Satyam Shivam Sundaram : Khajuraho concept in Hindi cinema
A large number of people are there who always shout as soon as they get a chance that India is the land of Khajuraho Temples and these people treat these temples as the places depicting sexual behaviour of mankind. Many of them equate Khajuraho temples with the erotic shops available elsewhere. If it is so then why these statues were carved on the outer walls of the temples and why they have not found place inside the main building or in Garbhagrahas of temples? An erotic shop keeps alluring things in the glass window and these things work as an advertisement and a pulling factor to sell more such things lying inside the shop.
If erotica was the subject of Khajuraho’s temples then why they have not been selling concept of sex inside also? Many of these people have never seen these temples from inside and they have seen only pictures of outside walls or replicas of statues.
Many authors, intellectuals and artists also come in this above mentioned category.
Satyam Shivam Sundaram is not for them. They see something but with eyes only and their minds remain closed. SSS was not made for such people. SSS was not made also for the audience watching Hitchcockian mysteries either because that logic that mystery in the plot should have some visual logical presentation does not remain valid here because motives are different.
It was made for those who could understand the difference between the outer walls of khajuraho temples and inside atmosphere.
Love is not mere a physical thing and it transcends the physical factor and goes deeper.
It was made for those who are always ready to look for philosophical things hidden beneath and behind the obvious happenings.
When Ashtavakra was still in the womb of his mother, his father, who was a well known Vedic scholar, would recite the Vedas everyday.
One day a voice came from the womb “This is all nonsense. Mere collection of words. No wisdom is there. Is wisdom found in scriptures? Is truth found in words? Wisdom and Truth are only in oneself.”
The father felt insulted by this challenge and cursed that the boy w’d be born deformed in eight places.
Child was born deformed, body bent in 8 places and hence the name Ashtavakra was given to him.
When Ashtavakra was only 12 year old, he went to call his father from a debate going on at the court of the emperor Janak.
Profound scholars were debating there for long on the meaning of Truth.
Many scholars laughed by looking at deformed body of Ashtavakra.
Ashtavakra responded back and laughed even more heavily.Ashtavakra’s laugh sent the court in to silence.
Curious Janak asked,” Why are you laughing, Ashtavakra?
Ashtavakra said “I am laughing because Truth is being decided in this conference of “chamars” (cobblers)”.
Everybody got a shock hearing such words from a boy but Janak, a wise king, asked Ashtavakra to explain what he meant?
Ashtavakra said “Like cobblers who only know the skin, this gathering only sees my deformed body, not me.
In the curve of the temple is the sky curved?
When a pot is smashed, is the sky smashed?
My body is twisted, not me but these cobblers cannot see that.
What Truth can they see then?Its said that Janak came down from his highly placed throne and went to touch the feet of young boy Ashtavakra and requested him to shower his knowledge on him also.
Ashtavakra gave discourses to Janaka and over the centuries these profound sayings of Ashtavakra have been given respect by profound scholars of India and his sayings are called as “Maha Gita” and his sermons are given more value and respect than Bhagwat Gita.
One purpose which Satyam Shivam Sundaram fulfils is it reveals the hypocrisy of male audience. Many male viewers would enjoy the body show of Zeenat Aman but would complain that film showed too much of her body.
Many of them don’t realize the joke of Raj Kapoor which he was playing with them through his camera.
Not a single shot is there where camera is exploring the physical beauty of Zeenat Aman and which is not followed immediately by the close up shot of burnt portion of her face and neck.
When audience is lost in staring at cleavage, bare shoulders, thighs, waist and back and enjoying the side view of bare breasts then suddenly film maker’s camera brings him back to the reality by showing her burnt side of face.
Camera shouts before the audience.
Is this lady, your centre of attraction?
Will you like her now in totality?
Will you accept her as she is?
Or you are interested only in the beautiful parts of her body?
Can you marry and love someone like this?
Or can you love and marry someone like this?
Will you still love someone who gets such a condition later in the life?
Beauty concept was explored before by Raj Kapoor in his very first directorial venture Aag also in 1947-48.
There was an Ashok Kumar film, Meri Surat Teri Ankhein where AK plays a singer who sings very well but who has not got a good face.
There was a film of Sohrab Modi where he plays police man and who rescues a blind girl and she starts loving him and he knows he looks ugly. He does all the efforts for the operation of her eyes as doctors have said that she may get an eye sight but he fears also that she will leave him once she sees his face. But he goes for the operation and as he fears she screams out of fear after watching his ugly face first time but later she accepts him.
Then there was a Mahmood and Biswajit film, Mein Sundar Hun, which was also based on this conflict of beauty vs ugliness.
Raj Kapoor carries this concept ahead.
* * * *
Satyam Shivam Sundaram starts with the narration by Raj Kapoor himself and what a voice and way to narrate the central theme.
Raj Kapoor’s narration introduces the central character Rupa (Zeenat Aman) and tells us about her childhood.
Song: Yashomati mayya se
The greatness of Lata Mangeshkar’s singing is so clear in the two versions of this song. Here she sings for a young Padmini Kolhapure and later she sings for an adult Zeenat Aman and maintains a perfect difference between two versions of same song.
Rupa is born at the time when Lord Krishna’s birth is celebrated. Her birth time becomes the death time of her mother and brings her a tag of unlucky child since the very first day she takes her first breath on earth.
Her childhood is not like other children growing up in the village and she is ill treated by most of the people. To make things worse she faces an accident and hot oil falls on her face and one side of her face and neck is burnt.
Her father is worried all the time that who would marry such an ugly faced girl?
Rupa is growing and she falls in to the devotion towards god and she makes a hearty connection with the statues of lord situated in the temple. Daily she gets up early and goes to temple and cleans it, gives a thorough bath to the statues and sings the song. Villagers have become used to of her singing.
One young man, Rajeev (Shashi Kapoor), listens the voice of a wonderful singer (Rupa) and he falls in love with the voice and he thinks that woman should be as beautiful as her voice is.
