Everything about this movie is a winner from the word go.
With the story coming from an acknowledged author, to its dramatization on the screen with actors well restrained in their performances through crisp direction and excellent dialogues beautifully laced with well paused eye exchange moments.
This is a movie that expresses no pace to reach the end, the progress meanders. There is no hurry to reach anywhere too soon. Each scene connects to the next seamlessly and in its own pace, where characters and plot go hand in hand.
This is one of the reasons I would like the viewers to watch this movie with no connect to the outside world on a leisurely afternoon or on a cozy evening warmly snuggled at home.
Treat yourself to this movie that offers you a parallel universe of its own with the galaxy limited to a few stars.
Some moments capture the sheer innocence of every day life, like the one where Asrani mentions to Durga Khote about not needing to make money from ones own household(on being chided by Durga Khote about giving toys free of cost to master rajoo), to the innocent view of master Rajoo coaxing his dad about the how a "chutki bhar sindoor" applied to the "parting in the hair" can take mom home.
The selection of characters. to their involvement in the execution. reeks of perfection.
Story line itself is a winner. Its all about Hema’s childhood marriage to Jitendra and how their families get involved in a land dispute that results in Jitendra’s dad( a wealthy zamindar) getting to be blamed for the death of Hema’s father. This results in flared tempers resulting in Jitendra’s father not accepting the child Bride Hema to his household(captured in a flashback at a leisurely pace while the movie progress’s).
Hema and Asrani’s(brother and sister) family is pushed to poverty through this and they have to change their village to seek an alternate life away from this ignominy.
Jitendra grows up to be doctor(studying away from the village) and comes back to serve the same village.
A chance encounter with Jitendra who has now come to the village where Hema continues to live a "separated" wife’s life, makes both of them realise their childhood bond.
Jitendra is married(Sharmila Tagore, being the wife) & has a cute son(Master Raju) and the wife is no more. This is the stage from which the course of movie meanders and leads the viewers to a visual treat of the myriad emotions of human bonds where Hema’s character has been deftly defined to demonstrate the self respect the woman seeks from Jitendra whom she continues to revere as her husband in spite of having to await for a good part of her youthful life for his arrival.
She pines for a call back from jitendra whom she holds responsible for her plight and though she never marries anyone post her childhood trauma and continues to wait, she is at the same time is not willing to compromise herself to a surrender till her pride is restored through rightful means(read as an acknowledgement from Jitendra of her having been wronged and a hearts call from him).
There are many moments in the film where one can identify easily to all the characters in the movie and there is this sweet pain that one experiences every time that Hema interacts with Master Raju. In one such cute moment that lingers on through out the movie is the scene where Hema playfully expects Master Raju to call her "Maa" before she would allow him to drink water after she treats him to a mouthful of home made laddoos.
My personal favorite is the scene towards the end where Hema is coaxed by her brother Asrani not to look back now, and sever all ties with her parental home, and the poignant action of Hema to untie the keys from her "pallu"(corner of the saree held over the shoulders) and throw them behind while taking steps ahead without looking back, as a forlorn Asrani gazes on.
In short the movie is never short of such beautifully crafted moments that will tug at your heart even after the movie is over and you would like to play them again and again in your memory.
I would also like to mention one more positive element of this movie that appealed to me and it is about the manner in which the poverty of the family(Asrani and Hema) is depicted, which is very evident from the un-plastered walls of their village house, scarce food at home, the small time business of Asrani(a Pheriwala- a hindi term for the guy who hawks small articles of daily use in the village streets, like balloons and toys for the kids, hair bands for the girls, pocket combs etc., ) and yet the characters are not shown moaning about the same
The visuals speak volumes about the poverty of this small family, but never a does an emotion get displayed that would lower the esteem of happiness in such low life conditions. Also no sympathy is sought for the characters living in poverty through the screenplay, Esteem is held high in adverse conditions and that I would say is a positive mind at work in the screenplay.
in fact one such beautiful moment(among many) we come across in the movie when Durga Khote(mother of Jitendra) comes unannounced(a subtle trick played by Asrani on his unsuspecting sister Hema, to achieve this result) to the house of Hema while Asrani is away and there is no food in the house. Watch it and feel the deft handling of the screen play.
My take is that after watching a movie like this you will not feel like watching another one for quite a while lest you lose the taste of this one that is ever so sweet and difficult to forget.
The lilting songs, appropriately spaced and timed, are added attractions and are very hummable, what with Kishore da rendering his voice to the unforgettable number " o majhi re.. and a very sweet rendition of "Bechara dil kya Kare.." by Asha ji.
Watch it when you are not in a hurry to attend to someone at the door or have left a food warmer that needs to be monitored or pick up your kid from the dance practice.
Then you will realize why it is sometimes worthwhile to pause in your life and realize the nectar of small things in ones life in an era when even to stand at a place one has to continue running.