Rajnigandha

The 70s. Where movies were filled with innocence. A headache was a reason to skip work. An aspro to cure a tooth ache was a reason to have a party. A phone was only a landline restricted to use only in an emergency. Where a postman walking into a building was greeted with such excitement that it was a festive occassion in itself. Travel was by train and a visit to anywhere wud take 5-7 days at least. Where the background music in a movie was predominantly a sitar for emotional moments. Where Mumbai had the likes of Volga and Rivoli which were the hot spots to be seen in. Where having a tooth ache which was cured was an excuse for a party. Where working in an advertising agency was the coolest job on the planet because you could do almost what you wanted and when you wanted it more importantly – at leisure. And working for the government was super secure and therefore increased your value in the marriage market. Those were the super cool days.

Basu Chatterjee through Rajnigandha uses exactly this set up to build the story of a young woman, Deepa (Vidya Sinha) who is in a relationship with a young government servant, Sanjay (Amol Palekar). Sanjay is totally in love with Deepa but keeps making the errors which most guys his age in that era made i.e. totally prioritizing his worries and his problems over the woman’s problems – some may argue that nothing much has changed since then . A chance interview call in Mumbai gets Deepa to meet her college sweetheart Navin (Dinesh Thakur). Deepa and Navin had broken up thanks to some differences in values. But Navin has grown into an extremely responsible man and of course continues to have a soft corner for Deepa. Torn between a person who is closer to her version of the ideal life partner and another who she has committed to get married to – Deepa goes through a very challenging 7-10 days.

A very brave topic to be dabbled with for the Indian audiences way back in 1974. Perceived as almost infidelity in that day and age or one would assume isn’t it? I guess not when it comes to Basu Chatterjee who executes the movie with aplomb. The cast has been perfectly picked and go about their performances as if it is the most natural thing to do. Amol Palekar in the role of the hyperactive but loving Sanjay is near perfect. And Vidya Sinha who is the central character of the movie gets the emotions of a confused twenty something girl of the 70s extremely well to put it mildly. Don’t view Rajnigandha with the technical aspects that today’s movies have. Look at it from a perspective that there was so much achieved without any technology. Simple and clear entertainment with a deep emphasis on the message. Playing these days on the in-flight entertainment on Jet Airways. It’s a short movie so if you are taking a longer flight like Mumbai Kolkata or Bangalore Delhi you are perfectly placed to finish off this 110 minute beauty. 7 on 10. And of course the title song has been heard forever right and takes a couple of points on its own.

Trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZwSV5qeMoc