Song: Satyam Shivam sundaram
He again listens her singing in the inauguration of the dam where Rupa is singing a chorus with other girls. Rajeev does not know who Rupa is but he recognises her voice.
Song: Suni jo unke aane kee ahat
A fair is organised on this occasion and there Bade Babu (David) and other people are laughing by watching their distorted images in the mirror but Rajeev become starts shouting like a mad man by seeing his deformed image in the mirror. Rajeev is fussy about beauty and he says he can not bear anything ugly.
Bade Babu says that he can not bear a joke then what would happen if some day in his life he has to face the reality?
Rajeev lives alone and he tells his orderly that when a person lives alone then he creates his own world in his imagination and dreams are far more beautiful than real life.
When his orderly praises the beauty of Rajeev’s mother in a photo, Rajeev says that he has not seen more beautiful person than his mother.
He has started loving the owner of that sweet and attractive voice which sings daily in the early morning hours. He has woven a fantasy around this voice. He is searching the singer and one day early morning he goes to search the singer.
Song : Bhor Bhaye
He follows her and sees her from the side and finds her utterly attractive with beautiful eyes and who hides her face behind her aanchal. Her young body is utterly attractive and he falls in love with her.
He is completely seized by his own fantasies about Rupa and his feelings create a poetry describing her imagination.
Song: Chanchal nirmal komal
Audiences have to pay attention to the wonderful art direction in this dream sequence and it was done atleast 25 years before Finding Nemo came in to existence and its not animation.
Rupa is also swayed away under the emotions for sometime but soon she realises that Rajeev has not seen her and when he will know the reality of her burnt face then he will start disliking her and her heart will be broken. But she decides that if he gets some happiness through his imagination then she would not stop him but she would not go on love way with him.
She does not mind talking with Rajeev and spends time with him.
Song : Yashomati mayya se bole nand lala radha kyon gori mein kyon kala
Rajeev proposes her and she resists his proposals because she knows her realities. But he does not listen and approaches her father that he wants to marry her. Her father is astonished and he asks whether he knows his daughter very well or not and has he seen her? And young many says that he loves his daughter and she also likes him. Villagers also think that this young man knows everything and they pressurise lady’s father to say yes and marriage is fixed.
Rupa gets to know about this incident from other girls of village and she goes to stop Rajeev but he does not listen and their marriage is done.
Bade Babu’s wife goes to fulfil the ritual of munh dikhai (ritual of face seeing by the people belonging to groom side) and when she lifts the veil from Rupa’s face she is stunned by seeing her burnt face and neck. She goes to her husband and tells her. He becomes angry on her but he has to believe what she is saying and he calls Rajeev there and asks him that with whom he has married and it seems that there is something fishy as bride is not as beautiful as he used to claim.
Rajeev goes there and lifts the veil of Rupa and he is also stunned and he thinks cheating has been done with him and some other woman has become his wife.
Rupa tries to convince him that she is the same Rupa, with whom he has been in love, but he does not accept it and he says that he can not accept her as his wife and she should go back.
Bade Babu and other people put pressure on Rajeev that he can not send her back like this because after all he has brought her after marriage and now she is his wife. He refuses to accept her and leaves the home and goes to the place where he used to meet his own Rupa.
Rupa accepts her destiny and dons the get up of erstwhile Rupa and goes to meet Rajeev in the forest.
Song: Saiyan nikas gaye
He sees her and asks her where she has been as he has been married to a wrong woman. She says him to accept his wife but he denies and says that he will be going on to love her and she has to meet him daily.
She says that she will meet him but he will never try to see her face. She takes promise from him.
Song : Wo aurat hai mein mehbuba
During one such meeting in the night he makes love to her.
Rajeev’s subordinate sees him with a woman in the forest and as he has seen Rupa crying in the home so he becomes very angry and follows this woman and runs after her and catches her but he is astonished to find that this woman is none other than Rupa. Rupa tells him the truth that Rajeev does not like and does not look at her when she is at home because there she is his wife with a burnt face but loves her when she meets to him as his lover in the forest by hiding her face.
Rajeev goes to city for official work and Rupa realises that she has become pregnant.
Rajeev comes back and Bade Babu gives him this happy news but he becomes mad with anger and shouts that this woman is saying lies as he has never touched her and she is carrying somebody else’s child in her womb and she is a characterless woman.
This part of story belongs to mythology.
He carries her to her father’s house and blames him that he married his characterless daughter to him.
Rupa’s father dies after bearing the cruel behaviour of Rajeev towards him and his daughter.
Rupa curses Rajeev that he is hurting her who has loved her from pure heart and he will not get peace and from now onward neither he will get love from his wife and nor from his lover.
Flood situations occur in that area and Rajeev is searching his lover Rupa in the hills and forest but he does not get her and here flood situations become serious and chief engineer asks his subordinates to declare in the near by villages that all the people should vacate the villages and should go to safe places.
Rajeev passes through a mental conflict and realises the truth in the sayings of Rupa. He goes to village to search her but she has left the village and he goes to search her among crowd of people going away from flood affected area and when he finds her then water of flood has started creating destruction and Rupa also flows in the water. Rajeev also jumps in to the water and saves her. They both catch the top of the temple which is totally submerged in the water.
Flood situations come under control and water level goes down to normal and Rajeev accepts the realities and owns Rupa as her lover as well as wife and says that from his eyes his Rupa is very beautiful.
* * * * *
Knife has several purposes and it depends on the user how he is using it. It can be used to cut the vegetables or to sharpen the pencil which can be used in creating a beautiful sketch and it can be used to kill someone.
Almost all the things, present in the human life, have several uses and fulfil multiple purposes. Sex is also like a double edged sword. Sex can not be taken out from the life of human being because power of this energy can not be ruled out.
One teenager or young person sits in early morning to study and as soon as he is trying to concentrate, sex energy starts teasing him. A young person sits to meditate and as soon as he tries to concentrate or relax, he finds that sex energy is ridiculing his efforts. To achieve something of spiritual importance one has to win this sexual energy. One does not surpass this stage and still tries to get something of higher status and chances are there that he would fall again in to the trap of sex.
