A Job of a Lifetime
iView Author: Sudhir Raikar (Mumbai, India)
Email: sudhirraikar [at] hotmail [dot] com
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A Job of a Lifetime
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Bimal Roy’s master piece “Naukri” (1954) remains one of the most sensitive celluloid representations of a social malaise that is relevant till date –one probably inflamed by a different fire today, but burning all the same. The manner in which Roy highlights the foremost economic challenge before the educated middle class of an Independent India is unique in several respects – deft use of dark humour in narrating a poignant tale of despair and frustration, refreshingly different vintage versions of singer-actor Kishore Kumar and thespian Kanihya Lal, a perceptive camerawork that unfolds the story through a well-knit collage of realistic frames, a soul-stirring music that raises the bar for situational music in films and last but not the least, some astute editing and direction that paves the way for the suggestive note of hope at the end of the tragic tale.
For those unaware of the storyline, here is an excerpt. Young Ratan Kumar Chowdhary (Kishore Kumar) dreams of a secure job that would transform his life forever – sharing this elusive dream with him is an ailing sister fighting the wrath of tuberculosis and an ageing mother struggling to make two ends meet. And the ammunition to fuel his hopeful strides comes in the form of his glowing academic qualification – BA with distinction!
But the great expectation, like his degree, turns despairingly academic as a string of failures leaves him chocked in the big, bad world of industry and commerce. First, a long painful wait at a shabby lodge in Calcutta makes a mockery of his umpteen attempts at job scouting – acquaintances failing to live up to their word, favoritism ruling the roost in offices, clerks refusing to accept hand-written applications, would-be employers shelving plans of opening new branches (and hence employing him), a fellow lodger deriving sadistic pleasure by showing him the promise of fake opportunities….Meanwhile, his sister leaves for heavenly abode just as a bed in the city sanatorium gets vacant after a long wait …only to laugh at his cruel fate.
Ratan is shaken but not shattered. And he has some company in this forlorn mission – his roommates in the “Bekar Block” of the lodge – who celebrate their failures to the tune of his sardonic cheer, his faithful man Friday Hari (Kanhaiya Lal) who shares his grief with selfless devotion and of course the redolent vibes of his love blooming next door – mute but hopeful.
An appointment letter from an office in Mumbai becomes the harbinger of his fortune or so he thinks. But as soon as he claims the jackpot after a litany of comic upheavals, it turns sour. The place is a shady outfit run by a tyrannical boss and Rattan is sacked for ignoring the office protocol – in helping out an ageing colleague with his growing pile of paperwork such that the latter can attend to his ailing son.
He is jobless once again, this time the pervading gloom forcing him to contemplate suicide….an attempt that is aborted by his lady love. New hope makes way for fresh resolve and together they set out, hand in hand, towards a future that beckons from the mists of the unknown. The concluding voice over appeals to the world at large to wish, if not ensure, that Ratan’s hapless cause, and that of scores like him, is not rendered hopeless in the ultimate analysis.
The film is a social document sans the load of arid philosophy. Instead, Roy banks on humour to be the vehicle that carries the message – one that is kept as subtle as possible within the constraints of mainstream commercial cinema. This is a feat that has been rarely accomplished by film makers across generations.
The film has several enduring moments – probing frames of a pensive Kishore Kumar set against the backdrop of gloomy evenings being the most vivid of them all. Roy believes in letting the camera speak for itself –the shadowy images of the tattered lodge, the busy streets of Mumbai and Calcutta, the towering offices of Gothic architecture – all are an integral part of the story line. They share Ratan’s plight in equal measure.
Salil Chowdhary’s music is pensive, humorous and inspiring – all in the same breath – just what the doctor ordered for the script. The theme is indeed bold for its age – the last bit showing the heroine sharing roof with her hero – in a live-in kind of a relationship – shunning her home and folks in a flash to join her man’s crusade.
Roy’s players do not fail him. Kishore Kumar is superlative throughout – both as a singer and actor. He renders such timeless numbers – “Chota Sa Ghar Hoga”, “Ek Chotisi Naukri” or “Arzi Hamari” , his golden voice adding the mystic Kishore touch to the verse –buoyant and melancholy alike.
He is outstanding in the numerous comic scenes laced with effortless humour. On being demanded a deposit of Rs 20 by the lodge owner, he retorts with a chuckle “Bhai, agar dene hi honge to de deta hu” (I will pay since I have to). The interrogation at the police station when he lands up at a over a brawl with the pickpocket Mehmood is hilarious. His innocent matter-of-fact description of a highly unbelievable situation is awesome –
When the inspector asks him about the name of the office that has issued him the now-missing appointment letter, he replies innocently, oblivious of the ruckus his seemingly absurd reply is slated to create
“Wahi to yaad nahi aa raha daroga ji, itna malum hai ki pehla akshar Ka se shuru hota hai, aur beech mein kisi Janwar ka naam hai” (That’ what has erased my mind, the only thing I remember is the first letter is a K and there’s an animal somewhere in the middle)
In stark contrast, the scores of introspective moments unleash the sensitive actor in him. He breathes Ratan’s emotional voyage with professional flair – the bubbly innocence of a village lad, the firm resolve to defy fate, the gradually diminishing vigour and the vacuumed look towards the end – he spins rare cinematic magic! It’s a pity that this side of his remained largely dormant in later years.
