Angaaray

The late Smita Patil is known as one of the greatest actresses of Indian cinema. She was, without doubt, an actor who was totally versed in the most profound nuances of the human experience. She could understand her characters, grasp their reality, but she also understood the Indian moviegoers. It is no surprise then that even the mainstream Hindi films she appeared in (Patil was mostly prolific in art cinema) were a cut above the rest. She did accept the constraints of commercial films, but in a way resisted them, and that's what worked to the benefit of her mainstream films and her performances in them.

And Angaaray is the perfect example to that. It allows her to do pretty much what Shabana Azmi did in Bhavna, fit into the ultra-typical mainstream mould. The film presents the quintessential, suffering Indian film heroine, who goes through a lot over the course of a short story, including rape, abandonment, problems with her only troublemaking brother (they're orphaned), prostitution. But Patil never lets the corny chain of events affect her firm decision to not succumb to overdone sentimentality. Her forceful presence makes the emotional impact on the viewer so much more effective by virtue of her natural, understated acting.

Is this the reason I like the film itself? I'm not sure. The film is actually a very watchable melodrama. The story is very typical of Hindi potboilers but the script is actually better than one would expect, and there's depth in it which makes it very entertaining. Again, it might be Patil herself - she is just so convincing, even her dance numbers were exceedingly good, but the film has a lot going for it. The music by Anu Malik is beautiful ("Tauba Tauba Karoge", "Mubarak Ho"), Rajesh Khanna makes a nice appearance, and Raj Babbar is great support to Patil. This is an enjoyable and moving film. I recommend.