Satyam Shivam Sundaram is that double edged sword. See it superficially and with open eyes only with closed mind and its real meaning may elude one and it has been eluding and majority of people have been remembering it for the body show of Zeenat Aman and a filmmaker is failed there because he has not got an audience who is ready to take pain to take it in right perspective.
Back then chances were very less for a comprehensive discussion on such a film and moreover at the time of its release every movie is analysed based on its box office report. Now due to live nature of internet a discussion is possible on anything and people belonging to a different scenario may opine about that thing and many good and bad things about a product come in to light at a common place.
A normal/ordinary human being lives in contradictions and he behaves differently to same situations at different times depending on his preferences. One may still find his/her child alluring, sweet, lovable and good looking even if its lying in the bed in wet conditions but s/he may not find other’s child same appealing in the same situation because s/he has not got that special personal emotional connection with other’s child.
Then there are situations. People don’t mind many things if they come free or cheap and which even don’t come under the brackets of their definition of beauty. If males don’t have to commit and they are free to walk out then beauty does not matter much if they are getting chances to have sex for free. Normally any woman will work for them at times because they know they are not going to marry her or not going for a permanent type of relationship with her. Same is true with women also. At times desires and their temporary appeasement become more heavy and strong than their concept of beauty, ethics and morale.
And it can be seen everywhere that when so called love affairs have become a fashion then students studying in residential academic institutions fall for the kinds of girls living in their vicinity and its not that they are going for their dream girls. Its about availability and it certainly can not be said as case of made for each other and its matter of convenience rather. When there were less number of girls in these institutions or no girl students were there then boys used to keep eyes on every kind of women living in that area. She could be a married woman, or a poor girl cutting grass near their hostels and with whom they will not normally talk but if she becomes ready for sex, then its great because point remains they are not going to commit a permanent relationship.
If man is not into the commitment kind of things, his definition of beauty changes as per the requirements.
Then there are cases when we see that an utterly beautiful woman or handsome man has fallen for an ordinary looking partner.
There are dialogues in the film.
AK Hangal says to a confused Zeenat Aman,” Sundarta kya wo hotee hai jo bahar se dikhayee deti hai. kya sundarta sirf sharirik hotee hai. Nahin beti, sundarta andar kee, man kee baat hai”.
Other elderly person says to zeenat Aman,” Dunia mein kya sab khubsurat hote hain? Par sabko apna sathee achcha lagta hai”.
Beauty of human being remains a subjective thing and its parameters are changed in different eras, different circumstances and they strongly depend on the mood and situation of human being at a given time.
If a woman follows Mona Lisa’s style now then it does not matter how people have been calling the woman in this painting as so beautiful and this and that, many people may not find such a woman beautiful these days. A woman without eye brows? Imagination may ditch one’s beauty concept and what was “In” then may become “odd and out” these days.
Rural, villager and tribal women used to make tattoos on their hands, arms, stomach, shoulders, neck and back and feet and it was never appreciated in same way as modern days tattooing has been getting appreciation and approval and acceptance from youth masses and it has become a rage and a sign of something which enhance beauty appeal or as some say sex appeal and make a person sexy!
And still there can be some people existing on earth who will like such tattoos ugly on human body.
* * * *
Anecdote says that Raj Kapoor was searching for a suitable actress for this role and he was interested in Shabana Azmi and Rekha also but they did not agree to play this role and so many other popular heroines of those years were apprehensive to play this bold character where role demanded a lot of exposure. One day Zeenat Aman reached the house of Raj Kapoor and when Raj Kapoor came to meet her he found her standing there in the get up of Rupa, the central character of Satyam Shivam Sundaram, with a make up
(burnt face) and clad in a Saree only as was required in the film. He shouted to call his wife,”Come here Krishna see this girl what she is doing”. And he gave this role to Zeenat Aman.
Don’t know how far true this anecdote is or if its totally a rumour but fact is Zeenat Aman got this role and she had not played an Indianised girl before leave alone a villager.
Perhaps Shabana and Rekha could have played the character with more intensity and Rupa’s feelings and emotions could have been expressed with more depth with either of them in this role. Film could have been different also with other actress who was not willing to go for this level of body exposure but we have to take it as it is now.
A different film could certainly be made if Smita Patil’s would have played this character of Rupa.
Zeenat Aman acted on her own to get this role and she tried very hard to display the emotions and other than her dictions which at times don’t look to belonging to a villager girl she seemed fine. Facts have to be accepted that it was a difficult role at that time and no other actress was ready. Zeenat Aman will always be remembered for few of her films like Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Satyam Shivam Sundaram.
Before making an opinion about Zeenat’s character and Raj Kapoor’s handling of her character on screen people have to pay attention to the fact that only Zeenat Aman wears those kinds of clothes in the film. Its not like this that all the women wear similar clothes.
In many ways film goes ahead symbolically. Men living in that area are not watching her with lust and only few women in the temple say that she has become an adult woman and her clothes can’t hold her body and still she is sitting at the home of her father. She is treated as an ugly woman and her physical existence does not exist for the local inhabitants.
She becomes an object and subject only when Rajeev (Shashi Kapoor) comes in to the picture.
Her clothes are changed once she is married to Rajeev and her clothes further witness a change when she becomes pregnant and now she has to become a mother. This transformation can not be avoided.
Film is about that mental area where a man is controlled by his thoughts about an area.
Shashi Kapoor, a male character needed to carry the story ahead comes in to picture and now story enters in to the arena of mental conflicts.
Film is based on the overall philosophy of beauty and less on the personal traumas of its characters and its quite clear from the way of direction which is quite different from other films of Raj Kapoor which he had made in the past.
Dialogues are very good. AK Hangal says in the introductory scene of Shashi Kapoor.
