An Affair To Remember - My Thoughts on Silsila (1981)

Marriage is an institution that commands respect for its powerful role in the delineation and propagation of social norms. It binds society or to be more precise, it is the chain that creates and maintains the social edifice since a marriage is not only a bonding of two individuals but also a means to bind together the strata that makes the society and thus to maintain a homogenous society. The class in which we inter-marry often decides our social hierarchy and has been used by kings and commoners alike to further their political and social ambitions. To hold marriage sanctimonious is therefore a command from the structure that survives on this edifice.

Desire that emanates from Love, on the other hand, is not something that awaits sanction from the mandarins of social etiquette. It’s a blind emotion that drowns all considerations of social norms and obligations. Like a river in flood, it can neither be arrested nor secluded within boundaries by muddy embankments or stone walls. The urge to override conventions is overpowering and many a times pays scant respect to the notion of social bonds, often at great cost both to the embankment and the river. Love has no place for artificial man-made barriers and is like a tempest that challenges and tests relationships to the codes that bind them. More has been the loss of many a nations and civilizations that have dared to stand up to this tempest, though the tempest itself has also often suffered, often fatally, the results of such confrontations......

The urge to maintain a relationship outside the confines of Marriage is a Desire that challenges Marriage to its foundations since it implies that one is not amenable to social constraints and hence not averse to finding his or her own happiness outside the sanctimonious bond. Little wonder then, that those who dare to go beyond the line are never forgiven by Society and are condemned to a life of shame and ridicule. But still it continues, for the heart cannot be dictated to and the dictates of the heart are not easily arrested by the most stringent of punishments.

Very few films have dwelt on this much-prevalent phenomenon, maybe because like the ostrich that believes that burying it's head in the mud would change reality, society, often believes that keeping a stony silence would chase the reality away. Well! If really wishes were horses, the high Mandarins of Society would ride!

Among the few that have dared and excelled are B R Chopra’s Gumraah and Yash Chopra’s Silsila. Karan Johar in 2007 also brought out a brilliant film on this concept; however I believe it could have been much better if the characterizations would have been reversed. Some other day, I will present my thoughts on that subject but today, In this review, I would like to talk about Silsila… a word which literally means an ongoing relationship.

Silsila revolves around lovers who are forced by circumstances to marry different partners but whose desire for each other’s love and company pushes them beyond their marriages and the relationship they embark on and the impact of this decision on their personal lives and that of their respective spouses.

Amitabh Bachchan as the young fiery poet who cannot accept the loss of his beloved puts in a brilliant performance. His is a performance that is full of contradictions, a man selfless enough to take over on his shoulders someone else’s miseries and at the same time, selfish enough to refuse to let go of the girl he loved even though she is married to someone else. He is all charms if need be, but can also be also callous and self-important, if required. What do you call a man who can love with an intensity that sears but can also trivialize that same love with a brutality that shocks? A formidable characterization .... This role at the hand of a lesser actor would have become too negative for redemption but the actor manages to walk a delicate tight-rope and keep the character lovable despite his flaws.

Rekha as his female counterpart who similarly cannot look beyond the man she loved puts in a moving performance. Love for a woman is all about self and security; it's rare to find a woman who can actually stand true to her commitments when put to test by circumstances ... But her is a woman, who dares to do the impossible.... though it's true that at the final stand, she does falter, she can be forgiven her transgressions.... for her partner also has feet of clay...

Our society is a patriarchal society and often the woman is blamed for all the transgressions of men and in such a scenario, it’s difficult for an actress to walk the thin rope but Rekha manages to do it with her characteristic élan. Her performance has all the nuances of a virtuoso and she manages to hold her own against veteran and seasoned performers.

Jaya Bhaduri as Amitabh’s wife pitches in with an impressive mature performance. Her’s is the role that requires a deep sense of resignation and hurt that transcends all silence but screams at self…. How do you react to a difficult, unsurmountable challenge? Simple! Watch Jaya ... A difficult performance but the actress manages to pull it off with exceptional ease. No doubt Jaya was considered the most talented actress of her time; a worthy successor to Meena and Nutan and a precursor to Shabana and Smita. Her confrontation with Rekha is a defining moment in the film.

But the man who captures our hearts with his simple, understated and calm performance is the great Sanjeev Kumar...... As Rekha’s husband, he pitches in with a bravura performance, that's both memorable and mesmerizing... . The great actor that he was, Sanjeev stands tall among so many excellent performances and his expressions of loss and loss along with his silence are so deafening that you wish he would not have to suffer the indignity heaped on him. His conversation with Jaya in the restaurant is exceptionally brilliant as is his sugar-coated advice to Rekha simply marvelous. Who can forget the pain and the frustration that Sanjeev portrays with a look and a twitch...

Generations of lesser actors would spend tomes of dailogues and spend tons of footage and still get nowhere .... but here is an actor who portrays a cuckold with a grim smile while he observes his wife being seranaded in broad daylight by her lover and all the while his decency and upbringing does not let him let go of his temper.... That's Sanjeev Kumar for you.... an actor that defines excellence!

Shashi Kapoor in his short role is effervescent. Kulbhushan Kharbanda does justice to his role while Devan Verma is at his sarcastic best.

Shiv-Hari in their first score for Hindi films come up with some gems of vintage value. While Amitabh is at his effervescent best with ‘Rang Barse’ a Holi song penned by his father Harivanshrai Bachchan and soothingly soft with ‘Neela Aasmaan’, Kishore and Lata combine to give romanticism a new twist with their title song. ‘Ye Kahan Aa Gaye Hum’ is another song that describes the predicament of its lead actors effectively. The soliloquy ‘Main Aur Meri Tanhayee’ by Javed Akhtar is still heard on the streets after 25 years.

This is Yash Chopra at his romantic best. Long before Yashraj films became a mass factory producing romantic candyfloss of no value, the director had already proved his capability with some of the best romantic films ever made in India. Silsila is definitely one of them. The director proves why despite a career that began in 1959, he is still a hot draw in 2007 with this sensitive and emotional portrayal of an extra-marital affair. If the film does not become either vulgar or preachy, it’s to the credit of the director who knows on where to draw the line and still maintain sensationalism.

Every adult of consenting age has the right and the freedom to decide on his or her life but before taking a step as irrevocable as this, a thought should be given to the consequences of this move – not only on you but also on the other two - the spouse and the lover; move ahead by all means, but once you do, stand tall but please find out before moving ahead if your hope has the same convictions as you.... it would not look good to find yourself standing on the road waiting for a lover who loved his / her own security more than you. In today's world, there is no word more abused than Commitment; though it's the most important word in any Relationship.....

After all, it’s all about making and maintaining a Relationship – it’s all about a Silsila!