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Not surprisingly then, most of the movies on this period focus on personalities and the event is just an incident, albeit with far reaching consequences that took place in the canvas of the principal actor’s personal lives. An example could be made by referring to Sohrab Modi's brilliant masterpiece, Jhansi Ki Rani, the excellent TV serial Bahadur Shah Zafar by BR Films that had Ashok Kumar playing the lead role and the somewhat pompous and over-the-hill, Mangal Pandey and so many more of the same type ......
Only two movies made with this era as the backdrop actually manage to create a semblance of the order, life and times of that period and one of them happens to be Shyam Benegal’s brilliant piece of artistic cinema – Junoon and the other happens to be Satyajit Ray's only foray in Hindi Cinema - Shatranj Ke Khiladi ...... and like the latter masterpiece which was based on a short film written by the great Munshi Premchand, Junoon is also an adaptation of a book by that great Indian writer, Ruskin Bond (A Flight of Pigeons).
In fact, come to think of it, Junoon is one of the few movies based on Indian literature and as such it proves the vitality of Indian authors, even if they happen to be foreign born. Just a few days ago, we discussed another movie, a classic, authored by a contemporary Indian author (3 Idiots, even if the titles do not say so). Maybe this will serve as a lesson to certain filmmakers who keep on saying that there are hardly any new subjects in Cinema.
What does Junoon mean? Junoon means obsession; when love oversteps it's limits, it becomes a passion; when Passion transcends it's boundaries, it becomes worship and when Worship crosses all boundaries man-made and nature-made, it becomes a Junoon! An Obsession ..... a very dangerous emotion for this emotion can create a Sur Das and destroy a Devdas - It can create a Taj Mahal and destroy the very dynasty that created it; it can make a God out of a devotee and it also can make a putty out of a Diamond!
Junoon is a story of a Pathan chieftain, Javed Khan who is not entirely enthusiastic about the mutiny against the British Establishment but who increasingly finds himself drawn into the strife less due to nationalistic fervour and societal pressures and more due to his obsessive love for his British mistress. Junoon, is also a brilliant rendition of the love affair that blossoms between the star-crossed pair of Javed Khan and Ruth (the daughter of a British Major, killed by mutineers, protesting against British heavy-handedness in terms of religion, in the House of God).
Shashi Kapoor as Javed Khan turns out a fine performance. The maturity of a character hopelessly in love is well displayed as also is his uneasy reluctance to join the ranks of the mutineers established effortlessly in his earlier scenes with Sarfaraz, the man behind the mutiny. The actor uses both silence and speech to convey the deep feelings of anguish and hurt and the character graph of the unfortunate warrior-lover neither drops nor loses even a slight tremor of intensity in the entire turmoil but stands unscathed and dignified in the middle of chaos and ruin.
Shabana Azmi as his wife delivers a brilliant performance. In a movie, which gives her not much to deliver, she still stands her ground and effectively proves her mettle as an actress par excellence. Nowhere is this more pronounced than the scene where she learns of her husband’s intentions to marry another girl. Shabana displays a rare maturity and imparts a resilient dignity to her character.
Nafisa Ali as Ruth delivers an innocent performance, surprisingly the director has kept her silence and not allowed her a lot of dialogues or emotions - maybe he wanted her only to build up the tension between the Nawab and the European's mother and as such then she has done a good job... Total Understatement, no flamboyance, no emotional outburst; only a frustrated Silence
The real hero of the film happens to be Jennifer Kendall, who, as her mother, not only delivers a competent and restrained performance but also ensures that her command of the art is enough to make you miss her more, once the movie is over. She is one of the only two characters in the film who have a purpose of their own, a will of their own and who would not allow any to trample over them (the other being Naseeruddin Shah)...... It’s indeed a loss to Hindi cinema that such a competent actress never could make it big in Hindi Cinema.
Kulbhushan Kharbanda as an Indian sympathetic to the British Cause makes for interesting weaving as does Tom Alter in his portrayal of a 1850's Britisher with a colonial and imperial mindset. Another actor who delivers an excellent performance in a small cameo is Rajesh Vivek, who is excellent as the mendicant.Sadly, this would go on to become his typecast for all future........
It is however Naseeruddin Shah, who actually makes you sit up and take notice. In a role, which hardly offers him a lot of scope, the thespian literally stands hands and shoulders over a multitude of highly talented actors and actresses, highly commended for their acting skills and proves himself beyond a shred of doubt. As Sarfaraz Khan, Naseer is amazing and you can feel his hatred and revulsion for the British long after the movie is done and over with. This was one of his earlier movies and it gives a glimpse of the great actor in his earlier days.
Shyam Benegal delivers as always a magnificent film. Everything about the movie is brilliant, from the characterizations to the script to the direction and ultimately to the performance. The director leaves no stone unturned in recreating a period and to his credit everything about the period looks and is authentic. One interesting aspect of the film that though made me wonder a bit is that the film is unabashedly and unapologetically empathic to the British and portrays the Nawabs as being uncouth and uncivil ..... What could be the reason for this? I do not know ...... still the movie is an excellent piece of work...
Indeed, a brilliant movie from a brilliant director.
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