“Babu ji ek bojh hee to hai jise banta ja sakta hai. Halkepan ko koi kya bantega”.
Lyrics from Pt Narendra Sharma, Vithalbhai Patel and Anand Bakshi are very good.
Music remains in top five music albums ever created by Laxmikant Pyarelal.
Camerawork of Radhu Karmakar is just fascinating. He captured sun rise and sun set in a beautiful manner.
Art Direction of A Rangaraj can get only high praises.
Costume department had the best costume designer of Hindi cinema Bhanu Athaiya and with the mention of this name nothing else is ever needed to mention. Name is enough. There is no other name which can match with this woman’s contribution to hindi cinema as far as costume designing is concerned.
Make up of Zeenat Aman was good.
Special effects were good and flood scenes were handled very skillfully.
Why Deena Pathak dubbed for Leela Chitnes, is not known? Perhaps she felt ill during the time of dubbing.
Raj Kapoor edited the film himself and whatever he did he excelled in that area of filmmaking. Just in the end when Shashi Kapoor is realising his blunders and rude behaviour towards Zeenat Aman, past events come before his eyes and scenes travel back and forth and this is done in a rhythm and high quality editing can be witnessed through this small scene only.
Weak scenes are in the film and they could be deleted. For example a scene is there where Rupa is running back to her home and she is very happy. She is coming back after meeting with Rajeev. AK Hangal stops her and this whole sequence is quite weak and ineffective because Zeenat Aman’s performance is unable to create required humour and comedy in the scene and without this scene also story could have gone on usual pattern.
Was it possible to make film in any other way where physical exposure was not needed at such an extent? Perhaps yes. And its up to other filmmakers to accept such a topic to make an effective film but audiences and filmmakers, who don’t mind any kind of nudity, which all of a sudden appears in hollywoodian and European and Russian cinema, don’t have any right to object to this angle of Satyam Shivam Sundaram.
Definitions can not be different.
Censor board had given an “A” (For adults only) certificate to this film and it solves the purpose.
Eroticism in Satyam Shivam Sundaram is the replica of those statues situated at the outer walls of the Khajuraho or many other temples of India and rest of the film is related with deeper philosophical meanings.
Film has to be analysed for its cinematic importance and can not be rejected so easily on the basis of exposure factor only as some people have been doing over the years.
Since then much water has flown in the river of hindi cinema and that kind of exposure is nothing before exposure done by today’s actresses and now its done without even the demand of the story and screen play. Its done for sake of doing as its understood that it would bring in more audiences.
Tags: AK Hangal, Bhupindra, david, Deena Pathak, Jainendra Jain, Kahaiya Lal, Lata Mangeshkar, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Leela Chitnis, Manna De, Mukesh, Padmini Kolhapure, Radhu Karmakar, Raj Kapoor, Rekha, shabana azmi, Shashi Kapoor, Smita Patil, Zeenat Aman
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
My personal opinion is that SSS works very well at an idea or conceptual level but fails at the execution level. There is simply too much suspension of disbelief expected of the audience, especially in the latter half of the film. I have seen this film a number of times and even tried to look at it at a philiosophical level, but never could I get myself to believing that Shashi Kapoor would think that his ‘mehbooba’ is a completely different person than his ‘aurat’. I also feel that this role required a consummate actress. Raj Kapoor probably got so enamoured by Zeenat’s body, that he was willing to ignore her lack of acting skills.
Finally, I don’t completely agree with your closing lines. Even today, actresses do not do as much exposure as what Zeenat did 25 years back. How many of the current A-list heroines have shown their breasts so openly on screen?
An observation about the song – suni jo unki. This is a variation of a tune many poets use while reciting ghazals in tarannum. A variation of this tune was used by C. Ramachandra in Wo Hum Se Chup Hain (Sargam, 1950) and again by Anu Malik in Salaam Karne Ki Aarzoo (Umrao Jaan, 2006). Nadeem also used it in Machi Hai Dhoom (Ansh, 2002).
@Aditya.
(1) Execution is tough of such a simple story, If its recited then one can agree to the every point but go on to show it visually, the factor that Shashi Kapoor should recognise Rupa, becomes so difficult.
(2) Male species is such thing that it can recognise woman in any condition. Its a famous saying in all the villages that old men sitting outside their homes, always know which woman is going and who belongs to which home and who is whose wife and the fact remains these women cover their faces with Anchal. People recognise woman/women, always covered in the veil. But this is in real life. Cinema is different else there was never a double role and there was never a confusion among twins etc. In real life we always can differentiate between twins.
But that was not the idea of the film.
Shashi Kapoor should know in Sharmili that This Rakhi is different than other Rakhi.
Mera Saya is established over this confusion of double identity only. We know very well that eyes are the major identification points and eyes can recognise eyes of other person.
If Shashi Kapoor of SSS thinks that there is look alike of this Rupa then I dont find major cinematic problem in this concept because this is not a msytery film.
He has never seen her scars. He has never heard about Rupa’s burnt face. He has sat with her, has seen her eyes, has seen her face from other side but he has never seen her burnt face. In cinema a person can believe that there is another girl with same face and features.
Camera is showing you both the persons in a frame and in reality one person is standing behind or at the side of second person. For audience its clear but it may be confusing for the other person on screen.
This is a difference between seeing through the eyes and through the camera.
It is not uncommon to confuse between two people from the back side. Even people do it with friends.
After all this confusion is not major focal point of the film. It is one of the points.
Shashi Kapoor is not representing the audience and viewing of audience. He is not observing things in or through same frame as we the audiences are watching.
I would mind it in a mystery based film but not in a philosophical film.
And either film works or it does not work. That is subjective. This point does not bother me much as film does not start with such point and its premise is fixed very well in the very first scene by the narration of Raj Kapoor.
Zeenat does not appear as weak actress in this role at all the places but only at few places. Like in the scene I mentioned and in another where she screams in typical filmi style “Nahin” she looks odd.
But The very first scene where she is looking lovingly at statues of Gods, is an example of her fine performance and trial do her best effort.
