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People fall in a situation and follow the passion generated out of this special situation called love and at that time they feel that every other thing in the life keeps less value before this passionate feeling called love. Life looks rosy and people think that it would remain rosy for ever if they follow the path of this love. That happens also with many and life becomes good as they have solved one of the biggest question of the life of human being and that is the search of a suitable life partner with whom one can share almost everything and with whom one lives with no impression of being judged.

But if this building of marriage is constructed by ignoring personal ambitions and person does not have determination to stick on his/her decisions and s/he looks for missing factors in life and complains most of the time that s/he could have done better in life if s/he had not married with him/her at that tender age when her/his career was just facing the beginning then it can create a bigger problem in the married life.

Whatever path a person selects in his life its not possible that this path will be completely devoid of problems.

Film suggests that decide your priorities and preferences and later live them with a strong determination. Decisions need a strong support from a person otherwise life may become a conflict of contradictions.

Some very good things about Aandhi

(1) wonderful use of flashbacks which are rich in content as well as in technique
(2) a very good character development path has been followed
(3) Very good performances by Sanjev Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Om Prakash and good
performances by Om Shiv Puri, A.K.Hangal, Rahman, CS Dube and ManMohan
(4) Fantastic dialogues
(5) Superb musical department. Amazing lyrics by Gulzar saab, great song compositions by
RD Burman and equally great singing by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishor Kumar
(6) All of the above aspects indicate about good Direction by Gulzar Saab as he captained
this team and inspite of few flaws gave a very good film which has surpassed the test
of time and people still watch it with good curiosity and interest level and feel
fascinated by many good aspects of the film.

Love –> Union –> painful separation –> Re-union - -> acceptable temporary separation

How many people can get a second chance in a relationship where sourness had entered so deeply that both the fellows had decided sometime back to go on their separate ways? Those who followed marriage because they were in love with each other and later they could not handle the heat of practical problems of daily life and they blamed everything on the time when they had married to each other and later they decided to live separately, they surely might face this phase/question, time to time, that what if they had not decided in haste to be separated? What if they had taken shelter in an understanding which was supported by patience also? What if they had not given much importance to the acidic sayings which they had said to each other under the heat while quarrelling? What if they had given some space to each other? What if they had taken things lightly? What if they had sorted out their problems in a thoughtful manner where every factor of their life would have got some optimized attention? What if they had thought about their child (if there was any) and for his/her sake also they could have tried to solve things amicably?

Not many people get this second chance and they live life away from their lovers/spouses. Some get other partners but still there is a room for a feeling of repentance that what if they had stayed with the first partner only.

Separation has been entering in the relationship between husband and wife and every 3rd or 4th couple has been facing some conflict in their relationship and so many times it ends up in a permanent separation.
* * * *
Two factors, characterisation of the characters and their development, are very important in the film.
Characters don’t follow a pattern in the life where they have to behave like they know it all. They pass through the situations and they take decisions and their decisions bring them good and bad, both kind of responses and they fall for the bad results and find them unable to cope up with the circumstances coming before them and they decide to separate but life teaches them and they meet again and they both realise that they have lost some precious years of life. They now try to understand each other’s situations with a maturity and this maturity was missing 9-10 years ago otherwise their married life could have been saved from this long separation.

Its not that Its fault of only Sanjeev Kumar or only Suchitra Sen was the faulty behind their broken marriage. Both had weaknesses in their young days in the early phase of their marriage.
Its not only ambitions of Suchitra Sen which are responsible behind their separation but Sanjeev Kumar’s behaviour is not less responsible.

Audience may find it shocking to see that what is shown normally in the characteristics of the lead character in the normal hindi film is not present in the character of Sanjeev Kumar. He faces different situations, different understanding and different maturity level at different times of the film as per the growth of his character.

When he is young and has married to Suchitra Sen, he thinks differently and he finds it objectionable that Suchitra Sen is taking interest in political career. This objection is fine to handle their married life but he also has an egoistic attitude.

