reluctant and apprehensive man. His faith is renewed and he follows the strains of Jago mohan pyaarey (Salil Chowdhury's best song in this film, rendered beautifully by Lata Mangeshkar). It is with the water from this pure woman that our villager's thirst will be quenched and his drudgery washed away...