Utsav (1984) User Reviews

Artistically brilliant- slightly patchy narration

[abhikthakur-1 · 8/10 · 26 February 2011]

I saw this movie yesterday and felt that the roles of Amjad Khan were underdeveloped, both as the narrator and as Vatsyayana. He is introduced as narrator but does not do anything after that. He then comes up as Vatsyayana but is lost after a few scene. I thought Vatsyayana could have been a recurring motif for the movie- just to highlight the eroticism of the times in the Gupta age, called the Golden Age of India.

Acting wise, Rekha is superb, nearly phenomenal! Debutant Shekhar Suman displays the nervousness of a now-poor man who is being seduced by a famous and rich courtesan- but he lacks screen presence, an obvious side effect. As a rookie and that too in front of Rekha, he would naturally have been nervous! The most curious case was that of Shashi Kapoor's Sansthanak- a role he would never have played anywhere else and something that Akhilendra Mishra's (aka Kroor Singh of Chandrakanta) of today would feel more comfortable playing! Still his acting needs to be commended- I noticed only really late that this was SHASHI KAPOOR!

Overall, the feeling was that while it was good, it could have been even better.

Rekha at her erotic best

[nadkarnisumeet · 8/10 · 15 May 2021]

Utsav review :

Based on the famous Sanskrit drama called 'Mruchhkatikam', Utsav was an erotic drama directed by theatre veteran Girish Karnad and produced by Shashi Kapoor. It was on offbeat film with plenty of erotica shot very aesthetically. Newcomer Shekhar Suman had an elaborate love making scene with the gorgeous Rekha. Anuradha Patel and Rekha's sensuous 'aadhi raat' number hinted at lesbianism. Shashi Kapoor was miscast as the villainous king lusting after Rekha. The role was initially offered to Amitabh Bachchan who turned it down.

Overall, Utsav was too arty and abstract to find an audience in the '80s. A complete box office disaster released at Metro Cinema, Mumbai.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

Aesthetically beautiful, brilliant music and great ending

[harineem-209-525488 · 8/10 · 17 October 2022]

I saw this movie a very long time ago and it was quite controversial when it was released, because of the erotic scenes. The movie is not at all vulgar, there is a beauty to even the adult scenes and it shows how open minded India was at that period.

Rekha is fantastic in her portrayal of Vasantasena, the courtesan whom the entire Kingdom desires. Shashi Kapoor as the evil minister was also good. Shekhar Suman was cast probably for his innocent looks at that time. Amjad Khan as Vatsyana is hilarious. Rest of the cast are also good.

The music is phenomenal. It's sad that the core message of the movie was lost on the masses.

The best part of the movie for me was the last scene which I will not reveal here.

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

[AvinashPatalay · 7 September 2009]

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!

A classic tale of love

[samiranghosh-1 · 10/10 · 14 August 2005]

Directed by Girish Karnad, this movie is a pure delight to watch. Within a comparatively small budget, the director, has managed to recreate the period atmosphere of the Gupta age complete with lavish sets and costumes. Competent performances by all and some incredible music by Laxmikant Pyarelal's songs like Saanjh Dale, Man kyun Behaka, Neelam pe naleh chhaye have been wonderfully choreographed. What made this movie thoroughly enjoyable were the delightful characters: Courtesans, Musicians, Burglars, revolutionaries etc all cleverly inter-woven in this wonderful story of Vasantsena, played by Rekha, seen through the eyes of Vatsyayana the author of "Kamasutra".

Rekha's performance as Vasantsena is marvellous. It is a classic movie about eroticism told in a non-titillating way. For example in the scene where Vasantsena takes off her ornaments with the aid of Charudutt is one of the most poetic eroticism I have ever seen.

Enjoy...

Movie portraying life of women during gupta period

[akshar100 · 10/10 · 16 January 2005]

This is based on Bhas' play called mrishchakatick meaning Chariot of clay. However the name has not much significance to the play. The story is about a prostitute (prostitutes had a great respect then) Vsantsena loving a bankrupt seth Charudatta. The movie shows the greatness of Indian Culture where vastyana who wrote kamsutraa was a celibate. A prostitute was a virgin. And person who defeated the king did not accept the monarch but just got mixed up with the crowd. A champiwala became sadhu when he saw how vasantsena loved charudatta. How a Indian wife though angry give away her only ornament to save his husband. The plot is very seductive but it is the story and direction makes the movie a non erotic but a classic

Wow. how india was

[vishalsant · 9/10 · 3 June 2000]

When i saw Utsav i felt so proud of being Indian. Today ours is a conservative country but in the gupta period we were so liberal about sex. The Gupta era has been masterfully captured in this movie. The only bad thing was that the film has a slightly slow pace. The song "Man kyon behka" is excellent. The Sets are seductive and the cinematography is impressive.

Masterpiece in script, direction and performance

[rtoac1 · 9/10 · 18 August 2020]

This is a Hindi language film starring Rekha.

The film is well scripted and ties together multiple plots. The film is inspired by a drama / play that has been popular in Bharat since centuries. However the director deviates from the bold ending of the original play.

However one can't complain about the direction otherwise on how it has brought to life the atmosphere of the times and the premise of the message.

The element of humor really enlivens what would otherwise have been run- off- the- mill scenes.

Rekha stands out for her sensual performance. And the transformation of Shashi Kapoor (who was also the producer of the film) for this role needs to be seen to be believed.

A great period film

[hds-24055 · 9/10 · 6 September 2020]

The period painted by the director, art director and the cinematographer is utterly convincing. You simply surrender. Sharad Joshi's dialogue is delightful. Music is just as convincing for the period. Great movie making.