Love is in the air
14.2.2013, Mumbai
Once again it is the day to remember love.
Listed below are my few favourite romantic moments in Hindi films.
I remember the magnetic Meena Kumari
expressing her woes in ‘Ajeeb dastaan hain yeh...’ in Dil Apna Aur
Preet Parayee. On a moonlit night and in the middle of the sea, the heroine
and her friends are celebrating the marriage of a colleague (Raaj Kumar with
Nadira). It’s a tragic moment for the heroine who has all along silently loved
the hero. Her conflicting emotions are effectively portrayed through her
brilliant close-ups.
There is mischief in Shakeel Badayuni’s ‘Tere
husn ki kya taarif karoon’ in Leader wherein the writer encourages
the lovers to flirt with each other before admitting to attraction. Adding to
the magic is the emotional rendering by Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar and
later, the palpable chemistry between Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanti Mala.
In Saraswati Chandra Nutan plucks
the flower from her braid and attaches it to her letter addressed to her fiancé
‘Phool tumhe bheja hai khat mein...’ is more impressive than any of the
red roses or heart-shaped bouquets available at the florists. In the same film,
the hero singing ‘Chandan sa badan...’ in praise of her beauty and her
unabashed response to his praise is erotic.
On a slightly regressive note but deeply
effective is a blushing Mala Sinha confessing to contentment in marriage to
Dharmendra in Raja Mehdi Ali Khan’s lyrics ‘Aap ki nazaro ne samjha...’
in Mohan Kumar’s Anpadh. The line, ‘ji hame manzoor hain aapka ye
faisla...’ is about total surrender in love rendered by Lata Mangeshkar in
music composed by Madan Mohan.
It is interesting how love transforms in
every decade. In the 50s love was often unrequited; in the 60s love was about
commitment and had to end in marriage. In the 70s it was about self esteem, in
the 80s about parental opposition, in the 90s about parental approval, in 2000
about friendship and 2010 about entertainment.
The feeling has been consistent just the way
of expression has changed and that is why Mani Ratnam’s Guru is different from Viddhu Vinod Chopra’s Parineeta and Farhan Akhtar’s Dil
Chahta Hai is different from Imtiaaz Ali’s Jab We Met.
Raj
Kapoor’s Barsaat was different from
Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah and Yash
Chopra’s Lamhe from Sanjay Leela
Bhansali’s Devdaas or Ashutosh
Gowariker’s Jodha Akbar…
That is the beauty about love. It means
different things to different people at different times!
Bhawana
Somaaya/ www.bhawanasomaaya.com
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