Kanhaiya lal, the silver screen’s trademark villain of those years, showed that true class can erase the stickiest stereotype. Such is the impact of his emotional performance, that his unforgettable “Hari” naturally becomes one of the film’s lead players.
Sheila Ramani makes a decent attempt to shed her vamp image in what turns out to be an average performance – but in line with the film’s larger cause. Friendly appearances of Noor, Jagdeep, Tuntun, Mehmood and Ifteqaar in inconsequential roles add to the charm.
The problem of unemployment may not be as acute as it was …but even today, there is no place for a nice guy with humble aspirations…especially one who believes in camaraderie, contentment and collaboration. We simply have more career avenues now but the Rattan Kumars of today are still as hapless – wherever they may be – stationed on the manufacturing shop floors, toiling on rigs and ship decks, pouring over ledgers in clerical offices or busy programming software in plush cubicles.
Some evils never disappear, they simply assume new forms.
Tags: bimal roy, Kanahaiya Lal, Kishor Kumar, Salil Chaudhary, Sheila Ramani
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Sudhir,
Have a “almost complete” post ready on the film and thought no body would write on this one so was a bit lazy in completing.. I hope no body will complain if I come up with another one on the film, simply one of my fav films..
anyway Thanks a lot for Posting.. Keep it up.. will respond to your post in details in my post..
Hi Pavan,
Nothing can be more heartening that the fact that there are so many like minded people around. Please do post at the earliest. We can relish the experience of exchanging notes.
Warm regards
Sudhir
Wah wah !! main bhi kuchh likhunga !! lekin kal :-)
zaroor, kcp!
Being a Bimal Roy fan I hate myself for not having watched this one.I will surely try to catch it.Thanks for the nice review.
I haven’t watched the film, and din’t know that it’s such a good film. Will surely catch up.
I was in college and had heard a song that just struck cord with me ” Chhota sa ghar hoga”. The song was composed with minimum music and played perfectly in the night when there is silence around and no electricity( many times). I didn’t know which movie the song belonged until much later after Internet came along.
Pleasant surprise! Naukri remains a little gem of Bimalda which doesn’t get as much credit as his blockbusters. There’s a certain innocence about all the characters in the film
“It’s a pity that this side of his remained largely dormant in later years”
What does one do if a fantastic actor like Kishore, time and again tries to break his mould and venture into serious acting and the media ( those days ) declares this film and others as “Naukri is a mere Romantic Comedy” ? Can you believe Sudhir that these and similar reviews were in the magazines those days. What must have Kishore thought when he read such reviews ? He was a busy man when the film went on sets in May 1954. He was so engrossed in the movie that the 4 months of film making, he forgot everything, food, water, family, everything. Ruma was very upset in these 4 months. She started her social activities once again like there was no tomorrow ( Kromoso, etc ). After completion, the film took 6 months to be released on Feb 18, 1955 at Roxy Cinema, Bombay. Kishore ( And Bimalda, his close friend who always trusted Kishore’s acting capabilities ) was waiting with all his patience for the public reviews. Close friends praised him but the magazines trashed the film and Kishores characterization. The review went as follows ( found it frantically yesterday night, searching in 2 of my PC’s at home, which were not working properly, where I had written in some notepad somewhere. Was jubilant ? after I found it for not only it reviews a film but shows to the PFCians how the reviews were, of those days ) :
Quote
April 1 1955.
Naukri is Mere Romantic Comedy ( in bold and header on the page )
Purporting to be a purposeful, realistic social drama dealing with the problem of unemployed young men, “Naukri” is neither purposeful nor realistic. Far from reflecting the social set-up and tracking the problem, this Nabendu Ghosh adaption of a story by Subodh Basu fails even to present them in perspective, or examine them with the earnestness needed to stimulate thought and inspire action.
“Naukri” depicts the failure of one young man to find employment; not a typical young man by any means, and in circumstances which, while not extraordinary, are not ordinary either-not ordinary enough to generalise from.
That he happens to be quite an amusing, even charming young man with a whimsical sense of humour and a habit of deriving fun from most difficult and sometimes impossible situations, that his vain hunt for a job is depicted with clever little touches of irony pleasingly free from bitterness and the raucous refrains of the have-nots so common in our “socials”, adds to the entertainment of the picture. But it does nothing for its purpose, and leaves the problems of unemployed youths untouched.
The film opens well on an appropriate note of hardships borne with courage and brightened by the young mans hopes. The narrative follows him, through vividly real vignettes, on the dreary journey from “no vacancy” to “no vacancy” which many another young man of today has also followed.