When Suchira Sen is taking out a Khaadi Saaree to go out to attend a political meeting, he takes the saaree from her hand and keeps back it in wardrobe and says something like
”Mujhe tumhara roj roj ka natak pasand nahin hai. Seedhi tarah ghar mein baitho aur bachche ko sambhalo”.
After a small quarrel he goes out and when comes back at home, he finds Suchitra Sen sitting on bed doing embroidery on a piece of cloth.
He does not go to her but sits on a chair situated far from the bed and he orders her,”Aarti come here”.
She looks up at him but does not say anything.
He says irritatingly,” Suna nahin tumne. Yahan aao mujhe tumse kuch baat karnee hai” (Did not you listen. Come here, I have to talk to you).
She says,” Tum bhee to aa sakte ho”. ( You too can come here near me)
SK goes there in anger and orders,” Khadi ho jao” (Stand up)
She looks up in astonishment as his tone is too harsh.
He holds her arm and says,” Mera Shauhar banana ki koshish mat karo. Biwi ho biwi kee tarah raho” (Don’t try to be my husband. You are my wife and you should live like a wife only).
What was not of any importance at the time of marriage, becomes important for Suchitra Sen. Now she starts realising that all the women member of working committee of her political party are wives of influential and rich husbands while she is the only one whose husband works in a hotel merely as an assistant manager.

Sanjeev Kumar thinks that he had made it very clear at the time of their marriage that he was a simple person who had no interest in politics and he never would accept obligations of her rich father.

She has got a husband and a child and now her old ambitions are coming back to her. She is not happy sitting at home taking care of the child only. Her father fuels her ambitions and situations between her and her husband takes bitter turn and SK says to her in anger,” If you are living with me so that your father should not get a bad name then whenever you want you can go back to your father’s home. But do a favour to me that while going don’t create any scene and I will not stop you”.

She leaves him and their daughter.

Their story of young days is shown through flashbacks. They have met after 10 years when Suchitra Sen comes to stay at the hotel in her constituency from where she is contesting the election.

She is now a famous leader of the country and though he was always able to get news about her she had no clue where he lived all these years.

We find that all these 9-10 years of separation have changed them a lot.

SK, knowing very well about her likings, arranges things for her in her room and she finds it surprising that everything in her room is kept as per her liking though others don’t know what she likes?

SK has a hitch to meet Suchitra Sen but AK Hangal says that he would surely meet with Bitiya. And he goes to meet her. She gets to know about SK and when AK Hangal leaves her she is lost in to the memory and same is happening to SK also. Perhaps their memories take them to a common point in the past where they were enjoying the lyrical beauty of the song amidst the nature.

Is mod se jate hain

SK and SS meet and slowly they remind their old days. How they fell in love and how they married, everything is shown through the apt flashbacks scenes.

Time was there when they were enjoying the initial phase of love and were very happy with each other’s company.

Tum aa gaye ho noor aa gaya hai
Nahi to charaago se lau jaa rahi thi
Jeene ki tumse wajeh mil gayi hai
Badi bewajeh zindagi jaa rahi thi

Kaha se chale kaha ke liye ye khabar nahi thi magar
Koi bhi seera jaha jaa mila wahi tum miloge
Ke ham tak tumhaari duwa aa rahi thi
Tum aa gaye ho noor aa gaya hai

Din dooba nahi raat doobi nahi jaane kaisa hai safar
Khwaabo ke diye aankho mein liye wahi aa rahe the
Jaha se tumhaari sada aa rahi thi
Tum aa gaye ho noor aa gaya hai

They spend more and more time together and they are reminded of old memories. In the day time Suchitra Sen is busy in the canvassing of her election and in the evening she spends the time with SK.

She forgets to wear a coat or a shawl and SK gives her his coat and she clearly feels that she has been missing such caring love for so many years. SK too is relaxed in the company of Suchitra Sen. One upper button is opened in his shirt.

