But before we continue writing an ODE to
this ODE of a movie, We should first know
why the author of this post watched this
movie after a long long time. It all began
when Notting Hill was played for the nth
time on my computer and the lover of Indian
cinema in me rose in curiosity trying to
figure out the names of equally good Indian
romance films. There were plenty which came
to mind - Dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge,
Qayamat se Qayamat tak, Punnagai Mannan,
Bobby and some others too. Looking into
the nuances of each of these films, I realised
that all these movies have in them some
aspect or the other of One Single Romance
film made by Prasad studios in 1981. The
Mother Of all Twisted Tales Of Love. The
quintessential romance saga. The most poetic
set of romantic sequences ever scripted
on screen. A movie whose very title is the
most accurate definition of what love is
all about. EK DUJE KE LIYE. And I set about
watching this brilliant piece of film making.
I was literally reading the poem being enacted
on screen. Here are a few thoughts about
one of the most beautiful cinema I've ever
come across.
Ek duje ke liye is like a compilation of
all the K.BALACHANDER SYMBOLISMS that exist.
There is communication between the lovers
through night lamps switching on and off,
clothes being banged on the washing stone,
dogs barking and books being dusted. There
is tea and coffee - the allegoric equivalents
of the lives of two women in love with the
same man and they get it wrong in the restaurant
only to exchange with a typical K.BALACHANDERISH
dialogue closely following. There is the
Saree falling off the rocks and into the
sea showing that the woman is being raped.
There is a morphed naked pic shown by a
local rowdy to the heroine showing lust.
There is playing around with the bindi on
the forehead to show the alternating emotional
feelings of a widow. And then there is Bharatanatyam
to show frustration, anger, love, disappointment,
and every other human emotion.
All this apart, EK Duje Ke Liye is also
the birth place of all the present cliches
of Indian Love stories. This was where it
all started - what now has been repeated
million times on screen was once a set of
very imaginative ideas.The lovers getting
lost on a trip and returning together(ddlj).
The lovers having parents with basic difference
in ideology and hatred towards each others
cast and language.(mani ratnam's Bombay,x,y,z,n,)
The lovers being asked to spend an year
without seeing each other(suri,etc). The
lovers misunderstanding each other thanks
to unfortunate events.(every other love
story) The lovers dying in the end of the
story just when everything is almost in
shape for a wonderful future. (aamir juhi
- qsqt, and others).
And unlike its soul less successors the
tragedy in the climax is not just for the
sake of it. It goes with the flow and the
mood of the movie and wrecks every nerve
which watches the film. There is multiple
irony towards the end of the film and that
is probably the most difficult thing to
write.
And, in between all this great direction
and script writing is ONE rocker of an acting
performance. A mega display of end less
talent. From this gem of an actor called
KAMAL HAASAN. The man is totally into the
role. Beautifully essaying the part of a
Tamilian trying to learn Hindi. A man mad
in love, torn in between reality and passion.
Fighting for love and survival of the love.
Kamal does a class act. Apart from his absolutely
superior emoting skills, Kamal shows off
the gymnast in him and also does some daredevil
stunts on the BULLET bike. His dance is
a treat to watch as always. The polyglot
in him comes to the fore in the scene just
before the climax where Kamal effortlessly
essays dialogues in all existing forms of
Hindi in perfect accent. All this, just
6 years into acting as male lead. The man
is a genius for sure.
However any tribute to this movie would
be incomplete without the mention of two
more names. Two people who have got together
to give 5 absolutely unforgettable melodies.
Laxmikanth and Pyarelal in what probably
is the most dynamic work of an all-blues
composition for a Hindi album. Starting
with the eponymous track of 'hum bane tum
bane' and moving to the spell binding Lata
Mangeshkar class act in 'Tere Mere Beech
me' and 'solah baras ki bali umar', There
is romanctic divinity all around. There
is also vintage SP Balasubramaniyam in the
very imaginative Lift song - The song of
titles - Satyam Shivam Sundaram - a high
flair song with text full of names of hindi
films alone.
The film ends with lines which are probably
the best thing K.Balachander could do to
round off his greatest tribute to ROMANCE.
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