It is a diverting journey, with flashes of wit, fun and foolery, snatches of romance and gay song, and a happy ending ( he gets his job ) to enliven it. But it lacks the substance of reality and is weakened by a stimulative impression of improbability which verges massively at times on the absurd.
Love may know no barriers, but it is scarcely to be thought that an average jobless youth would display the zest for romance shown by our young man here. And to follow it up with a marriage proposal, with no more to show for himself than his colossal cheek, may be good enough for a laugh, if Mr Roy wanted it. But did he ?
From the purposive and realistic standpoint then, “naukri” is mis-named. It is merely a good romantic comedy with amusing characters, diverting incidents and the air of weird, impossible nonsense which is a stuff of lower, inconsequential movies. In this subject, the romance between the gay, singing around and the simpering heroine, makes good laugh. There, let it rest.
Kishore Kumar in the pivotal role puts up a brisk performance, charming, uninhibited and true, which triumphs over the improbabilities of the theme. His comedy sequences are effortless and spontaneous. If the character itself is absurd, that is not his fault.
An excellent characterisation comes from Kanhaiyalal as the sympathetic hostel-servant who takes the young man to his heart. Another good portrayal comes from Krishnakant, who superbly characterises the effeminate, ludicrous poetaster.
Sheila Ramani as the loved one puts over another of her typically cramped performances, with more pose than poise, jarringly artificial and deplorably lacking in charm, grace and appeal. Bikram Kapoor, Shakuntala Devi, Achala Sachdev, Noor, Iftikhar, and Samar Chatterjee all turn in good performances in support. Others who feature prominently are Tulsi Chakravarty, Jagdeep Samson, Balam, Mahmoud and Michael Shea.
The songs by Shailendra, to tunes by Salil Choudhury, are attractive though not particularly distinguished. The background music is mediocre and sometimes distinctly Western in tune and mood.
The photography by Kamal Bose id good and the sets and costimes impeccable .
Unquote
Ll kallo baat. I can ( and will at a later stage in life when I get time , to have my own review of this film ) trash the magazine reviews of those days, but do not want to sling my hands in mud. Every point made by the reviewer ( negative ) could be answered and answered properly. One thing which proves that the reviewer is blatantly wrong and which proves that he was sleeping or was not in a good mood that day, was when he makes a comment”a happy ending ( he gets his job )” That idiot did not even bother to listen to the last message, which according to me was a highlight of the movie, saying “Iske baad Ratan ko shaayad naukri mil hi gayi ho, shaayad na bhi mili ho…lekin aap logon se ek prarthana hai ….agar Ratan ya us jaisa koyi aur kahin aapko mil jaaye, to use naukri dilaane ki koshish zaroor keejiyega”
Thats sums up the brilliance of Bimalda !
Anindya, you HAVE to run ( sprint in fact ) to the nearest video store. It is easily available nowadays on VCD
all songs can be heard at :
http://salilda.com/filmsongs/hindi/naukri.asp
Thanks so much kcp, for sharing this vintage journalistic tumour. I am not surprised. As a disillusioned ex-member of the highly tainted fourth estate, such reviews sum up the sorry state of affairs since time immemorial.
Reviewers, most of them, follow a set pattern. Two good points, two words of caution, a reference from the annals of history (more to offer a glimpse of their intellectual innerwear than anything else) – the customary note on cinematography, music, art direction (it suffices to certify all that as good or bad, the author’s ignorance is well veiled in the one-line declarations), a mention of some contemporary work or a legend from the past (as the terrorist Mohamed has done again today in his scary HT column – mentioning Ray and Charulata in a review on The Last Lear.)
But I salute the spirit of any film maker who makes a movie – however rubbish it may turn out to be – he/she is a true practitioner who invites a microscopic examination of his/her creation – not an opportunist deciding his “for” or “against” stance driven by personal agendas and without any idea of the art and the mechanics of film making!
This reminds me of a character sketch by the Marathi legend P L Deshpande – titled Lakhu Risbud – a journalist who makes a diametrically opposite review of a film swayed by his mood swings. If you don;t understand Marathi, do sift through my humble story “Wings of Hope” vaguely inspired by Deshpande’s great work. The link is:
http://coastaldelights.blogspot.com/2006/01/wings-of-hope.html
Awaiting your review on Naukri.
warm regards
Sudhir
SORRY…Rusted Rick*
@satya
sorry to me? why?
In my comment on Pratimda’s post, I misspelled your name hence the apologies….
Why am not able to see your post on Lear? Why why why???
@Rusted rick,
LOL..this is mindboggling…I guess I wrote my comment on Pratimda’s post on Lear…Now when I saw it, it appeared on this particular post. Wondering if I was asleep while doing so:)
Pls don’t mind these goof-ups…sorry for the confusion…
Sirji, Good one keep writing