Guru Dutt's last (Sanjh aur Savera)

Considering that this 1964 drama was Guru Dutt's last film outing before he succumbed to the dangerous cocktail of sleeping pills and alcohol, I'm ready to overlook any minor glitch that happens in the film. True, Sanjh aur Savera does have some unnecessary plot twists and some of the sadness could be done away with, but on the whole this Hrishikesh Mukherjee classic is quite an engaging tale on the games that God plays with us. The sequences are masterminded by the Almighty and it only is true that we are mere dices in His hands. And what better way to show that than the events that happen in Gauri's life. After all, she does not want to be unhappy, but can she force suffering away from her life. No, she does not have the choice to do so.

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Forgiveness comes naturally (Bahurani)

This is a typical family masala entertainer that sails smoothly because of its easy story and good performances. Yes, the melodrama, the conniving, the songs, the twists, the dances are all in place. But what stands out in this 1963 film is how a woman hold court throughout. A feisty heroine helps her husband come into his own through the light of erudition. She does all the good deeds despite the thorns strewn in the way. She does not dither, does not take the easy path and yes, she is rewarded in the end. T Prakash Rao's Bahurani, is a sweet family drama about love, devotion, family bonding, relationships and forgiveness. And what's a win-win situation here is that all the melodrama is restrained. It never flies over the roof!

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Satisfaction guaranteed! (Aaye Din Bahaar Ke)

I'm always game to watch a film for umpteen times provided it guarantees wholesome entertainment. There might be flaws and redundant inclusions, but after it ends it should leave me happy and satisfied. Sadly, not many films of today deliver such fun. So, I keep going back to the films of yore to extract my daily quota of entertainment. I might know every scene by heart, every dialogue might just rotate in my mind and everything looks all too familiar. But nothing stops me from re-watching them. J Om Prakash's romantic drama Aaye Din Bahar Ke is one of them. Only heaven knows how many times I've watched this Dharmendra-Asha Parekh lovely, but does that mean I'll stop? No way...

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Crafty Kanhaiya (Bharosa)

This films stands solely on its story. It's engaging, freewheeling and full of attractive moments. Even though a bit melodramatic, like all K Shankar classics, Bharosa is very believable and in parts funny. And yes, it has Kanhaiyalal, the Parsi actor who made every role his second skin. Here, as the scheming foster father, Kanhaiyalal is a revelation. He enthralls, extracts irritation and giggles at the same time. An apt instance of a brilliant character actor!!

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Not an ideal husband (Chaudhvin ka Chand)

And I hear that this M Sadiq triangular love story was such a roaring success that it pulled Guru Dutt out of the slumps after his Kaagaz ke Phool failed to click. For, apart from some snatches there is hardly anything convincing about Chaudhvin ka Chand, set in 1960's Lucknow. Yes, the songs are marvellous and the lead cast is brilliant. But the severely flawed character of Aslam really broke my heart. Or should I say, tried my patience...

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Simply streetsmart (Aar Paar)

I'm quite glad I saw Aar Paar. It shows Guru Dutt in a very different light. Here he carries his Bombaiyya swagger with elan. He floors girls like nine pins and cares two hoots about impressing his ladylove's father. He woos the well-off Nicky knowing full well that the task is already done and when rebuffed for the advances, shifts gears to approach the attractive but dangerous Shakila, aware that the tactic will pull Nicky towards him once again.

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Couple no. 55 (Mr & Mrs 55)

I have problems with Guru Dutt as a romantic lead. Though thoroughly taken by his brooding avatar (read: his angst-ridden persona in Pyaasa and as a simpleton in Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam), his lighter roles, I feel, paled in comparison. A month back, I watched Suhagan, a film where Dutt plays a middle-class professor marrying his student. Attracted to it by the song, Tu mere saamne hain, I sat through the film with much pain. Dutt's awkward expressions as the loverboy wooing his sweetheart spoiled the fun. Bharosa, another social drama featuring Dutt, was enjoyable only for Asha Parekh’s effortless portrayal of an ebullient village belle.
But, Mr & Mrs 55, my friend kept saying, was different.

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Love's labour lost (Pyaasa)

What dampens Vijay's optimism?
Hoping against hope that some day the world will regard his creation, this struggling poet toils on. With an empty stomach and the burden of umemployment on his sturdy shoulders, Vijay keeps penning those poems, whose beauty and poignance no one is able to comprehend save the poet himself. But, there is no stopping him. Society, reeking of materialism, keeps crushing his creativity and aspirations beneath its greed and artificiality. Just like the bee, whose buzzing life is stamped out by the passer-by and his banal existence. But, Vijay writes on. For, he believes in himself and his talent. It is this talent, he feels, that will shine forth amidst the dark dreary world of hypocricy and cruelty. It is this thirst that keeps him going...

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Mesmerising Meena (Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam)

I'm upset. In a documentary, aired yesterday, featuring onscreen beauties of the past few decades, a mention of Meena Kumari was conspicuous by its absence. In the 50s, Kumari was a sought-after actor. Her beauty was legendary, her performances superlative. Dexterously handling a variety of roles, Kumari proved that she was definitely bankable. And, those docu-makers turned a blind eye to such an enigmatic personality! What were they thinking? Or not thinking, to be precise...
Miffed sufficiently, I rummaged through my collection to fish out a Meena Kumari classic. Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam surfaced. An attempt to explore the mysticism and passion that Kumari portrayed in this 1962 Abrar Alvi classic, a perfect balm! Though we could launch an endless debate on the immaculate portrayal of the decadence of feudalism in Bengal in the late 19th century, my mind focussed on the enigma called Chhoti Bahu, Meena Kumari's best peformance ever.

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