Certainly a much capable actress could have brought more depth to the role but there were two options either to close the project or make it with the actress who was willing to do the role. Option two is before us. Many times it has happened in the cinemtaic history.
Subject is still open for all the capable directors and actresses to lay their hands on.
(3) A Raj Kapoor is not there so that actress make a queue to be casted in his films. Current heroines are not casted in a subject like SSS. This A-list word is unnecessary.
I had mentioned todays actresses, they may be A listers, or B listers or C listers.
But in other films many are doing exposure which is not required by the subject.
Subject decide these things.
A Padmini Kolhapure in Prem Rog is not asked to expose and film is lying in between SSS and RTGM.
Perhaps actresses have not shown breasts from side but bare back scenes have been given by almost all the present actresses. Almost all have appeared in swimming costume. all wear mini, micro skirts. All have given love making scenes. all have kissed on screen.
Now interference of the various politically motivated group has been increased so that may stop few actresses to do anything they are offered but we have to see if an actress is offered a 30 cror deal by an international studio then what happens?
It can be said that actresses of 70s possibly could not have become ready to do lesbian scenes of Fire which Shabana and Nandita gave.
Some years ago Mamta Kulkarni did those stardust photos and perhaps todays heroines will not do it.
Though they may give same photos covering same area with tiny cloth which Mamta Kulkarni covered by her hands.
When many of them can go for these things and sex scenes then its matter of time, and ambition level at a given time. If today somebody’s ambitions are touched by a famous director then who knows what happens.
Moreover SSS is not limited to these exposure factors only. These exposure factors have been discussed so much over the years. Film should be discussed.
@Aditya (2),
I dont recall C Ramchandra’s song. Will try for that. So many times songs converge at same tune or diverge from same tune specially when they are based on same raga.
and this is more than possible because imagination of many music directors takes a start after getting a reference from old works done by the past music directors.
Creativity is heavily dependent on inspiration and seldom it comes from void.
RK: Just so that I’m clear. The ‘exposure’ in SSS doesn’t bother me one bit and I certainly don’t think that should be the focal point of any discussion on SSS. I was only responding to the closing lines of your article.
My dissatisfaction with SSS (I wouldn’t use a strong word like rejection) has been primarily because I felt that a philosphical concept was given a very literal treatment. Possibly, Raj Kapoor felt that he had to be speak in a language understood by a wider audience, but that diluted the impact of the film. And, worse, it didn’t solve that purpose as well because people also rejected the film.
Having said all this, I agree with you that it is an important film from a thematic standpoint. I have watched it multiple times, and absolutely love the soundtrack.
It is said that Lata Mangeshkar with her divine voice and ordinary looks was Raj Kappor’s inspiration behind the theme – that beauty is not skin deep.
@Aditya(5)
Yes Exposure factor is not that important and either it must be seen with a proper analytical eyes because as I faced some questions in the post also (just to summarise)
(1) Why camera goes to show Zeenat’s burnt face everytime her body is exposed.
(2) Why only she is wearing those kind of clothes and men there are not notiing them.
(3) Why her clothing style changes once she is married and they are changed again when she becomes pregnant.
Without solving these questions, we the curious analysers should not crucify the film else we will miss the point of Director. His crude handeling of showing always her burnt face surely forces us to think. Otherwise if exposure was the sole motive then he did not need to take away pleasure of male audience by this way.
—
We are not facing the burden of making SSS a hit or a flop as we are discussion it after 25 years of its release. we may adpot much objective attitude towards the film than the audience who watched it when it was released.
I dont have data whether it was a hit or average or a flop but I remember sayings of one person, who was telling other personin early 80s. I will use exactly his own words.
“Are Bhaisaab, Satyam Shivam Sundaram lagee to utarne ka naam hee na le. 3 mahine to hum roj poster dekhte rahe iska picture hall ke bahar”. So perhaps it had got mixed response at different cities in India.
—
and because we are living so many years after its first release so we may focus on many factors of the film.
(1) Did Radhu Karmakar use some kind of screen before the lenses of his camera or this tri coloured scheme which is seen mostly in the early morning and during evening times is the result of some kind of post production job? or its natural work?
—-
Music is absolutely wonderful. Bhor Bhayee is an amazing song. Lata Mangeshkar’s alap and taans in every songs are divine.
Yes I also have heard that Lata Mangeshkar was also one of the inspirations behind this concept but major inspiration should be Raj Kapoor’s first film Aag where he had played the male version of Rupa and his face was burnt there.
—
Suraj Barjatya’s Vivah also takes this subject, what will happen when beloved of someone has got an accident, or s/he is burnt, but in this film its solved ideally and mental conflict has not become the point of discussion.
rather majority of audience might not have paid any attention to this last portion of the story as everythingelse was going smooth. so in this consideration, SSS stood strongly as it was focused on that discussion only. Beauty vs distorted beauty and definition of beauty and persons’s own understanding.
—
Exposure is not important today as we have been watching now Murder, Paap, Sins, Jism etc etc where somuch nudity is involved.
RK: about your 3 questions – I agree that the first one (showing the burnt face after focusing on the body)probably done by the director with a purpose, but you might be overanalyzing and seeing too much meaning into the other 2 points. In Hindi films, the heroines have always been shown as disntinct from other similar girls. Pick up any of the village themed films, the heroines always stands apart from the crowd in terms of her costume, etc. I see that being the only reason for Similarly, it’s an age old tradition in Hindi films to show a change in the way women dress once they get married. It’s not true these days, but till the 80s and even 90s, a heroine might dress in modern clothes, but once she gets married, it’s always a more conservative and traditional attire.