Inside they both are repenting that they have lost some precious years of their lives.

Tere Bina jindagi se koi shikva to nahin

Life can not function purely on the basis of love but then without love life is not that life which it could have been if love was there in the life.

Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi,
Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin, zindagi, to nahi,

Phase of separation makes a man realise what s/he has lost behind under the immature behaviour and volatile nature.

Kaash aisa ho tere qadmo se, chun ke manzil chale aur kahi door kahi
Tum gar saath ho, manzilo ki kami to nahi

Love makes it sure that one has got a partner for life time and now s/he can feel free from this aspect of the life and can go on touching different heights in the life by taking his/her lover along with him/her.

Jee mein aata hai, tere daaman mein, sar jhuka ke ham rote rahe, rote rahe
Teri bhi aankho mein, aansuo ki nami to nahi

When lover is in the vicinity then emotions get a destination and energies are not lost in all the directions. Emotions are pointed and happiness and sadness both are related with the people one loves. One is extremely sad and frustrated and in the lover s/he finds a shoulder on which s/he can rest her/his head and share the true feelings. No psychiatrist is needed to give an advice to maintain the mental balance. Love does it all and love takes care of all the emotions.

Tum jo keh do to aaj ki raat, chaand doobega nahi, raat ko rok lo
Raat ki baat hai, aur zindagi baaki to nahi

After long separation if one is lucky and gets a second chance to unite with the lover even for a small day or night then s/he feels to prolong the time period, to slow down the speed of the time so that s/he can spend more and more moments with the lover.

All these moments were there in their lives but they had lost them themselves. They did not respect the preciousness of company of each other. They found the common bond too shallow and too small before their respective egos at that time in the past and now they repent on their separation. They have lost many precious moments of the life. They could have shared many great moments but their egos did not allow them to see the things in right manner and hence separation came their way.

Door hone kee kasak,
Pul ban jaatee hai,
Aksar dilon ko kareeb lane ko,
Par ati nikatata ke ahsaason kee aanch,
Jane kyon vilag kar deti hai dilon ko,
Mano sambandhon kee ushma se,
Ghabra jate hon man,

Life looks rosy in the initial phase of love but post marriage situations have to be changed as real life has many other things also. As some wise poet had said so many years ago

Aur bhee gum hain zamane mein mohabbat ke siva.

* * * *

But bad politics and politicians can not understand and accept the simple things of life and the fact that She is a woman and her character assassination is relatively easy, they try to tarnish her name and make a propaganda that she is having an illegal affair with the hotel manager SK.

SK is not habitual of these dirty tricks and he is quite disturbed because of this bad publicity and he tries to avoid meeting with Suchitra Sen.

His daughter is coming back from her boarding but he tries to stop her so that she does not witness this ugly face of politics.

He over hears the conversation between Om Prakash and Man Mohan. Man Mohan says that Suchitra Sen is still very beautiful.

Om Prakash says to him that perhaps Suchitra Sen will ask him to with draw from the election.
Man Mohan makes a ugly remarks against Suchitra Sen and says,” Ager ye letane ke liye taiyar ho jayen to mein baithne ke liye taiyar hun”. ( If she becomes ready to lie on my bed then I am ready to withdraw from the election”.

SK beats ManMohan.

He shouts at Suchitra Sen also,” Listen. I am not in to your bloody politics. Whoever has courage he should ask him what his relationship is with her? Tumse kya poochte hain kee hamara kya rishta hai. tumhe to khud nahin pata kee hamare beech koi Rishta hai bhee ya nahin aur yadi hai to kya hai?

Suchitra Sen is also disturbed. Her campaign team has full agreement that she has lost the election.
She goes to a place where her opponent Om Shiv Puri is addressing a crowd and there he says to the people that he wants only justice and Suchitra Sen should tell the people that what is the nature of her relationship with the hotel manager? Is he fulfilling the duties of a hotel manager and appeasing every kind of hunger and thirst of his customer?

