Publicity still for Do aankhen baarah haath (1957)

Do aankhen baarah haath won many awards at international film festivals, including the Silver Bear in Berlin, and it remains the only Hindi mainstream film that has been screened at the London Film Festival to date. However, it was only post-1955 and the release of Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali (1955) that ‘art cinema’ emerged in India. In the 1950s many films were produced within the mainstream that would now be regarded as ‘middle class’ or more ‘realist’ than movies produced today. The genre of DABH, the social problem film (rather than the social), emerged in the 1930s as the coming of sound encouraged the growth of a more literary cinema, with increased emphasis on the word rather than the spectacle. Shantaram’s socials at Prabhat (including Duniya na mane) were outstanding examples of this genre. It flourished in the 1950s in the hands of film-makers such as Bimal Roy (Bandini, Devdas, Do bigha zamin and Madhumati) and B. R. Chopra (Naya daur and Nikaah) and is certainly the ancestor of the 1970s’ middle-class cinema of Hrishikesh Mukherjee (Abhimaan, Anand and Gol maal) and others.

V. Shantaram was one of the founders of Poona’s Prabhat Studios, but when he left Prabhat to found his own studio, Rajkamal Kalamandir, he continued to make films in this genre along with more mainstream colour films such as Jhanak jhanak payal baje (1955).

DABH argues that prisoners, even murderers, are human beings who can be redeemed if they are well treated, and is very different from B. R. Chopra’s Kanoon (1960), which directly opposes the death penalty. Shantaram’s father was a Jain, a member of a religious group known for its strict respect for all forms of life, and the character he plays in this film, Adinath, has a Jain name. Adinath is jailer who believes that prisoners are human beings too, and he takes six prisoners to his experimental farm, Azad Nagar (Freetown), where he demonstrates he can prompt them to reform by giving them trust and respect. He becomes their father figure, or Babuji, whose two eyes (do aankhen) watch their twelve hands (baarah haath), whose prints they give him in case he should need to report their escape, and which work the land in honest labour. His compassion and self-sacrifice are the qualities for which this film has been most celebrated. However, the film is not relentlessly preachy, and Sandhya, as the toy-seller, provides many light­hearted moments, although she is also the focus for discourses about sexuality and motherhood.

The film contains several haunting songs, notably ‘Ae malik tere bande hum’ (music by Vasant Desai and lyrics by Bharat Vyas), whose rendition by Lata Mangeshkar (picturised on Sandhya) at the death of Babuji is one of her most loved songs, and the catchy ‘Tak tak dhoom dhoom’ which is repeated several times. The black-and-white cinematography in an expressionist style that had been popular in earlier Indian cinema comes is outmoded by the 1960s, but this is a fine example of its last flourish.

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1957, Genre – Crima/Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Rajkamal, Director –V. Shantaram, Music Director – Vasant Desai, Cast - V. Shantaram, Sandhya, Ulhas, B. M. Vyas, Baburao Pendharkar, Paul Sharma, K. Date, S. K. Singh

C.I.D (1956)

This is one of Hindi cinema’s few experiments with film noir. It engages with the genre fully, down to its rainy night street scenes and relentless emphasis on icons of modernity, such as telephones, cars, guns, newspapers and houses with sliding panels, trapdoors, etc. Inder Raj Anand took elements of film noir and mixed them with many other styles to form a total hybrid in the distinctive style of Hindi movies. The film’s plot is not too exciting but the visuals and music are impressive.

After a network of phone calls, the editor of the Times of India is murdered and Inspector Shekhar (Dev Anand) of the CID brought in to investigate. He hijacks a car driven by a young woman, Rekha (Shakila) to chase the murderer but she throws away the car key. Aided by Master (Johnny Walker), Shekhar captures the murderer but is then taken to see a mysterious woman, Kamini (Waheeda Rehman), who warns him not to pursue his investigation further. Meanwhile, he finds out that Rekha is in fact his superintendent’s daughter, and romance blossoms. Shekhar is framed for the killing of the murderer in jail but escapes, and is helped by Kamini to bring the story to a conclusion.

This film clearly reveals how Dev Anand early in his career established his style as ‘Debonaire Dev’, a persona which was later to become very mannered. This was Waheeda’s debut in Hindi films and she is presented as an image of total female beauty. She would have a long career as a major star, first as a romantic heroine over two decades, then playing older characters. There is also a comic subplot focused on a lower-class couple, with the popular comedian Johnny Walker (who took his name from the whisky) as a tailor and petty crook.

