Cages and Prisons - My Thoughts on Bandini (1963)

The most powerful of all gifts given to mankind is freedom – but what is this freedom?

Is it the right to act, to think, to make a decision – the right to make dreams come true or conversely the right to destroy one’s own self. Actually it’s both… so what then is freedom? To put it in simple terms, freedom is nothing but the right to Choose – the right to choose one’s own path, the right to make or mar one’s own destiny, the right to create or destroy but in all forms the Right to Choose.

But do we choose? Do we avail of that right? Are we really free? Does the absence of physical shackles on our body mean that we are free? The answer is a resounding ‘No’

As Sahir once commented:

Bediyaan Aaj Bhi Pehne Hai Azeezaan-E-Watan;
Farq Itna Hai Ki Zanjeer Mein Aawaaz Nahin Hai!

Every human being is a prisoner – either to his circumstances or his ambitions, to his values in life or to what he deems should be the ideals of his life. Some are prisoners to social constraints; others are prisoners to their personal feelings…. Some are prisoners to money and some are prisoners to beauty. A few are prisoners to their guilt and some are prisoners to their destiny – their fate. But all are prisoners and it must be only the rare person who can put up his hand and say – I am Not a Prisoner!

Of all these prisoners, the most unfortunate is the man who is a prisoner of conscience since for him no period of atonement, no amount of penance is enough to absolve him of the sins he has committed. The man pines away in misery, begging for some sort of peace, some sort of relief but conscience – this moral watchdog created by man’s own values refuses to ever let him go. A prisoner in a jail anywhere in the world can expect to be released from his bondage after a passage of time, depending on the severity of his crime. But not so the man who is a prisoner of his own conscience, for one can run and run but still not be far from the reach of his conscience.

Can anything be worse than such a life of condemnation and eternal imprisonment?

Yes… There is one more kind of imprisonment - the imprisonment of the self - the life of a human being who has condemned himself to imprisonment is often worse than the imprisonment of a conscience for the Man often is a victim of his survival. There may be many reasons for this – he may be the highly religious fanatic who can see no wrong in his espousal of his religion to fanatic ends like the Taliban; he may be a man dedicated to social norms so rigidly that he’s unable to hear the cries of the miserable lot chaffing under the juggernaut of social mores and responsibilities like the orthodox and conservative who can see no good in a liberal world; he may be a man devoted to love to an extent that he fails to see the destructions wrought by that love on the world (like Devdas) – he can be anyone. The only difference between this prisoner and the prisoner of conscience is that he may silently suffer oblivious to his or her own imprisonment while in the former case, the person is aware of the cause but not the extent of the punishment. For such a person, ignorance is bliss for knowledge would destroy his or her life for ever.

Bandini, by Bimal Roy is the story of common people caught in the cesspool of these imprisonments. Bandini as such means a prisoner and what can best signify the life and feelings of a person in imprisonment than this movie, which can easily lay claim to being the best movie on such a dark and complex subject. Never has a movie been attempted that showcases the various frailties of man – the various dependencies of a supposedly independent man, the various imprisonments of a supposedly independent and free man – Bandini does it all and does it all with distinction.

The film boasts of some of the best performances ever in the history of Hindi Cinema – this is indeed one of the best and most powerful movies ever made in India that look at the story from the female point of view and indeed throws caution to the statements made by many that India never made female-centric movies.

As a person who has by her own acts of omission and commissions, her own values and her own notions of right and wrong brought imprisonment onto her life, Nutan delivers a tour de performance. Kalyani is one of the best and most complex characterizations ever in the history of Hindi Cinema, but Nutan delivers a flawless performance, one easily ranked as one of the top 5 performances by an actress. Each and every scene in the movie is a tribute to the thespian skills of the actor and one has to just observe her to see the conflicting emotions, all build up, express itself and then dissolve on her face in a matter of seconds.

A woman is supposed to be soft and simple but then the same woman is also capable of strong emotions – maybe that’s the reason we worship womanhood both as Goddess Kali and Goddess Sita – but it’s so difficult to actually portray both the forms that remain ensconced within every woman – Nutan not only does it but in her characteristic style does it without any screaming hysterics, any playing to the galleries, any dramatic overtures – everything is portrayed deftly with only a twitch of the eye, a look here and a turn there – can there be an actress who could be Kalyani?

No…. Never! When you see the movie unravel, it appears as if Nutan was born to play Kalyani and who else could have brought the anger, the fury, the hatred and the frustration along with the eternal damnation to self and the silent resignation to fate to screen so vividly?

Her best scene remains undoubtedly the one wherein she murders her lover’s wife – the shrewish patient she is supposed to take care of. The inherent fury, the quiet rage, the hypnotic hold of ruthlessness, the glance of cold terror all combine to instill a feeling of the murder long before the act is committed and then the silent fear, the abject despair and the remorse again makes for the perfect sketch of one who kills in the heat of the moment. You fear her intentions when she walks to kill, your heart asks her to stop but you do not shout; this is the feeling her cold eyes evoke in you and later after the act is done, you again look around and find that your hands are wet with tears of an act that should not have been committed. Never before and never after has a murder been taken to such creative heights. Equally brilliant is her silence when taunted by the other prisoners and the breakdown on interrogation. A mind-blowing performance indeed

On the other hand of the spectrum is Ashok Kumar as Bikash Babu, a man imprisoned by his ideals. As a freedom fighter who fights for the freedom of his country who inevitably ends up becoming a life-long imprisonment, a cage for Kalyani, Ashok once again delivers an impeccable performance. As a man tormented by his past and his guilt at having destroyed someone’s life, although unintentionally, Ashok stands tall among the minions. Each and every frame in the movie speaks volumes for his performance but the best scene is definitely the one wherein he tries to seek pardon from the woman he has wronged towards the end of the movie.

