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Guru Dutt & Meena Kumari - Bhoothnaath & Chhoti Bahu Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam (1962)

My Top 10 Indian Cinema Actors Of All Time  - (pooja-mahi-rai) - No particular order

Edits by Moi

Love and God (1986)

- K. Asif's unreleased movie. 

Guru Dutt and Nimmi were cast as the leads of the film.  Dutt saab passed away in 1964 and the shooting came to a halt. Sanjeev Kumar then took on the role that guru Dutt unfortunately could not complete and the filming started again.  Asif saab passed away in 1971 during production of the movie and yet again shooting had stopped. His widow Akhtar asif attempted to revive the movie and released it incomplete.

Mr & Mrs 55 (1955) - Guru Dutt, Madhubala

A few Pop Art’s - Set 3  Made by me (pooja-mahi-rai)

Geeta Bali, Nargis, Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Guru Dutt Set 4 to come soon...;-P  Some damask designs from - Angel Dust

Bollywood - Reviews of yesteryear classics: Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam (1962)

From the moment the camera shot a close up of Meena Kumari's melancholy eyes and she delivered her line ''Aur tum mujhe chhoti bahu keh sakte ho..hmm?'' accompanying a little mischievous head tilt whilst addressing the character ''Boothnaath'', she stole the show for me in this epic classic tale of a longing wife pining for her shallow and negligent rich landlord of a husband who is  only interested in the excitement of a courtesan, and the empathy, understanding and innocence of a working class boy, who witnesses her demise.

This really was Meena Kumari's film, although don't get me wrong, Guru Dutt really came as a breath of fresh air in his portrayal of 'Boothnaath' giving us a surprising change from what we are used to seeing him as; the heart broken dreamer with unfulfilled desires with that sad and lost puppy dog face.

 A film ahead of it's time, and a must watch for all those people who may turn down black and white films due to their lack of pizazz and over rated colourful fireworks of publicity that has poisoned the industry today, and leave us with deceiving promotions, and end up showing us a pile of cow turd when eventually watching the bloody film.

The songs - what can I say - they're timeless. Melodious tunes like ''Piya Aiso Jiya Mein'' and the almost (dare I say it) seductive number of ''Na Jao Saiyaan'' will ring in your ears for days after watching the movie. The latter mentioned is probably the one that stands out, and people remember the most from the movie. Probably because the song was shot on, you could say, an always unspoken dilemma that a woman can go through; the desire for her husband to stay with her so she can be with him - be it mentally, physically, even sexually - it wasn't a concept that was explored much (or even at all) in Indian cinema with such openness. But I must say the whole storyline and theme of the 'desperate housewife' seeking her husbands 'attention' was was done with great taste and class. 

The only thing I would have liked more from the film is a bit more depth in Waheeda Rehman's character. She seemed almost cardboard like; flat, dull, and a faint oddness about her purpose -  didn't really get the significance of her character. Few may disagree, but her tone through the film was also pretty flat.

Like so many other Black and White classics, it sends us a message (well it sent me these anyway..); that Meena Kumari was truly suffering and her portrayal of 'Chhoti Bahu' broke many hearts because her character was a mirror of herself.

That marrying a woman does not require her to sit and look pretty, but not have the right to ask for even a loving embrace from her husband. That women have desired their husbands embrace and love, and have had those strong emotions to please their husband for decades but only now is it accepted to be vocal about their needs, be it emotionally, sexually, or mentally; they were so restrained back then, and even now women feel the pressure to want to please their man regardless of whether they think of themselves as the most independent and head strong women - you still want to be able to make your partner happy, because lets face it; everyone wants a humsafar.

And finally it has also taught me that you should not go looking for something you already have, otherwise you will end up losing something you wish you never ignored. I rate this a 9/10

"Aur tum, mujhe Chhoti Bahu keh sakte ho...hmm?" -One of my favourite scenes of 'Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam.