Friday 14 October 2016

The Films that are 50:TEESRI KASAM- A Melancholic Delight.



Teesri kasam  is a 1966 film based on a short story, mare gaye gulfam by phanishwarnath renu, a hindi novelist. the film stars Raj kapoor and Waheeda Rehman. the duo Shankar-Jaikishan composed the flim's score.directed by Basu bhattacharya, Teesri Kasam is an unconventional film that portrays the society of the rural india and simplicity of villagers.Released on  01 July,1966 was a box office disaster.

The story is rather simple: Hiraman, a cart-driver who is involved in black-marketing is almost caught by the police, and, upon escaping, vows he’ll never trade smuggled goods any more. He then reverts to bamboo trafficking, but that’s also a failure, and similarly he vows not to deal with it: what will be his third vow (teesri kasam)? We learn about it as he sets off on a journey, loaded this time with a rightful cargo, even if the lawfulness of this consignment will have to be reconsidered along the way, and will in effect lead to that fateful third vow.

The songs of the movie perfectly match the action, in a way that only movies of that era knew how to, it seems to me. They is always a profound justification for them, they always comment upon the action in a true and meaningful way.

 All the songs filmed on Hiraman are a reflection of his simple heart and lack of worldly-wisdom. The songs in the Nautanki, filmed on Hirabai, tantamount to either the rural folk songs when she is merely entertaining the crowd, or a deep pang of love lost when she is reflecting her relationship with Hiraman. The Chalat Musafir Moh Liyo Re song is an absolute rural-chaupal song, the types heard even today in those parts of the country.
One of the greatest lyricists, Shailendra, who was a good friend of Raj Kapoor, was so enamoured by Renu’s novel that he wanted to produce the film adaptation. He roped in Basu Bhattarchaya as the director, a protégé of the great Bimal Roy, and Basu Chatterjee, an upcoming director assisted him in direction. Shailendra had planned for Mehmood and Meena Kumari to play the lead, but that didn’t materialise due to various reasons, and his old friend Raj Kapoor volunteered to step in as the lead, and also brought another friend, Waheeda Rehman, as the female lead. Raj Kapoor even agreed to work for a nominal fee of only Re. 1 for the film.

The film went on to win the President’s Gold Lotus Award for Best Feature Film of 1966, Best Lyricist (Shailendra) and Best Director (Basu Bhattarchaya), but Shailendra did not live long to see all the critical accolades showered on his masterpiece. 

Songs of Teesri Kasam













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