One has to just observe the frustration on his face as he tries to make amends, the pain in his eyes is to be seen to be believed; although he is the one who betrayed; the one who brought all those hard times on Kalyani, when he speaks and speaks of his helplessness, his frustration and his pain; your heart cannot stop but pain at what he too has suffered at the hands of both his ideals and his conscience. So much so that although throughout the movie, you want Kalyani to be with Deven (Dharmendra), when finally she decides to go along with Bikash, you although not happy cannot but agree with her decision.

Dharmendra as the doctor Deven portrays a mild liberal modernist doctor with earnestness. The brilliance of his role lies in the fact that in the film he is among the few, whose life is not bound by any prisons. Devan is a free man and one who believes that his mission is life transcends prisons and imprisonments. Dharmendra plays his role with characteristic subdued charm and you can feel his earnestness shine throughout the film. This was one of his earliest performances and it’s definitely a mark of his talent that no great a director than Bimal Roy elected him to play this role. Although the role of the doctor is not author-backed and is often only support-oriented, Dharmendra manages to stay true to his characterization

Among the supporting cast, Tarun Bose as the wise jailor who understands a thing or two about life and his prisons and Iftikhar as his lecherous deputy are exceptionally well versed with their roles.

Raja Paranjpe as Kalyani’s father performs the role of a lifetime. His silence is the most eloquent in the movie, second only to Nutan in terms of power and reach. A father whose daughter has been ridiculed; a school-teacher whose teachings have been relegated to the dust; a man who in his old age has to face the ridicule and humiliations of an ingrate deeply conservative and orthodox village and moreover see his daughter carry a ‘blot’ on her face is one that cannot be easily performed except with a range as wide as the Himalayas and as deep as the Indian Ocean. Raja performs exceptionally well and I would go on to add, his performance is one that’s most natural among so many scenes shown throughout Indian Film history. I can still remember his agony so well brought out by Mukesh’s super rendition of “O Jaanewale; Ho Sake To Lautke Aana”…

De De Ke Ye Aawaz, Koi Har Ghadee Bulaaye
Phir Jaaye Jo Uss Paar Kabhi Laut Ke Naa Aaye
Hai Bhed Ye Kaisa, Koi Kucch To Bataana?

The pain is self-explanatory. What do I say… except … Magic is made in such moments

S D Burman is in his full elements as he weaves magic with each and every composition in this beautiful movie.

Whether its’ the maestro himself lending his rich and sonorous voice to the unforgettable “Mere Saajan Hain Uss Paar” or Mukesh giving vent to his feelings of deep loss in “O Jaanewaale” or Asha Bhosle putting out her heart in “Ab Ke Baras Bhej Bhaiya Ko Babul” or Lata talking about the hopes and wishes of a lover in “Mora Gora Rang Le Le”, or the cheering up of a wife’s face on seeing her husband after a long time in “Jogi, Jab Bhi Tu Aaya Dwaare”; the music is exceptionally fantabulous. One of S D Burman’s best compositions ever.

Who can forget the look of pain on Ashok’s face as he looks at Nutan while S D Burman plays in the background:

Mann Ki Kitaab Se Tum Mera Naam Hi Mita Dena
Gun To Naa Tha Koi Bhi; Avgun Mere Bhula Dena

What a song, what a pain!

And most importantly the line where Kalyani makes her decision to be imprisoned with Bikash rather than to be free with Deven:

Mat Khel Jal Jaayegi, Kehti Hai Aag Mere Mann Ki
Main Bandini Piya Ki; Main Sangini Hoon Saajan Ki

Can these lines ever be repeated!

Shailendra and Gulzar (in his debut-making film as lyricist) have written lines that transcend the normal barriers of creativity. Each and every lyric is a perfect blend of human emotions and dreams and aspirations. I wish I could hear similar evocative music today!

What else can I write about Bimal Roy than has not been written previously? Writing about him or dissecting his work is like trying to put a candle to the sun… something highly foolish on the part of amateurs like me. Bimal Sir was, is and will always remain an institution of Direction and only fools can dare not to respect him for the way in he directed his movies

If in other films, Bimal was a master director putting forth his wares for inspection, in this movie Bimal transcends all barriers of mastery and proves himself to be not only a genius but in reality the very embodiment of direction.

Bengal is a very beautiful place but it became more beautiful under the able tutelage of the great director… the love of the director for his Bengal can be seen in each and every frame… and so also the indictment of social and conservative practices in an orthodox Bengali family.

Each and every scene is perfect…. Nothing short of it but perfect…. Watch our for the way, the Master executes the murder without a single hint of the murder but terrifying us all the same…. The climax scene, which has been the most debated in the entire film. …. (everybody wanted Nutan to go along with Dharmendra and not Ashok Kumar but Bimal was adamant – he famously declared – I make movies not Bhel Puri) The chants of “Sab Theek Hai” while lives are falling apart, exactly at that very instant when something worse is happening …. Everything speaks volumes for a genius of a Man who died far too young.

As Lord Baron would say for him : “Whom the Gods love, die young”

I would say for Kalyani and Bikash and Deven ….”Whom the Gods love, are unaware of their imprisonment”.