Rajnigandha Movie Review: A Bitter-Sweet Vignette Of Life

Actor-director Amol Palekar (born on November 24, 1944) was the original boy-next-door of the middle-of-the-road Hindi cinema of the Seventies, heralded primarily by leading directors like Hrishikesh Mukerjee, Basu Chatterjee and Basu Bhattacharya, among others. Palekar played protagonist in many of the leading movies from that stream of though and went a long way in making the common man so lovable and memorable. His performances in films like Rajnigandha, Chhoti Si Baat, Chitchor, Baaton Baaton Main, Naram Garam, Golmaal, Rang Birangi, Meri Biwi Ki Shaadi, Damaad and Gharonda have left an indelible impact on the minds of the audiences.

Palekar, who is a graduate from Mumbai's JJ School of Arts, started his career with Marathi theatre. He went on to work with the noted playwright and theatre director Pt Satyadev Dubey before setting up his own group, Aniket in 1972. He was always innovative and willing to stretch the envelope even back then and went on to introduce the theatre of the absurd in Marathi theatre. He was greatly inspired by street theatre as well and adapted the practice of performing plays in the round from it. His forays in Hindi cinema as an actor were, generally in sphere of comedy, but he did experiment with roles in films like Gharonda and Khamosh.

Besides films, Palekar has had an illustrious career in television as well. This was, of course, way before Indian Television was taken over by Ekta Kapoor and her saas-bahu serials. Palekar managed to give his audience in the Eighties, some of most absorbing and high quality fare with serials like Kachi Dhoop, which had ace director Ashutosh Gowarikar paired opposite the Maine Pyaar Kiya-girl Bhagyashree. There were other serials like Naqaab, and the historical Mrignayanee. He seemed to have honed his skills in television before he took to direction with the Marathi film Aakriet. Others like Ankahi, Thoda Sa Rumani Ho Jaye, Daayra, Anahat, Kairee, Dhyaas Parva won him a lot of critical appreciation and awards, at home and abroad. But the film which catapulted him onto the mainstage of Hindi cinema, was the Shah Rukh Khan-Rani Mukherjee starrer Paheli, made in 2005. The film even made it as India's official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category the following year. Critical merits, de-merits aside, Paheli remains a delightful love story and owes its feel to Palekar's masterly touch.

Palekar made his entry into Hindi cinema with Basu Chatterjee's Rajnigandha in 1974, opposite Vidya Sinha. The story of the film is based on a famous short story by Manu Bhandari called ?Yehi Sach Hai.' The film's story revolves around Deepa (Vidya Sinha), a young PhD student in Psychology, who is in love with Sanjay (Amol Palekar), a middle-class employee at a firm and the two decide to tie the knot. The only hitch is Sanjay's promotion which is on the anvil. In the meanwhile, Deepa gets an interview call for lecturer in a Mumbai college. She arrives in Mumbai for the interview and again meets her former lover in college, Navin, who is by now a high-flying ad-filmmaker. Meeting Navin (Dinesh Thakur) awakens the old, buried memories for Deepa and she starts believing herself to be in love with him, all over again. Her week-long stay in Mumbai is over all too soon and Deepa returns to Delhi. But she finds herself thinking of Navin and starts missing him deeply. But with Sanjay's arrival, she manages to find a solution to her dilemma and realizes where her true happiness lies.

The story of the film is simple enough and the director does not delve into too many complexities here. Like the films of its genre, Rajnigandha too reaches its conclusion simply. Simplicity was the hallmark of the films of Basu Chatterjee and he stays true to form. Seen in today's context, it may seem very old-fashioned and rather bare, but what it does have is a definite story line, which makes up for its apparent bareness. There is a power to simplicity which can never be over-emphasised. It lacks frills but manages to convey everything through simple imagery, song and equally simple but minimal dialogue. This does not in any way take away from the film's entertainment value and it proves to be a very endearing take on life.

Palekar proves to be the life of the film, even though the story is narrated from the woman's point of view. He easily slips into the role of Sanjay, caught up in his office politics and his promotion. In fact, Sanjay's character is show to be in absolute contrast to that of Navin's in the film. And it is this contrast which leads Deepa to believe that she is actually in love with Navin and not Sanjay. Sanjay is sloppily turned out, forever late, always engrossed in his office politics, while Navin is a study in contrast. He is slightly more sophisticated, a man of the world. He is influential, courteous, punctual and has all the trappings of an urbane man. The attention that he showers on Deepa during her stay in Mumbai, going out of his way to make her feel comfortable, and using his influence to get her a job as a lecturer, sows the seeds of doubt in her mind. She is in constant anticipation and keeps waiting for him to propose to her, but alas that never happens. We get a constant feedback on Deepa's state of mind through her voiceover at different stages of the film. Her confusion and her heightened sense of awareness of Navin's presence is very subtly brought out in the film. One scene which comes to mind is when Deepa and Navin are traveling by a cab. Navin's rests on the seat, tantalizingly close to Deepa. The atmosphere in the cab is surcharged with emotion, all on Deepa's side of course, as her entire attention is riveted on the hand lying so close and yet so far away. Navin seems unaware of the turmoil he has wrought in her with a normal action. There are many such subtle touches which Chatterjee lends to the film.

The music of the film is composed by none other than Salil Chowdhury. There maybe just two songs in the film but both are gems in their own way. Lata Mangeshkar's rendition of the title song is superb. But it is really Mukesh who steals the show with his superb rendition of the song, ?Kai Baar Yunhi Dekha Hai,' a song which went on to earn him the national Award for the Best Male Playback Singer. The song proves to be crucial to the film as it best brings out the conflict in Deepa's mind. The background score too fits in perfectly with the mood of the movie.

Palekar, of course is at his natural best. He becomes the character with his sloppy dress style, his broken slippers and his unruly hair. Then there is his irresistible smile. Vidya Sinha too does a brilliant job as Deepa. She brings out the raging emotions of her character subtly through little actions like the manner in which she plays with her hair and in the way she drapes her saree. Her body language and expressions go with her character and everything is done very subtly, just like Chatterjee would have wanted it. In fact, one can sense his eye for detail in the portrayal of the characters of Deepa and Sanjay. And it this attention to minor details which makes Rajnigandha nothing else, but a slice of life. Dinesh Thakur as the ex-flame Navin, however lacks the ease and comfort with which Palekar and Vidya essay their roles. But the character is so well written that the actor's job becomes that much easier.

Rajnigandha is made memorable by its main protagonists and its bitter-sweet quality. The credit for the former goes to Palekar and Sinha, while the latter belongs entirely to the director. Rajnigandha is truly a bitter-sweet vignette of life.