Drab drama (Aarti)

Now I've seen all three. Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam, Main Chup Rahungi and Aarti. Meena Kumari won a Filmfare best actress nomination for each of these films in 1962. She went on to win the black lady for Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam. Rightly so. For, while Main Chup Rahungi is a tad melodramatic in its execution (Kumari was very good), Phani Majumdar's Aarti is quite boring. And Kumari here is certainly not in her best acting shoes.

She plays Aarti, an idealistic doctor out to serve society. Her ideals clash with that of Prakash (Ashok Kumar), a talented brain surgeon who wants to be rich and famous. Incidentally he wants to marry Aarti, and expresses his intentions before her father.

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Miscast Meena (Chandan ka Palna)

Meena Kumari's Baharon ki Manzil was enough to warn me against her later films. Her lost beauty, her bulky figure, her bloated face, the alcohol-induced heaviness in her voice, the loud makeup, everything about Kumari's persona in this slow thriller was disheartening. It kept reminding me about her faded glory and glamour; her beautiful eyes, her perky voice, her grace and of course, her superlative performances in her heydays. How we wish she would not drown herself in high spirits (pun intended obviously)...
But, something about Ismail Memon's Chandan ka Palna, drew me. Was it the lead pair (Dharmendra and Kumari again), the fun supporting cast, the dramatic plot or the music (RD Burman's score is pretty good)? A relatively unknown film starring Kumari, I was a tad curious about this 1967 classic.

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Age no bar (Professor)

It's a close match. Suave and sexy Preetam is pitted against wobbly but clever Prof Khanna. The wages are high, the competition is tight...
Preetam has to quickly find a job to send his ageing mother to a sanatorium. For that, he has to hoodwink a dictatorial woman and glib his way to her house posing as an old professor. He then has to learn the ABC of Sanskrit to teach two giggly young girls and handle the tantrums of two small boys.
All this, as the old Prof Khanna! Yes, young Preetam, struggling to get a job, charades as an ageing bachelor and enters the household of the martinet Sita Verma, and in the process, sets off a series of hilarious incidents. Rankled initially by the strict regulations set by his employer, Prof Khanna unconsciously breaks all those rules and even manages to make Sita Verma fall in love with him!
So, who wins?

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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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Promises that are made to be kept (Main Chup Rahungi)

Meena Kumari's versatality knew no bounds. She could drape herself in almost any cinematic garb. Though she's christened as Bollywood's golden era tragedienne, I feel she was equally deft in comedy and romance. In 1962, she proves that, with a range of parts in Aarti, Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam and Main Chup Rahungi. All three roles garnered her a Filmfare nomination, each. She eventually went on to win for Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam. And, rightly so...
I'm yet to see Aarti, a family drama revolving around love and lust. I've watched the sublime Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam and I'm stupified by its make. The film is a masterpiece, if you allow this understatement. It is profoundly ethereal. I need to watch it again very soon. I am mesmerised by Kumari's beauty and performance. Her enigmatic presence is breathtaking and her eyes are intoxicating!!! But, on that, some other day...

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