Reviews

Nyayam Kavali was remade in four other languages and created history there in other languages too. K.Balaji brought Tamil rights and L.V.Prasad brought Hindi rights. Though they offered Kondadarami Reddy to direct the Tamil version, he refused as he was not well versed with the language. Tamil version was directed by K.Bhagyaraja titled Vidhi which was also a huge hit, while the Hindi version titled a Mujhe Insaf Chahiye was directed by L.V.Prasad has Rati Agnihotri in the role of Radhika, Mithun played the role of Chiranjeevi, Rekha played the role of Sharada.The film was a huge hit.

Kannada version was titled Kerala Henna in which our Vijayashanthi made debut into Kannada. The film was also a good hit there. It was also remade in Oriya.

Umrao Jaan - Beauty, grace, class and that "something" called 'ada', blend it with memorable poetry, soul stirring vocals, lilting music, detailed art direction, classical choreography, memorable and rich costume design, sensitive direction, lucid screenplay and brilliant performances, and of course the magic called Rekha.

Too many good things to list? Well these are all there in the immensely memorable Umrao Jaan. The whole film is like a beautiful poem being unveiled on screen. It is about a renowned 19th century female artist who achieved the pinnacle of glamour and fame, and yet remained deserted by her loved one's. It is also the story in a widely acclaimed Urdu novel of the same name.

The film is rich in several departments. Performances, set design, costume design, music, vocals and an eye for detail. Authentic hookahs, hand spun rich brocades and Jadau jewellery celebrate the artistry of Lucknow craftsmen in the most authentic and beautiful manner. The dances are classy and it remains screen diva Rekha's most treasured performance. She brings the character alive in classy fashion. The film celebrates the various arts it's maker Muzzafar Ali is a patron of, it's a harmonious amalgamation of all his interests and that reflects very well on screen.

The role of the Snake-Woman had been rejected by many leading ladies of the mid '80s. Most of them were unwilling to take a risk in their fairly new but stable careers by signing a film which had a story and screenplay written by two newcomers and a not-so-successful producer/director. Although Harmesh Malhotra has gone on record to say that he was very disappointed at the response he'd received from his fellow industry members, the audience were too entranced by Sridevi's performance to be worried about the "what-ifs?!" In fact, it's hard to imagine Nagina without Sridevi so I find it very difficult to understand why Malhotra hadn't approached her for this role in the first place? Much has been written about how this is the film that "made" Sridevi. I totally disagree as I firmly believe instead that Sridevi "made" the film. Her dedication and professionalism seeps through the entire film and its apparent that only an actor of her calibre could execute such a strong performance from a questionable script and low-budgeted film.

Ten years earlier, "Nagin" with it's snake-woman storyline only succeeded because it was a multi-starrer film and the snake assumed the form of almost every female actor that was in the star cast. And if that wasn't confusing enough, the audience couldn't decide if their sympathies lied with the Nagin (who was revenging the loss of her beloved but ultimately killed herself) or with the male characters that were being killed off one-by-one by her? Was the Nagin the villain or not – who knows? Who cares? In "Nagina" however, there is a steady build-up to the character played by Sridevi and it's not until two-thirds of the film is complete, and the emergence of Amrish the Sapera that we realise that she is actually a snake-woman. Before that, we assume that Sri and Rishi are reincarnated as lovers who have the protection of two snakes for a nearby derelict mandir.

Or, we're led to believe that it's a film about an inheritance dispute with Prem Chopra swindling Rishi's family out of their wealth. But, we realise later that Prem isn't the main villain at all.

And then, we assume that the film is about Saas-Bahu relationship as Sushma Seth, the mother-in-law doesn't accept her son's choice of spouse. But even here, we're proved wrong as Sushma warms to her bahu as soon as she sees her.

If these red-herrings aren't enough, Sridevi, in the first portion of the film appears extremely subdued and mellow in comparison to all the other films that we've previously seen her in. Not only does she sound different (this being one of the first Hindi films that she actually used her own voice and wasn't dubbed for) but also, you'll notice from the first three songs, that her dancing is at a slower pace and without the jhatkas-matkas that are always expected from her.

With any other film, the audience would probably get confused with the plot and walk out of the theatre. But "Alak Niranjan", in walks Amrish Puri with his snake sniffing skills and his magical "been" and to everyone's surprise (not at least the Mother in Laws), Sridevi reveals the other side of her character.

Then in every scene that follows, we get more excited seeing her transform from a loving pativrata nari into a Nag-Goddess, protecting her husband and family. The icing on the cake, of course, is the powerful dance at the end. A combination of her large expressive eyes, the hypnotising music and Sridevi's tremendous ability to captivate her audience but without being influenced by the Sapera, leaves the audience wanting more.

And trade-figures prove that the audience came back regularly to see more of their screen-goddess in this semi-mythological but modernly adapted character. In fact, this was the most popular film and successful film of that year. It's a shame that the "popular awards of Indian cinema" failed to recognise this. Luckily, Malhotra didn't as he made a sequel called "Nigahen" three years later which consolidated his position as an established film-maker and made him the proud recipient of an award.

Needless to say, Malhotra too became a devotee of Sridevi after worked with her in Nagina. In addition to Nigahen, he made Sherni, Banjaran and Heer Ranjha with Sridevi, and this time, for all these films, he made sure that she was given first-refusal!!