Utsav (1984)

Based on the circa 2nd century BCE to 2nd Century CE, Sanskrit play "Daridra-Charudatta" by the famous Indian playwright Bhasa, "Utsav" faithfully follows Bhasa's story-line. Vasantasena, a... See full summary »

Director:

Girish Karnad

Writers:

Krishna Basrur (script), Bhasa (play),

Stars:

Rekha, Amjad Khan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rekha	...	Vasantsena
Amjad Khan	...	Vatsyayan
Kulbhushan Kharbanda	...	Anonymous revolutionary
Shankar Nag	...	Sajjal
Kunal Kapoor	...	Aryak
Anuradha Patel	...	Aditi (as Anooradha)
Anupam Kher	...	Sansthanak's friend
Neena Gupta	...	Mandolika
Annu Kapoor	...	Masseur
Harish Patel	...	Maitrey
Gopi Desai
Lakshmi Krishnamurthy	...	(as Lakshmi Krishnamurty)
Shashi Kapoor	...	Samsthanak
Shekhar Suman	...	Charudatta (as Manjunath Shekhar Suman)
Rajesh Puri

Storyline

Based on the circa 2nd century BCE to 2nd Century CE, Sanskrit play "Daridra-Charudatta" by the famous Indian playwright Bhasa, "Utsav" faithfully follows Bhasa's story-line. Vasantasena, a courtesan who dances at the King Palaka's court hides in Charudatta's house while running away from the amorous attentions of the king's brother-in-law. She falls in love with Charudatta, though he is married and penniless. They have an affair. Meanwhile, the rightful heir to the throne - King Palaka's brother - escapes from prison. While he is being pursued by the king's troops, Charudatta helps him. The king's brother-in-law strangles Vasantasena when she refuses to submit to him and leaves her for dead. When Charudatta tries to have her jewels pawned, he is arrested for her murder. What happens to him and the other characters constitutes the final part of the film.

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Plot Keywords:

based on play

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

23 August 1984 (India)

Also Known As:

The Festival

Filming Locations:

India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film-Valas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolour)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Sanskrit play was translated into English, notably by Arthur W. Ryder in 1905 as The Little Clay Cart. It had previously been translated as The Toy Cart by Horace Hayman Wilson in 1826.

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Soundtracks

"Man Kyon Behka Aadhi Raat Ko Mera Mehka"
Lyrics by Vasant Dev
Music by Laxmikant and Pyarelal
Performed by Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar

User Reviews

Take a glimpse of a country which was fondly called "Golden bird"

I had been longing to watch this movie for several reasons. One - it was from Shashi Kapoor (noted for sensible productions like Junoon, Kalyug, 36 Chowringhee Lane, Vijeta etc). Two - Girish Karnad helming the affairs who is quite able in his own right. Three - the songs which I literally grew up with (watching over and again in Chitrhaar, and cursing!). Four - the original choice for the lead pair was Amitabh & Rekha which transformed into a lacklustre Shekhar Suman & Rekha. Nonetheless, its "Utsav - Celebration of art" and it truly lived up to the expectations. Noteworthy is that everything in the movie was classified as an art including robbery & sex.

As mentioned earlier, music was one of the strong motivations to watch the movie and needless to say the songs are top- notch. Its noteworthy to mention that Lakshmikant-Pyarelal were in top form (a la Himesh Reshamiyya) when Utsav was released and the music of Utsav was completely different to their genre and yes, a bit hit. Lyrics by Vasant Dev are exceptional. Probably after Satyam Shivam Sundaram, one gets to hear such poetry in its purest form.

The only shortcoming was was language which I felt that there was enough room to improvise as it did not maintain consistency. In Hindi cinema after Navrang, perhaps one get to hear such pure dialogues and lyrics.

The sets are massive and attempt to create the Gupta age is noteworthy.

Vasantsena - nobody except Rekha.

Samsthanak - the character per se was a mockery and needless to say ill- suited Shashi Kapoor.

Annu Kapoor, Satish Kaushik, Harish Patel, Khulbushan Kharbanda, Gopi Desai, Anupam Kher entire NFDC was present except the biggies Naseer, Om Puri & Shabana.

It was good to see innocent Master Manjunath. Reminded me of Malgudi Days.

Neena Gupta suited the fiery Mandolika. Anuradha Patel was quite pretty and well suited for the role of Aditi. Amjad Khan was passable.

Shekhar Suman was the weakest link. How on earth did me manage to lead a lead role opposite Rekha - beats me!