Being an avid movie buff not restricting myself that much to genres and directors of any particular race, I saw ’’Ek Duuje Ke Liye’’, the chart-buster hindi film of the earlier 80’s a long time after I first saw it with pristine innocence in my early childhood. I remember the days when I used to catch its songs which cast a spell in my kid’s ears and used to sing ’’hum bane tum bane’’ and ’’tere mere beech mein’’ with my kid’s voice, without understanding much of the nuances or the significance of the songs. Those were the days of akashvani radio and the very first days of the doordarshan in Calcutta, my hometown. And here I was, after a long 20 years, watching the film with my matured brains and my loving husband by my side. The only thing I will say to the cynical critics who have underrated this film as a copy of its Tamil version is that if you don’t have the mood or the inclination to understand and appreciate the subtleties, the nuances of the intangible chemistry between star-crossed lovers and their struggles in this fateful world, then don’t waste your time in watching this film and then coming up with poor constructed criticism articles to show your pseudo-intellectuality! And, I must mention here that in every era, when a film is imitated or has been inspired by a certain commercial flick, a celebrated fiction of literature or, for that matter, a stage-drama, the only thing taken into consideration should be the freshness of directorial approach and the packaging of the film in the mould of a fine craft. To my opinion, K. Balachandar has succeeded beautifully and emerged a victor in this film, regarding these particular aspects. The story may seem a run-of-the-mill sort in the beginning, with the ’’boy meeting the girl’’ fashion, but here also, he at least tried his hands at experimenting with something not tried out that much during the 70’s and the early 80’s, love between two cross-cultural people, Vaasu and Sapna, and the tussles, sufferings and tragedy that ensued. The dialogues, cinematography (that encaptured the spotlessly beautiful Goa), the soundtrack and the soulful melodies interwoven into the plot perfectly suits with the framework of the movie. There may be a flaw or two if you take into consideration the technical details, but those minor imperfections, according to me, constitute the beauty of the love saga. And moreover, if one can appreciate the skillfully crafted screenplay that binds the lovers’ souls into union even at the time of their physical separation, he/she will agree that there are high points in the film that supercede its technical flaws.
Kamal Hasan as Vaasu is awesome in the entire movie, right from the beginning when he is found in the bus in Dona Paula to the last scene where he helplessly tries to pass the love-letters to his lady-love, standing on top of the cliff. Coupled to it comes the dance scenes, where he unfolds the ’’nataraaj’’ locked within his soul. It is a pity that the whole of his talent hasn’t been properly utilized in the ’’star-struck’’ Bollywood.
Rati comes as a delicate darling in the beginning, but shows the intensity of her emotions and her steadfast principles in life throughout, till her death. The scenes where she sings in the beach look very lively and adorable to the core. To my mind, this first film of her career in filmdom is the only one for which she ought to be remembered. On the other hand, Madhavi, another wonder in the film with little footage than she deserved, gives very subtle performance with her somewhat ’’verbose’’ hindi, and those ocean-like eyes. Being the third angle in the romantic triangle, she is a treat to watch, with her stoical acceptance of her fate as a widow.
The music of the film by Laxmikant Pyarelal, lyrics created by Anand Bakshi, acts as the corollary to the inseparable love chemistry between the lovers and their unrequited love. Its no wonder then, that the music still keeps haunting you whenever the topic of romantic songs in Hindi is broached.
When I have started writing this review with the title “unrequited love story”, I will do injustice to the audience of those times if I don’t mention that there was a spurt of suicide cases by some lovers after this movie happened to be a spectacular success in 1981. This undoubtedly is a tragedy in itself, as films as popular culture cannot help but become a part of the lives of the people who watch them in theaters. Film trivia goes like Balachander was warned against the sad-ending of the film, but nonetheless he did stick to the ending that he conceived while making the film. It did make wonders for a commercial potboiler, sticking to a noble concept: true love is intense, unfathomable and mystic, transcending death and mortality. The lovers on earth who copied the instance of Vaasu and Sapna, however, failed to realize that given a choice, they would have lived on this earth as husband and wife, but at the end, they were faced by the brutal fate and surrendered themselves to the ocean forever. It was good in terms of the romantic parlance that they were united by death, and did not follow the conventional footsteps of thousands of lovers who are united by marriage and societal norms. It was brilliant cinematically, but the lovers who copied the concept from celluloid and followed suit in the realm of death may have spoilt their chances of a happy life which may have followed, provided they didn’t want to be “immortalized” by “following the example” of Vaasu and Sapna. In other words, that which looks awesome in celluloid may be brutal if imitated in mundane life.
Last but not the least, who told the critics that an imitation of a celebrated film doesn’t hold appreciation, if it is crafted with a lot of passion? If that was the case, a Shakespeare was never born. Let me remind them that most of his successful tragedies and comedies were imitated by the famous Greek plays of the ancient English era. Most of the works of Satyajit Ray were adapted from classic novels or bestseller fictions. So now, stop posing pseudo-intellectuals and try to appreciate the nuances of romance in films like these with an open mind, if not with an empty stomach!