Namkeen

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Namkeen
Directed by Gulzar
Starring Sharmila Tagore
Country India
Language Hindi
IMDb profile

Namkeen, directed by Gulzar was released in the year 1982. It was yet another movie by Gulzar made on some very sensitive but untouched aspects of Indian society especially in rural areas.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

This is a story of three unmarried sisters and their old mother. The eldest one is Nimki (Sharmila Tagore) and she is a spinster in this movie. The middle sister is Mitthu (Shabana Azmi) and she cannot speak. The name of the youngest one is Chinki and the role has been played by Kiran Virale. Mother's role (Jugni) has been played by Waheeda Rehman. Dhaniram (played by T. P. Jain) is their father and he does not live with them. He always wants to take Chinki with him to make her a drama dancer, which Jugni never wanted. The all four live in a very old house outside the village. Gerulal (Sanjeev Kumar) is a truck driver and he comes to live in their house on rent. As the time progressed, he saw the difficulties and problems they were facing being women. He found that even among the crisis of money and facilities, all the sisters were capable of maintaining the moral values and diginified behavior towards the outer world. He began to like Nimki. But, somehow, Mitthu also began to like Gerulal. Mitthu's feeling cannot exactly be called as love with Gerulal as it was more a sympathitical attitude of Gerulal toward her, which she was missing for very long. Since Gerulal was a driver so he had to go one day. Before going , he expressed his feelings in front of Nimki and proposed her to marry him. But she turned down his proposal citing the responsibility of her sisters and her mother. When he left, their lives also changed. It all started with the suicide of Mitthu as she lost her mental balance in the absence of Gerulal. Jugni also died due to her continuous illness. Taking the benefit of the situation, Dhaniram succeeded in convincing Chinki to take her with him despite of the huge resistance from Nimki. Nimki was left alone in that house. When Gerulal came to know about that, he came and married Nimki and took her away from there.

[edit] Essence

The main characters of the movie are Gerulal and Nimki. Gerulal was depicted as a thread who brought together all the sporadic pearls of that family. Nimki is a person who is always ready to sacrifice and she always puts her personal life after everything. This is why she refuses to marry Gerulal. All in all, a woman may be weaker than a man physically but she is far greater emotionally.

[edit] Music

The combination of Gulzar (Lyrics), R.D. Burman (Music), and Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle (singers). The movie has five songs in all. "Baankee chalee zhaankee chalee" is a folk-based song and has been sung by Asha Bhonsle in a lovely spirit. "Phir se aaiyo badaraa bidesee" is an emontionally imaginative song by Asha Bhonsle. "Aisaa lagaa koee suramaa nazar maa" is another folk song by Alka Yagnik. "Badee der se meghaa barsaa" is another beautiful song by Asha Bhonsle. But the most "philosophical" and "inspiring" song is "Raah pe rahte hai" sung by Kishore Kumar.

[edit] Cast

  • Sharmila Tagore's, Shabana Azmi's innocence are capable of leaving a unforgettable impression on viewer's memory. Sanjiv Kumar is once again superb along with Waheeda Rahman. One cannot expect a better performance from all of them.

[edit] External links