Let us take you back to an era when Bollywood came out with some of the most original and qualitative cinema in its history. In this section “Old Is Gold” we’ll look back at the 50s to 70s era of Bollywood. I mean what could possibly be a better time than the lockdown period to enjoy these classics with your entire family! Well, our today’s pick is 70’s classic Amar Prem.
Film – Amar Prem (1972)
Duration – 2h 32m
Director – Shakti Samanta
Main Cast – Sharmila Tagore, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Mehra, Madan Puri, Sujit Kumar, Bindu and Om Prakash
Rating – 4.5 / 5 (IMDB – 8.2)
Amar Prem belongs to an era dominated by Rajesh Khanna and just like most of his films, it was a massive hit. But “it was a hit” is not why we are here. We are here to appreciate the simplicity and the beauty of this well made film. Amar Prem isn’t essentially a Rajesh Khanna film as for the most part it focuses on Sharmila Tagore’s Pushpa who has been disowned by her husband as well as her mother and finds a shelter in a brothel of Calcutta. This is where she meets Rajesh Khanna’s Anand Babu…aaaahhhhh, that reminds me of Rajesh Khanna’s Anand 1972, which is still my favorite bollywood drama film of all time. Anyways, back to Amar Prem.
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| (Image: © Shakti Films) |
When Anand Babu enters the picture, it seems like the film would now focus on romance but as it happens, it takes a turn. The film starts focusing on the mother-son like relationship between Pushpa and her village acquaintance’s son, Nandu Babu, who is disliked and maltreated by her step-mother. Now according to me this sudden shift in the narrative was both, a problem as well as a boon. Problem, because the narrative became unclear and a boon because this unclear narrative was as realistic as life is and as a result, this film became an ultra realistic piece of cinema teaching us numerous life lessons. .
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| (Image: © Shakti Films) |
Now as I mentioned above, the beauty of this movie lies in its sheer simplicity. With a simple premise and minimalistic setting, the film relies heavily on its screenplay, performances and music, and it does not disappoint with any of these elements. Though the cast is amazingly led by Sharmila Tagore, the MVP of the film turns out to be Rajesh Khanna with his powerful and heart warming portrayal of the selfless Anand Babu. Vinod Mehra, Sujit Kumar, Om Prakash and Bindu also delivered solid performances but they did not have much to offer because of the limited scope of their roles.
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| (Image: © Shakti Films) |
The script of the film was absolutely brilliant packed with insanely powerful dialogues and inspirational lines. The film also featured one of the most defining lines of Rajesh Khanna’s career “Puspha, I hate tears!”. But the beauty of this line as well as many other, lies in it heartfelt delivery by Rajesh Khanna. The highly touching and heart warming dialogues towards the end of the film teach us many important life lessons including selflessness, doing the right thing and finding happiness within. The biggest message that the film conveys is that true love (be it romantic love or be it the bond between mother and son) is immortal and never fades away.
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| (Image: © Shakti Films) |
Coming to music, OHHHHHH THE MUSIC! The music in this film is absolutely master class! After all, when R.D. Burman is your cook and your already delicious dish is topped by the heavenly ingredients in the form of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar, you’ll definitely have a meal of your lifetime. Though “Chingari Koi Bhadke”, “Ye Kya Hua” and “Kuch to Log Kahenge” came out to be the most popular from the album, my personal favourite remains “Bada Natkhat Hai Yeh Krishna Kanhaiya”. Anyways, thanks to such deep and meaningful lyrics by Anand Bhakshi, this album succeeds in touching all our hearts.
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| (Image: © Shakti Films) |
This movie breaks your heart into million pieces during its runtime and then mends it back together with a highly satisfying and deeply moving ending. No matter how much Anand Babu might hate tears, this movie has the ability to make the viewers, cry like a baby. As an ending remark, I would like to say that just like its title, Amar Prem is a lovely film which is bound to stay immortal!
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Actually impressive. Very well written
Amar Prem was such a soulful film of that era. More than the story, I loved it for the mellifluous songs….Raina Beeti Jaye…such a beautiful rendition! Reading ur article refreshed the memories of my growing up years when this movie was telecast on DD.
And of course, the songs were played on Chitrahaar! Great piece of writing!
It means a lot to receive appreciation from an amazing writer as yourself Mami. Keep reading my posts and suggest me some great classics you would like to discuss. Thanks a lot. for your support.
Thanks a lot Maa