On that thought, the beauty of analyzing a film in retrospect is that it throws open a number of possibilities, which make a good topic of discussion.
i totally agree with aditya that the over-exposure actually diluted the movie. ppl just went home thinking abt zeenat and may have m@$!urb@!ed thinking abt her, tats all. they did not derive any value from it, rather they did not take home any learning. the same thing happened with RTGM. the subject was pretty deep and lots of metaphors were used in the movie. but ppl only recall mandakini under the waterfall, in the lake, feeding the kid etc. the bigger picture was sadly lost :(
like the one he told infront of the temple abt radha-krishna being worshipped and their names being taken in the same breath in our society although they were not married. it was abt widow rehabilitation, if u can call it so. anyways…
prem rog also had a similar reaction, ppl just dont recall wat rishi kapoor stood for in the movie. they only hum the songs, but forget the dialgues
@Crazyrals (8)
Its not clear your problem is with films or with audiences?
Child molesters are existing in the world and keep open eyes and you may find someone in your vicinity also. So what provokes them, exposure of children?
People are found involved in appeasing their sexual appetite with animals so over exposure of animals is responsible behind this because animals dont wear clothes at all?
Those who have to go for self appeasement, they dont need to do it because SSS is diluted with over exposure.
Only by chance any such person was not living in the village of Rupa in the film.
So you mean if a documenatry kind of film showing widow rehabilitation or a shudh satvik kind of film is shown to people they will actually start doing marriages with widows?
For you it would be interesting to know the impact of AAG on audience. It did not have any exposure leave alone over exposure.:)
@Adtiya,
thats so true about retrospection. Moreover after sometime people may opt an objective outlook towards the “matter of discussion”.
—
It may go little deviated from the points you have made but still.
Please Dont forget the presence of men and their avoidance towards Rupa’s sexual existence with respect to point 2. I am not referring merely to her dresses being distinct from the other women or girls of her age in that surrounding. Men’s avoidance is quite an unnatural thing as far as real life goes and with this attitude of the film we can have a hint that director is setting up a frame and cooking up a dish which is quite different than other regular films and those definitions will not work here.
This set up is showing an illusionary story.
We can recall the story of Princess Didda of Kashmir who as per anecdote used to live naked because she never felt any Man was living in her surrounding and an ordinary looking Pandit Koka makes her realise first time about her womanhood.
All the other people focus on the scar of her face. like one person who has come to marry his son to Rupa and who demands a dowry. He also points out about her ugly face.
Only Rajeev’s presence is there which makes her realise importance of her physical presence.
Its true woman used to wear different kind of clothes post marriage but that point was to stress upon the motives of Director. He could have still shown her wearing old kind of clothes. How it was affecting the narrative if purpose was to show more and more skin show?
and we can not forget that she wears old type of clothes when goes to meet Shashi Kapoor in the forest because he recognises her in this kind of dress only. This is her other and old form.
If film was following the real life traditions and rituals then there was no need to show her wearing less clothes when she was not married because women dont wear that kind of clothes. A director of Raj Kapoor’s stature does not need to go for these scenes for self enjoyment because for that one does not need to invest crors of Rupees and hard work of making a film and more pleasure can be obtained much cheaper and if purpose is to give pleasure to audience then its mixed with bitter doses because of the scar face.
Eroticism when used for a purpose then its called an experiment and when its used just for the sake of
If we ignore points then we avoid the directors motives and we fall for very simplified version of analysis of the film.
@Rk: i think i did not make my point very clearly. all i was trying to say was tat the heart of the movie, the symbolism and all the metaphors were lost because of the skin-show involved. at some point of time while watching the movie i fel tat, had there not been such excessive skin-show the movie may have drowned completely. at least now, the movie is still in discussion and ppl have not forgotten it totally.
my grouse is also with the audience. if u just mention ‘emraan hashmi’, the general audience will relate it to serial-kisser. they may not recall the name of the movie or the prod/dir or even differentiate between 2 of his last releases; but they will surely recall who were the actresses he kissed
anyways, no movie can change society radically, documentary or commercial. if tat was the case, arranged marriages would have been a thing of the past from the days of bobby to MPK to DDLJ to DCH etc.
and as far as sex offenders r concerned, i dont think they need to watch a movie to get ideas; i thought this was well understood tat they r born filthy or they become filthy because of their upbringing
wats AAG?? never heard tat acronym :(
I have always liked RK as a film maker. AAG being one of the best ( for me THE best ) debut of any film maker.
IMHO RK was immune to women and sex, while making films. He did not show sex or skin in movies for his satisfaction, on the sets !
For example he became a neutral person as far as skin show of women was concerned, because he himself said that as a kid he always had bath with his mother, both of them naked !
In case of SSS he was in fact the major responsible guy for the breakup of Dev and Zeenat relationship ( Dev was about to take Zeenat on a date and tell her that he loved her very much and was not able to stay without her ) It was when Raj kissed Zeenat in front of Dev and tell her that she was his only choice for the movie, in which she would wear “only” white saari !! Zeenat was already sold to the movie !
Crazyrals (11): AAG is no acronym. It is ‘Aag’ (as in fire), Raj Kapoor’s first film as a director.
Chanchal nirmal komal is a very trippy song, perhaps one of Bollywood’s best trippy song.
-0-
“We can recall the story of Princess Didda of Kashmir who as per anecdote used to live naked because she never felt any Man was living in her surrounding and an ordinary looking Pandit Koka makes her realise first time about her womanhood.”
I think you meant Lal Ded (Lalleshwari/Lalla Arifa) and not Princess Didda ( she was the last Hindu woman ruler of Kashmir). Lal Ded was no princess, she was a mystic. And the anecdote goes that when she first saw Shah Hamdan ( person under whose guidance Islam made great inroads in Kashmir and spread real fast)she became conscious of her nakedness and hid herself saying, “Today, I saw a man”. In In context of Kashmir, her statement is open to all kind of interpretations. But, under no context can one sanely discuss her life and work when all the while one is talking about a bollywood movie(even if the said film is a technicolor mashup of bohemian Voyeurism, Divine Retribution and Platonic India). It’s like talking about all that is good in life and then printing it out in bold red ink on a flyer or a brochure advertising better…best armchairs for healthier aging spine. All at an affordable cost. And if the flyer has a photograph of Zeenat Aman clad in wet transparent white sari…even the flyer becomes a collectible.
