Mausam Movie Review: Poetic rendition of human emotions

It is but stating the obvious that Sanjeev Kumar was an actor par excellence. He belonged to that rare breed of actors for whom star status meant little. The role was all that mattered to him. In this respect, he was cast in the same mould as acting greats like Motilal and Balraj Sahni. He was willing to grey his hair and play father to his contemporaries as well. (He played father-in-law to Jaya Bhaduri in Sholay and father to her in Parichay after playing the romantic lead opposite her in films like Anamika, Koshish and Naya Din Nayi Raat). No genre of acting was anathema to him. He moved from the dramatic to the comic to a tragic with utter ease. Even though his forte was the dramatic or the serious, he had a wonderful sense of comedy as was evident in Angoor and Pati, Patni Aur Woh.

Born as Haribhai Jariwala in 1938, Sanjeev Kumar made his acting debut on the Gujarati stage. His first film as a hero was a B-grade action flick called Nishana (1965). But his first acquaintance with fame was in 1968 with the film Sungharsh where he was pitted against the great Dilip Kumar. The actor in him was not cowed down by the thespian's status and he managed to make his presence felt. Then began the slow climb to the top. It was with Khilona opposite Mumtaz in 1970 that Sanjeev Kumar became a star of sorts. That year also saw him taking home the National Award for Best Actor in Dastak. If on the one hand he did sensitive films like Basu Bhattacharya's Anubhav, there were also the regular masala films like Seeta Aur Geeta and Manchali. But it was his association with Gulzar which saw him play out some of the most memorable performances of his career. Of them, his portrayal of a deaf-mute in Koshish opposite his favourite actress Jaya Bhaduri, saw him take home a second national Award for Best Actor in 1972. This was a very fruitful partnership which gave Hindi cinema gems like Aandhi, Mausam, Angoor and Namkeen.

Overeating and drinking became his bane and Sanjeev Kumar out on enormous amount of weight in the 80s. His only other noteworthy performances before his death was in Subhash Ghai's Vidhata, where he was again pitted against Dilip Kumar and he got the better of him once again! Unfortunately his heart could not keep up with his careless lifestyle and death claimed him in 1985.

To come back to Mausam, at first glance, the film would seem to be Sharmila Tagore's film. She went to bag the national Award for Best Actress for her performance in Mausam. But a second look at it reveals that Sanjeev Kumar's character is just as integral to the film as the character of Kajli. The actor puts in another consummate show with his highly natural style of acting. The film begins with a middle-aged Amaranath Gill coming to Darjeeling for a holiday. The film actually begins with Bhupinder Singh's husky vocals belting out Dil Dhoonta Hai as a car winds its way up the mountainous road towards Darjeeling. This is not his first visit to this hill station. He had come here 20 years ago, when he was a medical student and had fallen in love with a young girl called Chanda (Sharmila Tagore), the daughter of the local vaid. He promises to come back and marry Chanda. But 20 years have lapsed before he is able to make good on his promise.

Amarnath comes back and goes looking for Chanda but finds out that she no longer lives there. He hears that she has a daughter. Further investigation reveals that Chanda had gone mad, and that in her fit of madness, she would accost young school-going boys and ask them to become doctors and marry her daughter. She ultimately passes away. On hearing her story, Amarnath is consumed with guilt and sorrow. This is the point in the film when he suddenly encounters Kajli (Sharmila Tagore in a double role), a prostitute, who is the splitting image of his Chanda. She spurns his advances, thinking him to be just another man. But Amarnath does not give up. He comes back the next day and approaches Kajli as a customer. He wants to take her home with him. Kajli comes home with him. But while he looks at her as Chanda's daughter, she thinks of him as a customer. In a very Pygmalion like scenario, Amarnath tries his best to change her way of dressing and coarse way of speaking. Amarnath is caught in a dilemma. He wants to reveal his true identity to Kajli, but on discovering that she hates the man who deserted her mother, he holds back. Finally, he does tell her truth and manages to get her to go off with him to a better life. Amarnath, thus, makes amends for the mistake that he had committed 20 years ago.

Like all of Gulzar's films, Mausam is a very sensitively told story about Amarnath and Kajli, who is the true heroine of the film. Gulzar manages to explore the different shades to their relationship. He is able to give a compassionate, humane touch to Amarnath, who is genuinely penitent and wanting to make amends by giving Kajli a chance to lead a better life. What he could not do for Chanda, he is ultimately able to do for Kajli. Sanjeev Kumar essays the role of the young Amarnath and the older man with ease. He carries off the grey in his hair with much grace and dignity. The unique quality about him is the ease with which he is able to play the young, romantic suitor as well as the old man. There is nothing laboured about his performance. In fact, it hardly ever seems to be a performance. He just is the character that he portrays. That's something which remained his trademark in all his films. His effortless, nuanced performance always brought the character alive and made it memorable. He does the same with the character of Amarnath in Mausam, making it his own. One can't imagine anyone else ever doing the same role. His face, his eyes, and his voice, he used them all in his portrayal of characters. Sharmila Tagore gets a role of a lifetime as the Chanda and then Kajli, a foul-mouth, coarse prostitute. She is able to bring out the vulnerability hidden behind Kajli's tough exterior.

The film's music by Madan Mohan is haunting at its best. The music director is believed to have died soon after composing the songs and the background score had to be completed by Salil Chowdhury. Bhupinder Singh's vocals have never been used the way they were by Madan Mohan in this film. Dil Dhoonta Hai, gives you the same nostalgic feeling today as it did then. Of course, Gulzar's lyrics are equally poignant.

Mausam will always rank as one of Gulzar's best. His explorations of the man-woman relationship continued with his other films like Aandhi, Koshish, Kinara and Ijazat. But surely, each one is a masterpiece in itself.