Hanste Zakhm
Encyclopedia
Hanste Zakhm is a 1973 India
n Hindi
film produced and directed by Chetan Anand with music by Madan Mohan
, and lyrics by Kaifi Azmi
. The film stars Navin Nischol
, Priya Rajvansh
, Balraj Sahni
, and Nadira
in lead roles.
The movie begins with Mahendru (Balraj Sahni
), a widowed police officer and his his young daughter, Chanda. Chanda's best friend is Rekha (Anju Mahendru
), the daughter of a prostitute. Rekha stays over at Chanda's house, when Rekha's mother accidentally kills someone in an effort to stop her pimp (Jeevan) from carrying off Rekha into prostitution as well. She is sent to prison, and begs Mahendru not to reveal to Rekha anything about her life as a working girl. Mahendru promises to protect and raise the child as his own daughter. The pimp, Jeevan, attempts to kidnap Rekha but his goons mistakenly kidnap Chanda. When he realizes the error he decides to make the best of a bad situation by asking Mahendru for a large ransom. Mahendru borrows the ransom money from a friend, but the pimp deceives him and delivers the girl to a madam (Nadira
).
Many years later, we find cab driver Somesh (Navin Nischol
) driving Chanda (Priya Rajvansh
) to her clients. Somesh is the ne'er-do-well scion of a rich family, who has a falling out with his father as he refuses to marry Rekha, the Police Officer's "daughter". He leaves his wealthy home & life-style to become a cab-driver : a common theme of rebellious youth in Bollywood. Chanda and Somesh fall in love. Chanda eventually realizes that she really is Mahendru's daughter. This leads her to "assume the daughter's duty" by trying to convince Somesh to marry Rekha, her "sister". She does this by turning alcoholic, in an effort to prove her essential wanton-ness to Somesh - who does not understand her intention and refuses to live his life according to her ideals of Filial Responsibility. Later, the pimp kidnaps Chanda again and informs Mahendru that his daughter is under his captivity and tries to blackmail him for release of Chanda. However, Mahendru refuses to give-in and attacks Jivan's camp with police force. Chanda dies in this rescue operation. However, the conversation that she had with her father for whom she longed the whole of short life, is heart-rending. Balraj Sahni as Mahendru has so nicely played the role of a father who had to convey his daughter before the rescue operation begins that he will very likely be not able to save her. Before dying in her father Mahendru's arms, Chanda asks Somesh to marry Rekha, and he does. Social order is righted, and life goes on.
a.) Rebellious Son of Rich Father stands up to authoritarianism, and chooses voluntary poverty in order to pursue the woman he loves,
b.) Redeeming power of True Love even though with a Fallen Woman, and
c.) Oppressed Womanhood, cf. motherless daughters, sold into prostitution, rejected by Society, dependent upon men etc.
- resonated with movie-goers, specially as the script has a leit-motif of Romantic Urdu Poetry which the leads recite at each opportune moment {Personal Experience: My mother who saw the movie when it first came out told me that young college girls would go to watch it over-&-over again, carrying notebooks and pens, and wrote down each couplet as it was recited in the dark of the cinema hall! }
Much of the melodramatic poignancy of the plot derives from the fact that Somesh does actually want to marry Mahendru's "daughter" - only nobody knows it! - which is a common populistic strand in Hindi Cinema - a fact which is usually understood by the participants in the penultimate reels, leading to a new-found humility, renunciation of egotistic stances, and resolution of the central conflict of the Drama.
Feminists see in the ending ( Chanda's death ) the clear pressure of patriarchal cultural mores, where "the Fallen Woman" is allowed to experience Love, but not to experience its ultimate consummation as a wife and mother due to her past sexual profligacies. A careful reading of the sub-text illuminates this, and many other cultural themes of masochism, shame & blame which Indian Culture continues to suffer from - and which continue to be re-worked into Bollywood movies till today.
Composed by the late Madan Mohan, it has compositions which are well-loved in the country even today, 40 years later ( the movie is regularly shown on late-night cable) from such diverse genres as:
This melding of an inane, convoluted & highly culture-bound plot with soul-stirring music led to a Cultural Phenomenon in India, and is the main reason why this movie deserves encyclopedic mention and analysis.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
film produced and directed by Chetan Anand with music by Madan Mohan
Madan Mohan
Madan Mohan Kohli , better known as Madan Mohan, was a famed Bollywood film music director of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s...
