Satyam Shivam Sundaram

Directed by: Raj Kapoor

Starring: Shashi Kapoor, Zeenat Aman

Released: 1978

My rating: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

I guess every director has a bad movie or two (or all, righ, Mr. Bazmi?) and Raj Kapoor is no different. Or perhaps Satyam Shivam Sundaram is not ?bad? per se, but the story is just so prepostrous and Shashi Kapoor such an asshole in it, that I cannot help but hate it. And mind you, I am among Raj Kapoor?s most ardent fans. And Shashi Kapoor?s. Which makes it even harder to forgive.

The story is that of a young girl Roopa, whose mother had died while giving birth to her, and who, because of an accident from childhood, has the right part of her face and neck covered in ugly scars. Considered ?cursed? by one and all in her village, Roopa still remains a good soul with great trust in God. Her love for the Creator is only matched by her love for a handsome young engineer (Shashi), who arrives to the village to supervise building and reparations of a nearby dam. He falls in love with her too. Or rather ? her voice. Because that is the problem you see: he has never seen her face, which she carefully hides whenever they meet. And she is all too careful never to show herself to him, since he cannot tolerate any ugliness. He doesn?t dislike it, neither he is ?not comfortable? with it ? he cannot tolerate it, not even his own reflection in a joking mirror at a fair (seriously, dude?) When a bit later in the film Roopa asks him if he would love her still should she not be beautiful, he completely avoids answering by stating some shit about ?not possible you have to be sundar cause you sing so well.?

Ultimately he marries Roopa, and only after marriages sees her face. He is horrified and convinced she is not his beloved. And so poor Roopa chooses to serve his selfishness and in disguise keeps meeting him outside their home, instilling the twisted belief there are two women instead of one even further. (yeah, that would totally work in her favour. Geez girl, have some self-respect!) The whole thing with a covered face may have worked a lot better if it actually remained covered throughout. However the character of Shashi sees almost all of Roopa?s face, more than once, and so his argument about ?I?ve never seen it? makes no sense at all. Further more he never questions the girl as to why won?t she show herself to him. And finally, in the end he recognizes her by her voice. And me, already fed up with all the nonsense and Shashi?s asshole ways, couldn?t understand for the life of me why she just didn?t sing to him an hour ago, which would have saved her loads of humiliation and me thousands of brain cells.

He sees THIS much of her face.

And THIS much. 

And how much more do you need to see???? WTF man???

It is, indeed, the story which makes the whole film an unpleasant experience. One cannot protest about the production values, because they are (for the time the film was made in) excellent. From colour play of the early morning in the temple to a bit psychadelic fantasy song, the camera presents everything beautifully. The music is actually a highlight, and till now I have goosebumps listening to Lata Mangeshkar?s voice in the title song. 

Performances are fairly good (aside from Zeenat?s emotional scenes which reveal her limitations as an actress), unfortunatelly 90% of the characters are unlikeable. I have never imagined it was possible for me to dislike Shashi Kapoor in any avatar, but his own brother made it possible. To see little Padmini Kolhapure in Roopa?s chidhood avatar was a sweet surprise for me and she did very well, especially considering how awful most of Hindi cinema child artists are.

Semi-nudity in Raj Kapoor films somehow never bothered me (be it Simi Garewal?s butt in Mera Naam Joker, Mandakini?s breasts in Ram Teri Ganga Maili or Roopa?s overal semi-nudeness in this), even though I realize what effect it must have had on certain parts of the audience. I suppose that what makes the marginal difference lies in how the people on screen react to Roopa. She chooses to wear the clothes she wants, and others around her are unconcerned. They would have treated her the same (awfully or well) had she been fully covered from head to toe. Roopa is also obviously at peace with her body, so why should I be concerned? It is not like she is selling herself at the market. She bathes. She changes clothes. She walks the fields under a blazing sun. Now, if people off-screen see her only as a titillating sexual objects because of the clothes (or rather lack of it), it is above all because they have a filthy mind.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram is definitely, so far, the weakest Raj Kapoor film I have seen.

Jab Jab Phool Khile

Directed by: Suraj Prakash

Starring: Shashi Kapoor, Nanda

Released: 1965

My rating: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

Clearly the awful Raja Hindustani drew much inspiration from a film lot older, lot sweeter, and less blatantly sexist and prejudiced. Perhaps not as equally successful, but very successful still. Those were my initial thoughts after watching Jab Jab Phool Khile, a picture full of beautiful songs, terribly unrealistic studio sets, sophisticated Lolita-reading Nanda and above all the cutest, handsomest Shashi Kapoor. Perhaps no other actor has had innocence so clearly mirrored on his face. Mr. Shashi is simply adorable as a simple Kashmiri falling in love with a wealthy lady.

