Night's End (1975)
"Nishaant" (original title)

Vishwam (Naseeruddin Shah) is the youngest son of the powerful, and influential village Zamindar (Amrish Puri). The Zamindar will not hesitate to do anything for the welfare and protection ... See full summary »

Director:

Shyam Benegal

Writers:

Vijay Tendulkar (original screenplay), Satyadev Dubey (dialogue)

Stars:

Girish Karnad, Shabana Azmi, Anant Nag

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Girish Karnad	...	Schoolmaster
Shabana Azmi	...	Sushila
Anant Nag	...	Anjaiya
Amrish Puri	...	Eldest Zamindar
Satyadev Dubey	...	Priest (Pujari)
Smita Patil	...	Rukmani (as Smita)
Mohan Agashe	...	Prasad
Kulbhushan Kharbanda	...	Policeman Patel
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Vishwam
Sadhu Meher	...	Special Appearance
Savita Bajaj
Master Altaf
Suresh Bedi	...	(as Soresh Bedi)
Rukmini Menon
Sesham Raju

Storyline

Vishwam (Naseeruddin Shah) is the youngest son of the powerful, and influential village Zamindar (Amrish Puri). The Zamindar will not hesitate to do anything for the welfare and protection of his family, which also includes bending the law to his own advantage. Vishwam is married to Rukmani (Smita Patil), and unlike his brothers, does not indulge in alcohol or women, nor does he have any bad habits. Then the village gets a new schoolmaster (Girish Karnad), who has a wife, Sushilla (Shabana Azmi). When Vishwam sees for the first time, he is unable to take his off of her, and unable to get her out of his mind. Sushilla does not reciprocate his attentions. Then one night, while the schoolmaster is returning home, he sees a vehicle pull up outside his house, and two men grab Sushilla and take her forcibly. Several people are present no one dares to raise a hand nor even a voice to stop this abduction. What will the schoolmaster do to get his wife back, knowling fully well that the Police ...

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Plot Keywords:

village | abduction | child nudity | brother brother relationship | fight for justice | 

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Genres:

Drama | Crime

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

6 September 1975 (India)

Also Known As:

Night's End

Filming Locations:

Pochampally, Andhra Pradesh, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blaze Film Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actress Smita Patil's debut film.

User Reviews

The End Of Night...The Horror Begins

'Nishaant' is perhaps Benegal's most chilling movie to date. With this movie who also introduces the ever so talented Smita Patil to Hindi cinema. Through brilliant execution and with superb cinematography, Shyam Benegal tells us this compelling, brutally honest and haunting tragic story. The background music brilliantly adds to the mood. While dealing with various themes such as oppression, corruption, power, violence, abduction and poverty, he also presents controversial taboo issues like rape and homosexuality. 'Nishaant' is also quite graphic in nature. Particularly the scene where Anjaiya and Prasad gang rape Sushila is disturbing to watch and then there's the shattering ending which haunts the viewer.

Like in all of Benegal's films, the actors do nothing short of a fantastic job. Amrish Puri gives a restrained performance and his silence makes his character much more frightening than any of the over-the-top villain roles he was more known for. Shabana Azmi is sublime. Smita Patil is very effective in a small but strong role. With a brave choice, she already proves that she's here to stay and if it weren't for her untimely death one would have witnessed more of India's best actress on screen. Naseeruddin Shah is excellent. Mohan Agashe and Anant Nag are scary as the evil brothers. Girish Karnad too is great.

Benegal also deserves mention for portraying unusual relationships between the characters. When Sushila encounters her husband, she resents him for not rescuing her and chooses to come back to the 'zameendar's haveli' instead of going back home. Yet, she too is conflicted as she terribly misses her son but also develops an attraction towards her kidnappers' brother Vishwam (the only sympathetic brother in the household). There's Rukmani who was once proud of her faithful husband Vishwam but she perceives Sushila as a threat and once her husband begins a physical relationship with her, it becomes resentment.

'Nishaant' is based on a true story and Benegal portrays the realities of a village sensibly as he shows a good understanding of life in the village. Although there have been plenty of films that try to use the same themes, they lack the gritty rawness of 'Nishaant'. Overall, 'Nishaant' is an excellent compelling drama that needs to be watched.