, and lyrics by Kaifi Azmi
Kaifi Azmi
Kaifi Azmi was an Indian Urdu poet. He is considered to be one the greatest Urdu poets of 20th century. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jon Eliya and many others he participated in many memorable mushairas of 20th century.-Early life:...
. The film stars Navin Nischol
Navin Nischol
Navin Nischol was an Indian actor. He made his debut with the Hindi film Sawan Bhadon in 1970.-Early life:...
, Priya Rajvansh
Priya Rajvansh
Priya Rajvansh , born Vera Sundersingh, was an Indian film actress, who is known her performance in films like, Heer Ranjha and Hanste Zakhm , amongst a handful of films she did during her career....
, Balraj Sahni
Balraj Sahni
Balraj Sahni , born Yudhishthir Sahni , was a famous Hindi film actor. He belonged to a Punjabi Khatri family from Bhera now in Punjab, Pakistan...
, and Nadira
Nadira (actress)
-References:* Rediff.com* -External links:* . Audio podcast by Eric Molinsky discussing Nadira and other Jewish women in Indian cinema...
in lead roles.
Plot & Textual Analysis
'Hanste Zakhm' is Urdu that can be loosely translated as "Laughing Wounds". The film revolves around Chanda (Priya Rajvansh), Somesh (Navin Nischol) and Mahendru (Balraj Sahni).The movie begins with Mahendru (Balraj Sahni
Balraj Sahni
Balraj Sahni , born Yudhishthir Sahni , was a famous Hindi film actor. He belonged to a Punjabi Khatri family from Bhera now in Punjab, Pakistan...
), a widowed police officer and his his young daughter, Chanda. Chanda's best friend is Rekha (Anju Mahendru
Anju Mahendru
-Personal life and education:Mahendru was born in Dehradun. She is famed for her relationship with famous Bollywood star Rajesh Khanna and was briefly engaged to cricket player Gary Sobers.-Career:...
), the daughter of a prostitute. Rekha stays over at Chanda's house, when Rekha's mother accidentally kills someone in an effort to stop her pimp (Jeevan) from carrying off Rekha into prostitution as well. She is sent to prison, and begs Mahendru not to reveal to Rekha anything about her life as a working girl. Mahendru promises to protect and raise the child as his own daughter. The pimp, Jeevan, attempts to kidnap Rekha but his goons mistakenly kidnap Chanda. When he realizes the error he decides to make the best of a bad situation by asking Mahendru for a large ransom. Mahendru borrows the ransom money from a friend, but the pimp deceives him and delivers the girl to a madam (Nadira
Nadira (actress)
-References:* Rediff.com* -External links:* . Audio podcast by Eric Molinsky discussing Nadira and other Jewish women in Indian cinema...
).
Many years later, we find cab driver Somesh (Navin Nischol
Navin Nischol
Navin Nischol was an Indian actor. He made his debut with the Hindi film Sawan Bhadon in 1970.-Early life:...
) driving Chanda (Priya Rajvansh
Priya Rajvansh
Priya Rajvansh , born Vera Sundersingh, was an Indian film actress, who is known her performance in films like, Heer Ranjha and Hanste Zakhm , amongst a handful of films she did during her career....
) to her clients. Somesh is the ne'er-do-well scion of a rich family, who has a falling out with his father as he refuses to marry Rekha, the Police Officer's "daughter". He leaves his wealthy home & life-style to become a cab-driver : a common theme of rebellious youth in Bollywood. Chanda and Somesh fall in love. Chanda eventually realizes that she really is Mahendru's daughter. This leads her to "assume the daughter's duty" by trying to convince Somesh to marry Rekha, her "sister". She does this by turning alcoholic, in an effort to prove her essential wanton-ness to Somesh - who does not understand her intention and refuses to live his life according to her ideals of Filial Responsibility. Later, the pimp kidnaps Chanda again and informs Mahendru that his daughter is under his captivity and tries to blackmail him for release of Chanda. However, Mahendru refuses to give-in and attacks Jivan's camp with police force. Chanda dies in this rescue operation. However, the conversation that she had with her father for whom she longed the whole of short life, is heart-rending. Balraj Sahni as Mahendru has so nicely played the role of a father who had to convey his daughter before the rescue operation begins that he will very likely be not able to save her. Before dying in her father Mahendru's arms, Chanda asks Somesh to marry Rekha, and he does. Social order is righted, and life goes on.
