Namkeen (1982)

Dhaniram brings a trucker named Gerulal to Jugni's house so that he can rent a room. Jugni lives in dilapidated house with three young daughters, all of whom are of marriage age. The eldest... See full summary »

Director:

Gulzar

Writers:

Samaresh Basu (story), Gulzar (dialogue),

Stars:

Sanjeev Kumar, Sharmila Tagore, Shabana Azmi

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sanjeev Kumar	...	Gerulal
Sharmila Tagore	...	Nimki
Shabana Azmi	...	Mitthu
Kiran Vairale	...	Chinki
Waheeda Rehman	...	Jyoti (Jugni)
Ram Mohan
T.P. Jain	...	Dhaniram
Kamaldeep
Bhag Singh
Ranvir
Ashish Chatterji
Baldev Mehta
Yash Sharma

Storyline

Dhaniram brings a trucker named Gerulal to Jugni's house so that he can rent a room. Jugni lives in dilapidated house with three young daughters, all of whom are of marriage age. The eldest is Mimki, followed by Mithu, and Chinki. Her husband is an alcoholic and wayward, and comes home every few weeks. Jugni past was sordid and involved dancing in a brothel. Jugni and her daughters labor for a living. Gerulal gets settled in, and becomes part of this family. Then when he gets news of his maternal grandmother's passing, he leaves and does not return for several months. When he returns, nothing and no one is the same anymore.

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Plot Keywords:

three sisters | mute | tenant | light bulb | truck driver | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sadu Chitra

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 112 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rekha was the first choice for the role of Namki, which was played eventually by Sharmila Tagore. Waheeda Rehman was allegedly not very happy with this change, since she now had to play mother to one of her contemporaries.

User Reviews

Fabulous, realistic ending. Got cut out of the DVD version

I just read abladabla's review and since it was written in March 2004, I assume it must have been for the DVD version. I saw this movie as a kid, I must have been 10 or so. I picked up the DVD yesterday and was disappointed that the ending had been changed. I remember that it was a very real and tragic, yet hopeful ending. The DVD had Girulal driving away in his truck in the final scene (song). The original movie had him come back to find the small household gone.

Email me if you want to know what happened because I don't want to put the ending here and get blocked by IMDb.

Gulzar has always told stories worth telling. He brings together his talents as a writer, director and an artist to weave a deeply human story that touches you. He makes it entertaining while bravely delving into the depths of the story, even if it's likely to be unpopular. He does this with dialogues that are realistic and yet laden with emotion and drama. I have been amazed at his work in Mausam, Maachis, Ijaazat and other movies. Certainly one of India's best artists. He deserves to be recognized as such.