This is a very disjointed and confused film; but that’s why I love it.
’Haré Rama Haré Krishna’ is a film which attempts to denounce Western Imperialism of Hindu culture during the hippie era. However, the message falls short because of the extremely contradictory characters, and as a result it’s the supposed ’good guys’ that come off looking the worst at the end of the film.
Dev Anand wrote, directed and stars in the film. The plot is a re-hash of the old ’lost-found’ story, but with a much darker side. It includes a social commentary, a comedy track, a love story, a smuggling-gangster plot, and drug abuse. Just by reading that list, it is clear to see why the film is so flawed; it attempts to cram too much into the plot, and it takes away from the original message.
This is by far the ’darkest’ masala film I have seen. It’s very hard to describe and pin down into any specific genre, it’s a hybrid of various genres including; documentary, musical, film noir, opera. I say documentary because the film opens with a short introduction of Hippies (to Indian audiences) to explain who they are, and even questions their ’hijacking’ of sacred Hindu hymns. The film then becomes a family social drama to introduce the characters, and then later on it becomes very operatic and larger than life. The characters act out their scenes in packed streets with onlookers standing around them, it’s like street theatre, where the extras are as much part of the audience as the viewers at home. It’s fascinating to watch.
The music of the film is what keeps this film from being forgetten. The song ’Dum Maro Dum’ is without doubt the most successful and popular Hindi song ever. It’s psychedelically shot and danced to. It made Zeenat Aman an instant icon, and remains as powerful today as it did back then. It’s a perfect merge of Western rock music and Indian vocals (Asha Bhosle’s imitation of the wavering bass line still has the ability to send shivers down your spine). I think it’s a song which will never be forgotten, it’s simmering electric fire.
Overall, this is a film to be seen with a pinch of salt. And, remember it’s not the flawed message that keeps this film alive, but flower power itself!