The film’s songs form a superb collection of music, and the collaboration between music director O. P. Nayyar and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri is ideally suited to the modern, urban nature of the movie. As well as having audio value outside the film as great songs, they are also employed skillfully to advance the action as well as being used as themes. The song picturisation is stunning too, whether they are shot as romance in the countryside, as village girls (in film/ costumes) fetch water from the river (‘Nadi kinare gaoun re’), or in the romantic duet ‘Aankhon hi aankhon mein’, or are shot in Bombay’s public spaces. The city is also shown as boasting locations for romance, including the sea fronts, which have long been places where lovers meet. The question of romance is first raised with one of the most popular songs, ‘Leke pehla pehla pyaar’, during which Dev Anand walks along the sea front behind Shakila, accompanied by two professional singers. (This would become Dev Anand’s trademark, walking rather than dancing through songs.) One of the most famous songs from the film is about the city of Bombay itself — ‘E dil hai mushkil’.

These song picturisations reveal that Raj Khosla was very much a disciple of Guru Dutt and the style he took from the Anand brothers’ Navketan banner. He had a rather uneven career in terms of success and genre, as his range included thrillers and cop films but also some huge hits, including Mera gaon mera desh and the ‘woman’s weepie’ Main tulsi tere aangan ki.

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1956, Genre – Crime, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Guru Dutt Films, Director – Raj Khosla, Music Director – O.P Nayyar, Cast - Shakila, Waheeda Rehman, Kumkum, Sheela Vaz, Dev Anand, Bir Sakuja, Johnny Walker, K. N. Singh

Rann (2010)

Amidst the abundance of directors vying for mainstream success in Bollywood, Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) is a rare breed. He directs movies that fall out of conventional Indian cinema and it seems he does it for the art of storytelling rather than aiming at box-office success.

Since the critical success of the resounding Rangeela, RGV has ventured into crime, horror and previously untouched topics such as adultery. His recent foray in telling tales of the underworld in particular seemed to have served him well, as evidenced by the well received Company, D, Satya and the Sarkar movies.

In Rann he has taken on a new, perhaps bold, tale of media manipulation, principally focusing on politics and sensational news items. The film brings out the evils in society when striving for success pushes people to extremes, sounding out a sentiment that media has sidelined any moral code of ethics in present times. It may tend to lean towards an idealistic point of view at times, but the requisite of a serious tone makes Rann perfect for a thinking audience.

One of the film’s protagonists, Harshvardhan Malik (Amitabh Bachchan) owns a news channel which operates on the basis of strong moral codes and ideals. Malik believes in presenting honest, factual news and not generating news just to win an audience.

Jai Malik (Sudeep), Harshvardhan’s son, runs with the trend and sees media as a cash-cow. When their channel is under threat from competition, Jai becomes allies with politician Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal) and uses his channel to conspire against the ruling Prime Minister.

Enter aspiring journalist Purab (Riteish Deshmukh) who steps in to get to the truth of the issue. The story starts to show some elements of suspense, which seems to diminish as the film progresses, due to an increasingly predictable ending.

The script is almost written and acted out to perfection. Amitabh Bachchan, and more surprisingly Riteish Deshmukh and Sudeep deliver their crisp dialogues effectively. The menacing rather than comedic performance of Paresh Rawal is refreshing, while the support of Mohnish Behl as the competition is solid. Gul Panag brightens the screen with her smile in her limited role.

The one strong point of the film is the cinematography as it is clearly evident that Amit Roy has studied the art. The camera angles, panning shots and placement of actors on the set is well thought out and conducted. The fact that there finally seem to be cinematographers who take initiative and are innovative bodes well for the industry and future films.

To sum up Rann is one movie you do not want to miss. It displays many aspects of filmmaking that are often absent in Indian cinema, such as using music to support the story rather than throwing in inane dance numbers. The film may have some shortcomings but the message it delivers, combined with its uniqueness makes it a must-watch – Amar Ayaz

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2010, Genre – Crime, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Sheetal Vinod Talwar, Madhu Mantena, Director – Ram Gopal Varma, Music Director – Amar Mohile, Bapi – Tutul, Sanjeev Kohli, Jayesh Gandhi, Dharmaraj Bhatt, Sandeep Patil, Cast - Amitabh Bachchan, Paresh Rawal, Riteish Deshmukh, Sudeep, Manisha Koirala, Rajat Kapoor, Gul Panag, Raima Sen, Mohnish Behl, Rajpal Yadav, Suchitra Krishnamurthy, Alok Nath, Neena Kulkarni, Simone Singh, Neetu Chandra, Rahul Pendkalkar