Gathering up titles to view for a poll being held on IMDb's Classic Film board for the best movies of 1973,I originally planned to watch the Bollywood movie Zanjeer,due to it being the title credited with giving lead actor Amitabh Bachchan his big break,and also making a new 'Angry Young Man' sub-genre the leading genre of Bollywood cinema.Searching round for a DVD of Zanjeer on Ebay,I ended up stumbling up on another of Bachchan's 1973 titles which was about to go in 5 minutes,which led to me picking up a guitar,and getting ready to play Abhimaan for the first time.
The plot:
Being India's leading pop star,Subir Kumar finds that he has no time in his life for anything not related to his career,with his manager (and best friend) Chander Kripalani arranging for Subir to do nothing but a touring/recording cycle.Finding that he is receiving so much fan mail that he will never be able to reply to it all,Kumar asks Chander to bin all the letters,and to not tell him about any new fan mail.Initially following orders,Kripalani finds himself breaking Subir's demand faster than expected,when he receives a hand delivered letter from Kumar's aunt Durga.
Delighted at hearing from a relative who he has not seen in ages,Subir arranges for Chander to cancel his current tour,and heads out to pay Durga a surprise visit.Welcomed with open arms by his aunt,Kumar finds his attention caught by a beautiful woman called Uma,who is Durga's next door neighbour. Nervously talking to Uma,Subir soon discovers that he has found a kindred spirit,when Uma reveals that she sings from the heart.Feeling that they've found their soul mate,Uma and Subir get marred,and soon head back to the big city.
Returning to the big city,Kumar tells Chander that his solo career is over and that he will now only be signing duets with Uma.Despite being certain that he and his wife are guaranteed a successful duet career,Subir soon discovers that Uma will have the solo career which he has always desired.
View on the film:
With music being at the heart of the film,composer Sachin Dev Burman wisely stays away from the musical trends that were gaining popularity at the time,by making Subir and Uma Big Band/Jazz singers style pop stars,which along with giving the superb songs a delightfully lively feel,also gives the film a strong sense of timelessness,thanks to Burman taking a classical approach instead of just simply cashing in on musical styles which would drab in 5 years time.
For the screenplay of the movie,co-writer/ (along with Nabendu Ghosh,Rajinder Singh Bedi,Mohini N. Sippy and Biresh Chatterjee)director Hrishikesh Mukherjee take a rather daring approach for the time period,by exploring the increasing freedoms for women in society,with the writers brilliantly showing Kumar become detached from his relationship with Uma,thanks to Kumar having the view,that women should not take 'their mans' spot in being the main money maker,and dominant force of the relationship.
Making sure to stop the film from ever becoming dry,the writers smartly make sure to give the title a sprinkling of Comedy to help it bounce merrily along,with Chander (played by Asrani) being a particularly hilarious highlight of the movie.
Putting their own cash on the line so that the film could get made,the then-recently married Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri both give extraordinary performances which perfectly display the qualities that each of them bring to the relationship.
Starting off with a terrific swagger as he dances on the stages as India's leading pop star,Bachchan gradually shows Kumar to become dazed & confused,as he finds the limelight leaving him and going over to his wife,which Bachchan shows leads to Kumar building a high wall between himself and Uma.Going in the opposite directing of Bachchan,Bhaduri gives a breath taking performance as Uma,with Bhaduri showing Uma come out of her shell as she takes a liking to the limelight,thanks to music having a connecting to her soulful belief's on notes that Kumar has never reached.
The plot:
Being India's leading pop star,Subir Kumar finds that he has no time in his life for anything not related to his career,with his manager (and best friend) Chander Kripalani arranging for Subir to do nothing but a touring/recording cycle.Finding that he is receiving so much fan mail that he will never be able to reply to it all,Kumar asks Chander to bin all the letters,and to not tell him about any new fan mail.Initially following orders,Kripalani finds himself breaking Subir's demand faster than expected,when he receives a hand delivered letter from Kumar's aunt Durga.
Delighted at hearing from a relative who he has not seen in ages,Subir arranges for Chander to cancel his current tour,and heads out to pay Durga a surprise visit.Welcomed with open arms by his aunt,Kumar finds his attention caught by a beautiful woman called Uma,who is Durga's next door neighbour. Nervously talking to Uma,Subir soon discovers that he has found a kindred spirit,when Uma reveals that she sings from the heart.Feeling that they've found their soul mate,Uma and Subir get marred,and soon head back to the big city.
Returning to the big city,Kumar tells Chander that his solo career is over and that he will now only be signing duets with Uma.Despite being certain that he and his wife are guaranteed a successful duet career,Subir soon discovers that Uma will have the solo career which he has always desired.
View on the film:
With music being at the heart of the film,composer Sachin Dev Burman wisely stays away from the musical trends that were gaining popularity at the time,by making Subir and Uma Big Band/Jazz singers style pop stars,which along with giving the superb songs a delightfully lively feel,also gives the film a strong sense of timelessness,thanks to Burman taking a classical approach instead of just simply cashing in on musical styles which would drab in 5 years time.
For the screenplay of the movie,co-writer/ (along with Nabendu Ghosh,Rajinder Singh Bedi,Mohini N. Sippy and Biresh Chatterjee)director Hrishikesh Mukherjee take a rather daring approach for the time period,by exploring the increasing freedoms for women in society,with the writers brilliantly showing Kumar become detached from his relationship with Uma,thanks to Kumar having the view,that women should not take 'their mans' spot in being the main money maker,and dominant force of the relationship.
Making sure to stop the film from ever becoming dry,the writers smartly make sure to give the title a sprinkling of Comedy to help it bounce merrily along,with Chander (played by Asrani) being a particularly hilarious highlight of the movie.
Putting their own cash on the line so that the film could get made,the then-recently married Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri both give extraordinary performances which perfectly display the qualities that each of them bring to the relationship.
Starting off with a terrific swagger as he dances on the stages as India's leading pop star,Bachchan gradually shows Kumar to become dazed & confused,as he finds the limelight leaving him and going over to his wife,which Bachchan shows leads to Kumar building a high wall between himself and Uma.Going in the opposite directing of Bachchan,Bhaduri gives a breath taking performance as Uma,with Bhaduri showing Uma come out of her shell as she takes a liking to the limelight,thanks to music having a connecting to her soulful belief's on notes that Kumar has never reached.