Themes
The movie's triple themes of :a.) Rebellious Son of Rich Father stands up to authoritarianism, and chooses voluntary poverty in order to pursue the woman he loves,
b.) Redeeming power of True Love even though with a Fallen Woman, and
c.) Oppressed Womanhood, cf. motherless daughters, sold into prostitution, rejected by Society, dependent upon men etc.
- resonated with movie-goers, specially as the script has a leit-motif of Romantic Urdu Poetry which the leads recite at each opportune moment {Personal Experience: My mother who saw the movie when it first came out told me that young college girls would go to watch it over-&-over again, carrying notebooks and pens, and wrote down each couplet as it was recited in the dark of the cinema hall! }
Much of the melodramatic poignancy of the plot derives from the fact that Somesh does actually want to marry Mahendru's "daughter" - only nobody knows it! - which is a common populistic strand in Hindi Cinema - a fact which is usually understood by the participants in the penultimate reels, leading to a new-found humility, renunciation of egotistic stances, and resolution of the central conflict of the Drama.
Feminists see in the ending ( Chanda's death ) the clear pressure of patriarchal cultural mores, where "the Fallen Woman" is allowed to experience Love, but not to experience its ultimate consummation as a wife and mother due to her past sexual profligacies. A careful reading of the sub-text illuminates this, and many other cultural themes of masochism, shame & blame which Indian Culture continues to suffer from - and which continue to be re-worked into Bollywood movies till today.
Importance
Apart from the (de-constructed) insights that it provides, this movie is an esthetic experience for the Native Viewer primarily due to its innovative and haunting sound-track; a Hollywood equivalent would be Rebel Without A Cause, or perhaps, Pretty Woman.Composed by the late Madan Mohan, it has compositions which are well-loved in the country even today, 40 years later ( the movie is regularly shown on late-night cable) from such diverse genres as:
- Qawwali : "Yeh Maana meri jaan, mohabbat saja hai, maza is mein ityna magar kisliye hai.." {trans.:"I admit that Love is a Punishment, but why is there so much Joy in it then?"},
- Ghazal :"Betaab dil ki tamanna yehi hai..."{trans.:"This is the longing of the restless heart..."}
- and an epic symphonic number, comparable in its chord & rhythm changes to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody : "Tum jo mil gaye ho, to yeh lagta hai, ke jahaan mil gaya..." {trans.:"Now that I have found you, it seems that I have found the world..."} - which, of course, is the classic romantic cry of the fleeting transcendence experienced in the first flushes of erotic engagement with the Other.
This melding of an inane, convoluted & highly culture-bound plot with soul-stirring music led to a Cultural Phenomenon in India, and is the main reason why this movie deserves encyclopedic mention and analysis.
Trivia
-
- The heroin, Priya Rajvansh, became the live-in lover of director Chetan Anand, and was murdered in 1998 by his two sons from a previous marriage, in an effort to acquire the apartment in Bombay he had bequeathed to her.
-
- The hero, Navin Nischol, after a brief period of popularity in the mid-70's became an alcoholic - and was recently incarcerated after the death by suicide of his 3rd wife.
Cast
- Navin NischolNavin NischolNavin Nischol was an Indian actor. He made his debut with the Hindi film Sawan Bhadon in 1970.-Early life:...
- Priya RajvanshPriya RajvanshPriya Rajvansh , born Vera Sundersingh, was an Indian film actress, who is known her performance in films like, Heer Ranjha and Hanste Zakhm , amongst a handful of films she did during her career....
- Balraj SahniBalraj SahniBalraj Sahni , born Yudhishthir Sahni , was a famous Hindi film actor. He belonged to a Punjabi Khatri family from Bhera now in Punjab, Pakistan...
- NadiraNadira (actress)-References:* Rediff.com* -External links:* . Audio podcast by Eric Molinsky discussing Nadira and other Jewish women in Indian cinema...
- Jeevan
- NadiraNadira (actress)-References:* Rediff.com* -External links:* . Audio podcast by Eric Molinsky discussing Nadira and other Jewish women in Indian cinema...
- Suman Sikand
- Achala SachdevAchala SachdevAchala Sachdev is an Indian film actress who started her career as a child. She later became known for mother and grandmother roles in Hindi films...
- Kamal Kapoor
- Mac MohanMac MohanMohan Makijany , popularly known as Mac Mohan, was a well-known Indian character actor in Hindi language films...