-0-
Here is some thing for Zeenat Aman fans:
Zeenat Aman in Taj Mahal Tea ad from 1972
@crazyrals,
(1)Its takes only 15-30 minutes writing to encircle a film with a complete rejection because every film has flaws and they can be highlighted in such a way that it will look like a third class product. But that does not solve the purpose especially with the films made in the past and where filmmakers are either no more and where we can not know his own thoughts about the film/s. and moreover such attempts can not fulfil first the vision of a place like PFC and second they can not be helpful in the growth of such a place (PFC) where huge sum of money, time and energy is utilized every single day. Case is different with present days active filmmakers and films made in present. so an objective and good discussion is always welcomed. Points can be raised in any manner, thats not a problem, till we have dialogue, its all fine.
(2) Its a confusing thing about SSS. If we give stress to this fact that there was too much skin show and we try to relate it with success or failure of the film. Was it too much then all those audience who go to watch films for skin show should have made crowd at the theatres where it was screened. Once an audience is in then it does not matter he liked the film or not or he understood it or not, because he bought the ticket and he will be counted as one more audience who saw the film. and if an audience is not objecting to skin show in a Malena or Basic Instinct or many such films then how come its objectionable in SSS where subject itself is physical beauty and love? Physical beauty is a tool here to touch and check the minds of audiences also. Such films can not be judged immediately and an audience may have different opinion about SSS at different phases of his life depending on his understanding at that time. Cinematically SSS is a good film or average film or bad film is a different matter and its impact on audience is a different and subjective matter. and this impact can be different if an audience is watching it when he was 18 years old and then later when he was 25 years old and later when he was 32 years old or when he was 42 or 48 years old. It may bring different meaning.
(3) Aag is Raj Kapoor’s first directed film. I think you had(/have) not read the post because it was mentioned there in clear words and you joined the discussion through comments only because you had already seen the film and had an opinion about it. No problem with that take also.:)
More in next comment.
@crazyrals,
on a lighter note about comment (8), all those audience who might have gone for self appeasement activities after watching the film, had tendancy to attain sainthood as
(1)they gave stress on physical beauty of Zeenat Aman
(2) they got the message, atleast half of that, of the film rightly:)
(3) they were more aware as an audience as they knew very well that it was a film and in reality Zeenat Aman is not rupa and her face is not burnt so they dissected the maya, the illusion of film so early:).
@Crazyrals (11),
Media repeats few words and then they are taken as universally accepted words and people start using those words. And its an unavoidable kind of problem with any new author whenever s/he starts writing that s/he can go with the terminology s/he has read or heard. Suppose a person has heard about SSS that Zeenat Aman had exposed a lot in it now its not sure whether the person has seen the film or not but when s/he will write and SSS is a subject then s/he will mention it as such that ohh and this film is known because Zeenat Aman had done a exposure unseen before and after. We can not remove this kind of problems.
But when there is a chance to discuss a film in better way then it can be done with open and objective mind.
which we should do with good and impressive films of past.
—-
there are many issues in the film and if they are raised then can be discussed.
@Kcp(12),
Sir you seem to have already read “Romancing with life”. I have not got a chance to finish it. I had started in in January but it was left back at a place and I could read only few initial pages.
This son-mother bath case is not told by Mahesh Bhatt Ji? I recall he also has been saying something like this.
True about Raj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor kind of filmmker can use eroticism as part of a film but they can not make film for the sake of this only.
Only this can not motivate him to concieve an entire film.
@Vinayak Babu (14),
Such story is found in 300-400 BC also. I might have mixed characters and it could be court of King of Kashmir where Pandit Koka was the employee and a woman come to this court who challenge the men as she does not feel their presence.
Anyway, I dont have this idea that even if its about mystic
Lal Ded then she comes down from her place if an incidence is mentioned. With this reference atleast she came in to existence otherwise she could have remained mystic always.
and as you can see clearly that because she was not mentioned at first place so mention of her work is out of question.
Though If I knew something of relevance from her side here I could have very well mentioned that. Sane Insane things dont matter much. We live in an era when things are read because they are written or typed and I dont think purity is gone of any good message. Purity is gone when things are read wrong and interpreted wrong. as it has been happening all around the world where wrong has been doing towards humanity because religious scriptures are moulded and interpreted by vested interests.
When everything, what can be said, was said, 2000, 1400 and 500 years ago then what the hell we are doing on earth?:)
Zeenat Aman ad was nice to see and read. Thanks a lot.
@ vinayak
pandit koka and lalla are two different stories
.
the daughter of king of kashmir, the princess, use to remain naked. she said that she sees no man around. she does not feel ‘lajja’. so why cover the body. there is no man who can make her to lower her eyes. this became a problem, and pandit koka was consulted. as pandit koka arrived in the court of king,and princes saw him her eyes were lowerd with ‘lajja’. (mind you its not shame ). princess was married to pandit koka.
pandit koka is the aughtor of second most important treatise on love in india, after ‘kmasutra’ by vatsayan, it is called ‘ratirahasya’
.
‘Lalla’ was the mystic woman who also reamin naked. in the world of mysticism there are only people of such kind. Mahavir and Lalla. you attribute a quote to lalla ‘today i saw a man’. man, a mystic is a mystic because she has gone beyond the duality of man and woman. a mystic can never make a statement you have atrributed to lalla. lalla remain naked whole of her life
Pandit Koka (830-960 CE), a Kashmiri pandit wrote a thesis on sex – Ratirahasya (On the Art of Love) known as Koka shastra. Unlike Kamasutra which was written earlier, this one dealt with the subject to benefit husbands and not lovers.
RK ji,
When were the scriptures not misinterpreted and when wasn’t the earth close to chaos.
We are on earth watching Zeenat Aman:) For most that could be heavenly enough.