For most part Jab Jab Phool Khile is pure joy to watch. The wealthy girl is spoilt, but not rotten spoilt and does not think that poor people stink. She is wearing western clothes, but the traditional Shashi does not tell her off because of it (unlike Aamir in Raja Hindustani). She is, actually, clearly educated, sophisticated and has a strong will and sense of independence. Very early on she makes it clear that she has not yet thought her own life through, so why think of marriage. And she keeps the same attitude until love comes her way. Then too the wedding is not quick affair in a rush of emotions moment. Nanda has been known as the ?homely? heroine with sweet, inoffensive charm, and she essayed the role of Rita perfectly.

In the very soul of the story, however, is Raju (the most Shashilicious of all the Kapoors), his naive dreams and devoted persistence, which, as should be mentioned, never goes out of control. Far from being a stalker who puts himself in front of every step of the lady he fancies, Shashi loves Nanda from a certain distance. This distance always remains respectful, and for once the hero is not creepy at all. In fact he is completely loveable. Shashi with his gentle eyes and shy smile is forever my crush and whatever damage to his image was done by Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Jab Jab Phool Khile repaired seamlessly. The Kapoor men have always had incredible energy and gusto with hich they performed set them apart from other actors. Shashi?s excitement and unbounded joy as he sings about his hopes are infectious.

The smooth narrative, unfortunately, does have a few dents, most of which one is willing to forgive given the release date of the movie, and the fact the rest of it is so sweet. Still, they did take a away a bit from the viewing experience. The hero tries to fit into an unfamiliar world of his beloved without making it seem like a huge sacrifice of his moral conscience, and unlike in Raja Hindustani he is successful and not ridiculous at all. But just as I was ready to cheer for the movie, the eternal ?west is bad? idea crept into it and ruined the ending. When Shashi and Nanda dance at a party thrown by her parents, she goes on to dance with someone else for a bit. Within seconds the sweet Shashi turns into a lecturer on morality. Because how dare you dance with other men. It basically means you are a used thing with no worth. Naturally Nanda ensures a dramatic finale, during which the imagery is all too clear: Shashi having the moral high ground stands in a moving train, while she trips on down below on the pavement, begging him to take her away from everything what has been her life. I feel like inserting the ?you tried? meme here ? for the makers.

Oh ? the comedy bits were.... painful.

In the end it should be noted that the only saving grace of Raja Hindustani today is the music. Jab Jab Phool Khile, on the other hand, is still a pleasing cinematic piece. When two do the same, it is not the same.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram

Directed by: Raj Kapoor

Starring: Shashi Kapoor, Zeenat Aman

Released: 1978

My rating: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

I guess every director has a bad movie or two (or all, righ, Mr. Bazmi?) and Raj Kapoor is no different. Or perhaps Satyam Shivam Sundaram is not ?bad? per se, but the story is just so prepostrous and Shashi Kapoor such an asshole in it, that I cannot help but hate it. And mind you, I am among Raj Kapoor?s most ardent fans. And Shashi Kapoor?s. Which makes it even harder to forgive.

The story is that of a young girl Roopa, whose mother had died while giving birth to her, and who, because of an accident from childhood, has the right part of her face and neck covered in ugly scars. Considered ?cursed? by one and all in her village, Roopa still remains a good soul with great trust in God. Her love for the Creator is only matched by her love for a handsome young engineer (Shashi), who arrives to the village to supervise building and reparations of a nearby dam. He falls in love with her too. Or rather ? her voice. Because that is the problem you see: he has never seen her face, which she carefully hides whenever they meet. And she is all too careful never to show herself to him, since he cannot tolerate any ugliness. He doesn?t dislike it, neither he is ?not comfortable? with it ? he cannot tolerate it, not even his own reflection in a joking mirror at a fair (seriously, dude?) When a bit later in the film Roopa asks him if he would love her still should she not be beautiful, he completely avoids answering by stating some shit about ?not possible you have to be sundar cause you sing so well.?

Ultimately he marries Roopa, and only after marriages sees her face. He is horrified and convinced she is not his beloved. And so poor Roopa chooses to serve his selfishness and in disguise keeps meeting him outside their home, instilling the twisted belief there are two women instead of one even further. (yeah, that would totally work in her favour. Geez girl, have some self-respect!) The whole thing with a covered face may have worked a lot better if it actually remained covered throughout. However the character of Shashi sees almost all of Roopa?s face, more than once, and so his argument about ?I?ve never seen it? makes no sense at all. Further more he never questions the girl as to why won?t she show herself to him. And finally, in the end he recognizes her by her voice. And me, already fed up with all the nonsense and Shashi?s asshole ways, couldn?t understand for the life of me why she just didn?t sing to him an hour ago, which would have saved her loads of humiliation and me thousands of brain cells.

He sees THIS much of her face.

And THIS much. 

And how much more do you need to see???? WTF man???

