Reliving the classics of the golden era…

                                          

When wondering on what to zoom into my DVD player for the weekend,there I found a copy of a movie named “Saudagar” which I hardly knew anything about.All I could recognize were the faces of the ensemble cast starring Big B and Nutan.So i was pretty much sure of a tidy fare in the offing.Eventually it has surpassed all my expectations and here’s why.

Setting of the movie…..              

The movie commences with scenes capturing daily trends and chores of a villager.Mejuben(Nutan) is a widow who leads an unhappy compromising life who has nothing in life to be satisfied with.Meanwhile, Moti(Amitabh) is a trader of the essence earned from Khajur trees and converting to gur.To earn her living,Mejuben works a deal out with Moti and share the revenues earned from the business.Moti is a successful trader but has a meagre share in the money pocketed ,not even for himself.As days move on,Moti is awe-struck by a girl PhoolBanu(Padma Khanna) and both madly fall in love.In his quest for a marriage proposal to her girl’s father,the latter demands 500 bucks as a minimum deposit or a kind of security for his daughter.Moti, who hardly earns a square meal a day is left pondering over on how to arrange for the required sum and win over his lady love.Moti gets cunning this time around and plans to play a prank of a marriage with Mejuban and ensure the whole revenue to himself and when he’s able to make the ends meet,leave her on the name of divorce and marry his love interest.Poor lady falls in the trap and subsequently marries him though she’s a bit surprised of his decision.The rest of the tale focuses on twists and turns of both their lives and what fate had ultimately in store for them.

What struck me?

This offbeat movie is full of life like situations with each scene striking a chord with the audiences despite little commercial value.In terms of script,it has it’s heart at the right place.Amitabh long before his dream run in commercial cinema shows why is he called a true legend.Without any violence nor power dialogues,he redefines acting with subtle expressions and unmatchable composure.Nutan is at her very best matching scene by scene,expression by expression with Big B and handles a tough role with an admirable ease.Despite lesser screen presence,she steals the heart of the spectator scaling the film to unimaginable heights.Padma Khanna as a materialistic wife is just about passable.The music gels well with the pace of the movie and Sajna Hai Mujhe is my pick of the album.

Ultimately……

Life has many situations where we’re tested for our true caliber as an individual.The person who bails out himself safely without causing any unduly harm to others emerges as a true winner in life.The characters in the movie too are put into check their real mettle mentally.The basic reason the film works is for its simplicity and connectivity factors.Barely 2 hours,the film stands out effectively portraying the uncertainties of the unprivileged and on the whole has a good stamp of Rajshri Films in it.The director uses his imagination and turbulent realities weaving a gritty tale.Hats off! Make time for this one!This is a salute to a gem of the golden era!