Abhimaan (1973)

            Today’s post is dedicated to Abhimaan, the oldest movie that I have documented on this little endeavor of love and respect. The movie comes from Hrishikesh Mukherjee in 1973, starring (obviously) a very young Amitabh Bachchan, and even younger Jaya Bhaduri, later to become Mrs. Bachchan.

            The movie is the Desi version of A Star is Born but, as always, the Desi version outshined the Hollywood version. It centers on the character of Subir “Beetu” Kumar, India’s most famous and beloved singer, as personified by Amitji, and his wife, Uma Kumar (Mrs. Bachchan) who begins to gain more fame and recognition as a singer then her husband. The movie is a wonderful mixture of extremely heart-melting romantic moments between the future Bachchan couple, woven with magical songs performed by Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi, and a story line that accomplishes what it sets out to.

            I think this movie is incredibly well written, especially because the message it sets out to communicate is executed beautifully. Fortune and glory, no matter how hard we seek them out, no matter how hard we try to gain notoriety, and no matter how important they may seem to us, cannot compare in what our family, what our love, is capable of giving us. It really makes the viewer think about what we hold dear, and how ignorant we are of what we really want.

            One of the most profound lessons that I’ve learned from this movie, is that pride, hubris, is one of the worst and most disabling traits a person can have. Subir’s refusal to admit or submit to Uma, to communicate with her that he is apologetic over his actions, his words and his inability to acknowledge her fame, shows the evil of pride.

            Jaya Bhaduri, cum Bachchan, is beautiful in this movie. She embodies the character she plays so wonderfully, becomes the simple, sweet, loving girl that Uma is. And Amitji delivers a performance, able to communicate his characters faults with the style and grace that would lead to his own fame and fortune.

Nothing but nice things to say about this one! But I must add, that when I was looking through reviews of this movie, the correlations and parallels that are drawn between the Kumars of the movie and the Bachchan’s of real life.

            So I pose this question of you today, what gives us the right, or the false notion, that we are allowed to draw any conclusions about anybody! Especially celebrities or film actors whom we have never met and will never meet. I call this foul play and praise Mr. and Mrs. Bachchan for their life together, they are an exemplary and extraordinary sample of all that can go right with a marriage, and with the intertwining of two lives.

            I end this post by sending prayers and wishes for a long and happy life for the beautiful couple that so sweetly intertwines together on the movie screen.