This film is like Phool Bane Angaarey. Both are bad films starring the divine Rekha and both give her quite a decent role, though this film is slightly better in my view. It's funny that in the 1980s Rekha played so many times women much ahead of her age; she played women who are 40 plus at her own twenties. One example is Vijeta, the other is Baseraa, and the list goes on. And in the 1990s, she played young women at her own forties. She demanded leading roles, and though her roles were demanding, her talent was criminally wasted in some incredibly terrible low-budget films no one even bothered to watch. The problem is the standard of Hindi cinema: women at their forties best qualify for mother roles. Rekha courageously protested. She knew what she wanted, and if it meant she had to satisfy her artistic hunger in Z-grade films, so be it. And this is one of these films.
This film follows the story of Rekha's character through a span of 20 years. It is a good role for her. She plays a woman who has suffered a lot and her character goes through many phases: a young poor bride who is molested by both her husband's friend and brother; a hard-working wife who takes care of her paralysed husband; a rape victim; a widow; an admired political leader; a woman who is sentenced for execution for murdering three men. Actually, it starts with the end, and Rekha's character tells her entire life story in court. Rekha was fantastic in her role and believable in every shade her character went through. She is presented as the epitome of goodness, a modest woman who is a real heroine. It's evident that she doesn't care for the film but for the role, and that's the greatest thing about this performance.
Otherwise the film does not work in any aspect. I watched it for Rekha and liked it because of Rekha and write this comment for Rekha. It also stars Mithun Chakraborty, in a very different role, who provides great support. They are two good actors who make this film better than it would have been, but they can't really make it good. Toward the end it pathetically turns into fantasy, and funnily it is done in the most dramatic way, as if it was common for a woman to jump like a kangaroo and lift a huge fat man. Anyway, I was saddened by the tragic ending, and after all did feel the film made some impact on me, although I know that the one responsible for this is Rekha.