It is, indeed, the story which makes the whole film an unpleasant experience. One cannot protest about the production values, because they are (for the time the film was made in) excellent. From colour play of the early morning in the temple to a bit psychadelic fantasy song, the camera presents everything beautifully. The music is actually a highlight, and till now I have goosebumps listening to Lata Mangeshkar?s voice in the title song. 

Performances are fairly good (aside from Zeenat?s emotional scenes which reveal her limitations as an actress), unfortunatelly 90% of the characters are unlikeable. I have never imagined it was possible for me to dislike Shashi Kapoor in any avatar, but his own brother made it possible. To see little Padmini Kolhapure in Roopa?s chidhood avatar was a sweet surprise for me and she did very well, especially considering how awful most of Hindi cinema child artists are.

Semi-nudity in Raj Kapoor films somehow never bothered me (be it Simi Garewal?s butt in Mera Naam Joker, Mandakini?s breasts in Ram Teri Ganga Maili or Roopa?s overal semi-nudeness in this), even though I realize what effect it must have had on certain parts of the audience. I suppose that what makes the marginal difference lies in how the people on screen react to Roopa. She chooses to wear the clothes she wants, and others around her are unconcerned. They would have treated her the same (awfully or well) had she been fully covered from head to toe. Roopa is also obviously at peace with her body, so why should I be concerned? It is not like she is selling herself at the market. She bathes. She changes clothes. She walks the fields under a blazing sun. Now, if people off-screen see her only as a titillating sexual objects because of the clothes (or rather lack of it), it is above all because they have a filthy mind.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram is definitely, so far, the weakest Raj Kapoor film I have seen.

Jab Jab Phool Khile

Directed by: Suraj Prakash

Starring: Shashi Kapoor, Nanda

Released: 1965

My rating: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

Clearly the awful Raja Hindustani drew much inspiration from a film lot older, lot sweeter, and less blatantly sexist and prejudiced. Perhaps not as equally successful, but very successful still. Those were my initial thoughts after watching Jab Jab Phool Khile, a picture full of beautiful songs, terribly unrealistic studio sets, sophisticated Lolita-reading Nanda and above all the cutest, handsomest Shashi Kapoor. Perhaps no other actor has had innocence so clearly mirrored on his face. Mr. Shashi is simply adorable as a simple Kashmiri falling in love with a wealthy lady.

For most part Jab Jab Phool Khile is pure joy to watch. The wealthy girl is spoilt, but not rotten spoilt and does not think that poor people stink. She is wearing western clothes, but the traditional Shashi does not tell her off because of it (unlike Aamir in Raja Hindustani). She is, actually, clearly educated, sophisticated and has a strong will and sense of independence. Very early on she makes it clear that she has not yet thought her own life through, so why think of marriage. And she keeps the same attitude until love comes her way. Then too the wedding is not quick affair in a rush of emotions moment. Nanda has been known as the ?homely? heroine with sweet, inoffensive charm, and she essayed the role of Rita perfectly.

In the very soul of the story, however, is Raju (the most Shashilicious of all the Kapoors), his naive dreams and devoted persistence, which, as should be mentioned, never goes out of control. Far from being a stalker who puts himself in front of every step of the lady he fancies, Shashi loves Nanda from a certain distance. This distance always remains respectful, and for once the hero is not creepy at all. In fact he is completely loveable. Shashi with his gentle eyes and shy smile is forever my crush and whatever damage to his image was done by Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Jab Jab Phool Khile repaired seamlessly. The Kapoor men have always had incredible energy and gusto with hich they performed set them apart from other actors. Shashi?s excitement and unbounded joy as he sings about his hopes are infectious.

The smooth narrative, unfortunately, does have a few dents, most of which one is willing to forgive given the release date of the movie, and the fact the rest of it is so sweet. Still, they did take a away a bit from the viewing experience. The hero tries to fit into an unfamiliar world of his beloved without making it seem like a huge sacrifice of his moral conscience, and unlike in Raja Hindustani he is successful and not ridiculous at all. But just as I was ready to cheer for the movie, the eternal ?west is bad? idea crept into it and ruined the ending. When Shashi and Nanda dance at a party thrown by her parents, she goes on to dance with someone else for a bit. Within seconds the sweet Shashi turns into a lecturer on morality. Because how dare you dance with other men. It basically means you are a used thing with no worth. Naturally Nanda ensures a dramatic finale, during which the imagery is all too clear: Shashi having the moral high ground stands in a moving train, while she trips on down below on the pavement, begging him to take her away from everything what has been her life. I feel like inserting the ?you tried? meme here ? for the makers.

Oh ? the comedy bits were.... painful.

In the end it should be noted that the only saving grace of Raja Hindustani today is the music. Jab Jab Phool Khile, on the other hand, is still a pleasing cinematic piece. When two do the same, it is not the same.