Shah Hamdan and Lal Ded:
It’s a story part of kashmiri folklore
http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=lal+ded+shah+hamdan&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
(and good to see pfc editors at work)
On side note, a recommendation: Mita Vashist in a translucent dress performing a play based on the life of Lal Ded. Great stuff!
@Vinayak,
Perhaps chaos was always there on earth but we have to address chaos of our time only.
Apna dost aur apna dushman apna hee hota hai.:)
Scriptures were perhaps interpreted wrongly in all the ages but this is not very old disease where religions have been strictly devoted to few books only and life has been made limited and dependent on the things written there.
This was not the flavour of this part of earth else there could not have originated so many sects within a single religion.
That freedom of expression and imagination has been finished from books based religions because everything is written and advance things cant be said now.
There have been so many similar stories.
Mystic woman in Vishrant comment is perhaps counted as one tirthankar out of 24 Jain tirthankars and its also mentioned that over the centuries people have even changed her gender and made her a man and changed her name.
Then you mentioned a mystic woman in kashmir but she is during the time when Islam had entered in the valley.
My story was similar to Vishrant’s first story. anyway these parables are great read.
That true Jahangeer saw heaven in Nishat baag (bagh) in Kashmir and people can see it through other means also.
Koka ji was married while Vatsyayan ji was a celibate so that should be difference between their purposes behind creating these volumes on sex.
But name Koka is very appealing. it should hit advertisement world.
@Rk : i agree with every word u have said; and i have not refuted any of the points made by u.
i have seen “aag”, its just tat when it was written in-block AAG, it got me confused for a moment. aag was a fantatsic movie and a daring subject for directorial debut. but RK was a man of conviction, he was always dictated by his heart. he was one guy who pushed the envelope with every movie of his, whether it was jaagte raho or jis des mai ganga…SSS or RTGM.
let me also mention tat i loved SSS and i watch it everytime it comes on tv[i own this dvd and most of his movies and still collecting]. i was only trying to make the point tat the movie was and will be remembered for the wrong reasons; rather will not be remembered for the right reasons. the issue tackled in the movie is an age old issue abt wat ppl perceive as beauty. beauty is not only wat we see but also wat we perceive. the crux of the movie was the shashi kapoor scene in the mela tat u have already mentioned. from then on the viewer already knows how he is going to react when he sees zeenat’s face completely, they only wait to see wen it happens and how it happens. and finally, under wat circumstance he wud come out of his delusion of perceieved beauty and recognise the beauty of the heart and soul, beauty of thoughts and words
by the way, zeenat exposed more or less the same in ‘manoranjan’; but nobody talks of tat. tat movie was made by shammi kapoor and sanjeev kumar was totally wasted in it
I think you are confusing things. Lal Ded has nothing to do with Jainism.
The only reason why I brought up this subject is because some years down the line someone browsing the internet would have come across this page and read about relation between Koka and Didda, and then quoted this page as the source of his (dis)information, maybe even picked a fight with someone. At that time, my friend, you would inadvertently have been the cause of one more misinterpretation of text in some part of the world.:)
I don’t know about Koka (sounds like a name of a bollywood villian. Koka Kondom anyone!) but a variation of this name – kuka is still a popular nick name in Kashmir. One of the most famous militants in kashmir was named Kuka Parray. He later became a counter-insurgent and died only a few years ago.
RK, RK said this in the book written by his daughter. Not aware where Mahesh Bhatt said it.
Yes I had read Romancing…by Dev, the next day when he autographed it for me. It was a bakwas book ( for me, except one full chapter dedicated to Kishore ;) ). With such an illustrious career, we cine fans wanted so much more insights into the making of the films and his colleagues. But he keeps on writing about his romances and love stories and flings and flirts with 14 year olds and above !! It was very sad !
@Vinayak,
Perhaps it was not clear through (23), so you got confusion that I am mixing Lal Ded with other mystic woman.
[ about Jaina lady teerhankar - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallinath ]
There are already so many parables around personalities belonging to Sanatana Dharama, Hindu, Jain, Bodh and people have been reading , listening them without many big troubles as essense matter than the real facts in later years. Those who have to fight they will go on fighting on any issue and those who dont have to fight they will search sense in anything and everything and will decide by applying wisdom.
so among chaos, some sense has always been existing and hopefull it will always exist
@Kcp,
Have not read completely the book yet so will be knowing later about the merits of the book but he has been writing about these things, which you search in this book, in the past also. His article about Chetan Anand, His brief association with JP and dissilusionment with politics as such. His BBC associations etc etc.
and this is just one chapter of his life in “Romancing with life”.
Why to worry, he is alive and functioning properly and will be giving more books in future:)
Sometimes life itself is a book. he is creating chapters by living and doing. Insight is already too much in air:)
@crazyrals(24),
Sanjeev Kumar wasted in Manoranjan, in what way? you find his performance weak or his character?
He played his character with same devotion here also as he used to do in many other films of 70s. He did a fine job in this almost one of the first adult comedy.
Not many can say the dialogue with such command as he had said,”Mujhe Car chahiye Taxi nahin”.
Manoranjan was a different film and had its own merits.
and was a good entertainer.
I dont know why Shammi Kapoor did not direct films after Bundalbaz. His Manoranjan effort was a good effort.
—
True many films are remembered because of exposure factor.
I see no harm if SSS is remembered because of exposure factor, all over the world exposure factor makes alive many films in the mind of audience. afterall World is sex based .
Malena is known for exposure of monica Bellucci than the theme of the film.
But when doing retrospection on any such film then rest of the film should also be discussed.
its all fine till Exposure works as an umbrella to fetch an initial attention but these all films are much more than that exposure factor.
We can not fight with general opinion about any subject. but when we discuss then we can try to pay justified attention to this factor and not an extra dose of attention should be given.
Perhaps it still exists that a large number of audience go to watch a foreign film because they think they will get some SCENES.
Siddhartha is known for explicit love making scenes and partial nudity of Simi Grewal but still we can discuss rest of the film.
Same is true with SSS also.
very nicely put! thank you..