Family feud (Do Raaste)

Let's not get judgemental. For, it's very easy to find faults with the wicked parties in Raj Khosla's Do Raaste.  The director, whose thrillers I feel are a hundred notches better than his family dramas, doesn't put any energies in creating grey characters. He makes the good ones in the film absolutely saccharine and the bad people never do anything good. There is hardly any subtlety in dealing with emotions and every bit of melodrama is retained. Still, in my opinion, Do Raaste is one of the best domestic sagas I've seen. It's engaging, high strung and full of attractive moments. And yes, this 1969 film has solid performances...

This is a simplistic film about the relation between three brothers, one of whom happily fulfills the responsibilities of the father. He had promised his father on his deathbed that he would give his stepbrothers a sound upbringing and absolute love and care. He is also a dutiful son to his stepmother. He sacrifices his own pleasures and happiness for the education of his stepbrothers. But when it comes to repaying the debts, not just of money, one of the step brothers forgets his responsibilities. But his biggest fault lies in his spineless personality. He plays a blindfolded man, dancing to the tunes of his mean wife, who just wants to enjoy her life with her husband without having to bother about her new-found relations. This wife is a modern and educated young woman but is absolutely malicious and selfish. She instigates her foolish husband to act against his family and watches from the curtains as he fails to perform his part in maintaining a steady balance between his family and wife. In that Vijay Prasad Gupta (Prem Chopra) is the original defaulter. He fails to identify the weak link that is spoiling the halcyon atmosphere and peace in his house.

And it is because of his gullible nature that Neela (Bindu) gets away with all her wicked wizardry. She is super mean from the time she is married into this middle class household. Vain and extremely proud for being a rich girl, she cares two hoots about the sentiments of her new family and hurts them at the drop of a hat. Her ideals and principles are modern but very warped and they do not fit well into the Gupta household. She insults her brothers-in-law, her sister-in-law and is caustic towards her mother-in-law. It hardly helps with her own mother educating her about fresh mechanisms as to how to break the family. Here I'd like to say that there is one place where she tell Navendu Prasad (Balraj Sahni), her elder brother-in-law that she would prefer if her husband gave her his salary from now on. I don't think that's a bad idea. In fact, a wife is the rightful owner of her husband's income. But the way she puts her message across is crude and hence, intolerable. But what makes Neela's character quite believable is Bindu. She is just perfect for the role and acts so well. I loved her in the film. Actually I was hooked onto the scenes where she is present. Not only does she look good with Prem Chopra, she is also a perfect antidote to Madhavi's character, a bit too sweet and abiding. She is spicy and agile, Madhavi is soft and sometimes a crybaby. But I guess Kamini Kaushal is perfect for the role. Epitome of a bharatiya nari, Madhavi cares for all, has no say, is ready to make amends all the time and is loving towards all. And yes, Kamini Kaushal is convincing as Balraj Sahni's wife.

I thought Balraj Sahni's Navendu is well-balanced. So is Rajesh Khanna's as Satyen. This guy looks very good, when clean shaven, and sad when not! He is temperamental yet pragmatic. He has some of the best scenes in the films and three good songs (music by Laxmikant Pyarelal is quite pleasing), Yeh reshmi zulfein, Chhup gaye saare nazaarein (love this rain song) and Bindiya chamkegi. I love his comic scenes too, especially when he says, "Mar gayi dhanno". And, his chemistry with Mumtaz never fails, though there's not much scope for love in this family drama. One question. With a sister so vile, how come Rina is so pure and perfect?? Mumtaz hardly gets a scope in the film. With so much histrionics around her, she is just a pretty face, singing some lovely songs here.

What make Do Raaste tick are the pace and the events. A lot happens in a short span of time---weddings, altercations, fights, quarrels, patch ups and so on. Also there are some nuggets that are worth mentioning. For instance, when Neela and Vijay get married, the bride is dressed in black, a highly inauspicious colour for Hindu weddings. Probably it was an ominous signal that this marriage will only disrupt the peace in the family. However, I wondered more than once why everyone in the Gupta is wearing white all the time? Did Khosla try to depict the purity in the minds of the Guptas with the use of this hue?
An effective part is played by Asit Sen, the henpecked husband of Leela Mishra. Through his clever wit and smart one-liners, enough light is thrown in what needs to be done in a family and what better be avoided. Who said running a house was a simple affair???