Suchitra Sen walks toward the stage and Om Shiv Puri starts perspiring. Its easy to impose any kind of allegation against anyone when one is not around but its very difficult to say lies when same person is standing there 2 feet away.

She asks him to finish his lecture on Indian culture and when he is unable to speak she goes to mike and says to people that she is the wife of hotel manager.

She accepts before the whole crowd that SK is her husband and they have a daughter also. She has been living away from her family because she has been living among people to serve them. She has given precious time to them and this time she should have given to her family. Now she does not wish to remain in politics and wants to go back to live a normal family life.

While going back to home, SK says to her that she is coming back to the home and it’s a good thing but should not leave the field because she fears that she would lose the election.

She wins the election. That’s remarkable silent scene of the film.

Suchitra Sen is sitting near the Radio and SK is coming there. First they hear that till now she was having a lead of 5000 votes but now she is having a lead of 48000 votes and her victory is definite.

SK and Suchitra Sen both know that her victory means she has to go away to Delhi. Their
eyes communicate with each other what can not be said in words because mere effort will make light the intensity of the occasion.

Next day Suchitra Sen is going to Delhi and she express her sorrow that she cant meet her daughter who is coming there next day. She knows very well that she can not stay and Sanjeev Kumar also knows this and hence he says that he would send their daughter to her to stay for few days with her and later she herself can take her to boarding school.

Suchitra Sen walks towards her Halicopter and she sits inside the helicopter and song is played

Patthar ki haveli ko shishe ke gharaundo mein
Tinko ke nasheman tak is mod se jaate hain

Helicopter takes her to the high in sky leaving behind Sanjeev Kumar standing with moist eyes. Perhaps with a pain and a satisfaction is also there at same time because now their separation is physical only and its accepted by both of them unlike the separation of last 10 years. And now they can meet whenever they feel like and now Suchitra Sen has the home of her husband where she can come to live with her husband and daughter.
* * * *
Film becomes little incoherent at some places and it can be due to first making similarities between Suchitra Sen’s character and Indira Gandhi and then going away from them.
I have not read the original book written by Late Kamleshwar so can not say if book was based on the life of Indira Gandhi or not. Perhaps similarities were searched because she was the only woman politician at that time.
Though in one scene, film shows us that Rahman, father of Suchitra Sen, indicates toward the photograph of Pt Nehru and Indira Gandhi and says that Suchitra Sen should take inspiration from her and Suchitra sen says that she is her idol and she wants to achieve as much as she has achieved.

Sanjeev Kumar has been shown to ask Principal of her daughter’s school, when her train reaches at Allahabad so he is either residing in Allahabad or near by city and Allahabad, Phhoolpur, Amethi and Rai Barelli had been the constituencies of Pt Nehru and Indira Gandhi in those years.

Om Shiv Puri is shown as a right wing politician and his get up and all the situations match with a famous right wing politician.

So that way Gulzar Saab had tried to cover the contemporary national politics in the film.
* * * *
Om Prakash has to be praised separately for playing the character of a cunning old politician with such a beauty. Actor had got amazing range and he is not playing a comedian here but he is making alive the character of a shrewd politician.
* * * *
Not a single couple will sing such high class lyrics but who cares as these songs and whole treatment of the film brings an elated experience for the audience. Film is a film and it has to be little higher than the real life and it has to be more interesting than the real life so that one can watch it continuously for 2-3 hours without getting any deviation in the concentration and Aandhi does that quite successfully.

Filed Under  Movies, Review, Thoughts , CS Dube, gulzar, Indira Gandhi, Kamleshwar, Kishor Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Manmohan, Om Prakash, Om Shiv Puri, Pt Nehru, Rahman, RD Burman, Sanjeev Kumar, Suchitra Sen

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