Koshish

'Koshish' tells the heartwarming story of a deaf woman Aarti and a deaf man Hari. What happens when a deaf man and a deaf woman fall in love? What follows is a story. Through the ups and downs of life, Aarti and Hari move passed all obstacles to make a home for themselves. Only Gulzar can tell a story so beautifully. The artiste put a lot of soul into the making of this moving piece of cinema and this is obvious in the tenderness and sensibility of the movie. 'Koshish' is both poetic and realistic. He introduces the school of the deaf and briefly portrays the life of the deaf and blind but he does not go overboard as he returns to the two main characters and continues their story. Gulzar's execution and writing is outstanding. There's a beautifully poetic scene set on the beach where Aarti and Hari describe the sunset to a blind Uncle Narayan. Then there's a chilling sequence set during a rainy night when Kanu breaks in his sister's house to steal her necklace and what follows is a tragic outcome. Gulzar's background score flows beautifully with the film. Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri share a lovely chemistry and act very naturally giving us memorable performances. These two are always known to have a great on screen chemistry and in 'Koshish' their acting depends on body language more than anything. Yet, they seem to pull it off with ease. Dina Pathak too is excellent as the supportive mother and Asrani is quite good. My only complaint would be to avoid the song at the school function. This sequence does not add much and it only hinders the constant flow of the screenplay. Nonetheless, this is only a minor flaw and 'Koshish' remains a beautiful story of love, courage, survival and life.

Koshish is also a research and rights based organization, the focus has been particularly on Women and children keeping in view the vulnerabilities they have in conflict zones. A rights-based approach ensures that entitlements are available to all children without any discrimination. Koshish has conducted several studies in some of the remotest areas of the valley, which have shown interesting insights and the need for these issues be highlighted.

One of Gulzar's finest works (well, in his case every film is one of the finest) is called Koshish. This is a realistic tale of a deaf couple, played to perfection by Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri. The film shows how handicapped and limited people learn to live life to the fullest despite and against their difficulties and defects. They suffer but they love life and try to see their cup as half full. The film follows their life experiences during a period of 25 years or so, presenting their fears, their love, their ups and downs, and their struggle with the tough reality, always overcoming the obstacles with a smile.

Only two hours long, this cinematic piece is thoroughly beautiful and moving. Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri bring two accomplished performances much ahead of those years, played with impressive simplicity and ease. Kumar leads the show, and Bhaduri provides great support. Dina Pathak is also very compelling as Jaya's mother. The film has several heart-breaking moments, which I won't reveal here. It may seem too dark at points. It is naturally devoid of songs or comedy and is very focused, which makes it a tad too serious, but it's artistic and brilliant and should appeal to any sensitive cine-goer.

It is a strange love story of deaf and dumb couple but still it is more expressive than any other love story. It is not all about their dignity to live proudly but it also touches the emotional side of this unique couple. It also represent the struggle of deaf and dumb couple to live a comfortable life style.

This is third movie of Gulzar which I watched after Andhi and Machis. Gulzar is changing my views on Indian cinema by some superb writings and directions. Now I am looking forward to Ijaazat, Mausam and Khushboo.

And yes Sanjeev must be mentioned because of his splendid performance as a Haricharan. He and Jaya makes the movie more beautiful and emotional.

Have high regard for Gulzar the lyricist, write and director. But his best works came after this debut film. This one though, just like the title, is just a 'Koshish' (an effort), albeit an appreciable one, given the theme he dealt with. But the story kept meandering with loose ends.