Rajnigandha (1974)

Director:

Basu Chatterjee

Writers:

Manu Bhandari (story)
Basu Chatterjee (dialogue)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama | Family

Plot:

Deepa Kapoor (Vidya Sinha) lives with her brother and sister-in-law (Veena Godh)in Delhi. She studies in college...

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Vidya Sinha	...	Deepa Kapoor
Amol Palekar	...	Sanjay
Dinesh Thakur	...	Navin
Ranjita Thakur	...	Ira
Veena Godh	...	Deepa's sister-in-law
Manju Maini
Master Chicoo
Raj Prakash
B.B. Sahni

Also Known As:

Tube Rose
Tuberoses

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Soundtrack:

Rajnigandha Phool tumhare

A Brilliant glimpse into a woman's mind

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The protagonist this time is played by Vidya Sinha. She once again plays the love interest of two men. The shy Amol Palekar of Choti Si Baat becomes a motor mouth Asrani- like character in 'Rajanigandha' and the 'smart Alec' Asrani of that film gives way to the silent, brooding, Dilip Thakur here. The two films are linked extremely closely with each other and ideally should be seen as companion pieces to each other (using apwbd's language w.r.t MD and IE).

Here, the events are seen from Vidya's perspective. Her lover is a caring man (Amol Palekar) who is liable to be brash, callous and indifferent at times. But he is nevertheless her constant source of support. They seem to have an ideal life as a couple in Mumbai until a job interview forces her to go to Delhi where she meets a man from her past, played by Dilip Thakur. She had known him to love her secretly but since he had never confided his feelings to her, she was helpless and had had to move on. Now, she secretly and maybe even selfishly, wishes that he finally confesses his love for her. This, even while she has a loyal (well, imperfect as he may be) boyfriend back home…Now, the guessing game begins and the audience gets involved. Will he tell her or won't he? Why doesn't he tell her? She's so clearly in awe of him..can't he see? But even while he gets several opportunities, he doesn't say the needful and she's once again, helpless.

In the anticlimax that follows, she goes back to Mumbai to her old life. Still, she secretly hopes for a letter from him. Finally it arrives, but to her chagrin, it is merely a letter congratulating her on her successful interview and not much else (though she can gauge that a lot has been left unsaid). Then, one day when she's waiting for another letter of his, someone delivers a bunch of Rajanigandha flowers at her door. But it is not from her secret admirer in Delhi but from her tangible suitor in Mumbai and then the truth dawns upon her. Pragmatism wins over incessant yearning. Dreams give way to reality and she gives her heart to Amol's character.

How real is this? What is our life but a series of choices and chances and when they collide, serendipity happens and love blooms and when they don't, one moves on, still trying to solve the complex equations of love and life. And we are left with a lot of questions that start with 'What if…..'. Yes, Choti Si Baat and Rajanigandha are like twin sisters and alter egos of each other. While in the former, where the tone is much more humorous, one is elated at the victory of Arun over his rival whereas in the second, where the tone is much more maudlin, one can't help but feel a deep sadness for Dilip's character. They don't have non linear narratives, they don't have weird camera angles, deep focuses, extreme close ups, long takes, violation of 180 degrees etc etc. but both films have their heart in the right place and both are masterpieces IMO because not only do they make engaging viewings out of commonplace situations and ordinariness but they touch upon such a sublime and subtle truth in our behavior and build so effortlessly on that foundation, that the resultant building is a house of hearts, built with bricks of love, the doors to which open only to the brave ones