Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda

We, in Denmark, began daylight saving today – March 28, 2010. What this basically means is that our clocks will now be set to an hour ahead. It is curious how this day coincided with my viewing of Shyam Benegal's 'Suraj ka saatwa ghoda' (The seventh steed of the sun) last night. Based on a Hindi novella by the same name by Dr. Dharamvir Bharti's, the movie starts with Raghuvir Yadav introducing us to a few afternoons from his life where he knew a man called Manek Mulla (Rajit Kapur in his debut venture). Manek, we are told, was a master story-teller. A man who could blur out the distinct lines between reality and fiction purely by his talent at peppering his tales with metaphors aplenty. Working with the railways department, Manek had acquired the knack of keeping the three young men (of which Yadav is one too) occupied during lazy afternoons with his tales of love, deception, social imbalance and immorality within the lower middle classes of India.

So, with this premise, a question is thrown – 'Should love stories be built at being relevant to the socio-economic growth of a society?' A bizarre, albeit thought-provoking, reference is made to the literary importance of 'Devdas' where, Manek says, there is no room for any sort of social relevance or optimism towards love as a public emotion. A definition, he claims, is what makes love so wonderful. Its lack of being a private, mysterious and almost forbidden concoction. So, in an effort to tell a tale of love lost connected with the complex fabric of social strata, he starts speaking of Jamuna. He speaks of how he was in school back then and Jamuna, the attractive next door girl, was in love with Tanna, another neighborhood fellow. Jamuna's and Tanna's love story was dated given the venomous relationships the two families shared due to lack of consistency in the Indian economic balance. As a result of this, Tanna is married off to a more educated Lily and Jamuna ends up with an old man knocking on the door of his grave.

As you might have realized, there is nothing new or refreshing with this piece. What starts making this short story more interesting, is the way Manek describes his role in it and carefully begins to uncurl the tiny strands that were knotted during the narration of the aforementioned tale. For instance, the fact that Jamuna is unable to conceive from her old-man husband and so chooses to go on a bizarre religiously aligned but emotionally maligned detour with the tonga-wallah is brought to surface. Also, the fact that the girl Tanna ends up with – Lily – actually was Manek's love/friendship interest and how a mutual separation was finalized in both their interests is unearthed. Connected to this colorful mix as well, is the story of Tanna's lusty father (Amrish Puri in a truly memorable role as Mahesar Dalal) and his wile desires towards the lowly gypsy-woman Satti (Neena Gupta) who befriends Manek purely for his intellectual skills. Her eventual fate against an adamant Mahesar Dalal and the decisions young Manek makes form the twisting portions of the climactic sequences. All of these is documented from various angles aimed at the same scene. So, it isn't so much that Manek is narrating different short stories but essentially narrating just one story but from the perspectives of various characters in them. In some of them, the characters seem like the victims, while when seen from the view of another person's tale, the same character in the same scene will suddenly appear to have acquired some gray shades. Shades one would see in a predator. Truly – if a movie can accomplish this level of intellectual worth, then it has truly defined itself as the best example of cinema.

What makes this movie greater in its worth is the fact that such a unique feat was written by Dr. Bharti in the 70s and narrated by Benegal in early 90s! Today we sit in awe at the intermingling of multiple stories in Hollywood and, of course, in their remade versions within Bollywood, and applaud them as being 'masterpieces'. But to compare this work to any of these would be nothing short of a huge disservice. In fact, I would call 'Suraj ka...' a work of meta fiction which successfully attempts to expose the fictional aspect of the illusive world woven by Manek Mulla.

I also read some reviews that compared Manek's character to that of the holy trinity in Hindu mythology – Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar – and as to how he slips into these roles, albeit with varying degrees of subtlety. In the first tale with Jamuna, Manek is Brahma, the creator of a relationship that he knew was meant to be doomed. In the second tale with Lily, he became Vishnu, the preserver of her sanctity and an upholder of a more mature and practical relationship. In the final tale with Satti, he turned into the destroyer – Maheshwar – who ended up putting an end to what could have possibly been the redeeming factor of his life. I suppose it is in spectacular interpretations like these, that 'Suraj ka...' stands out as a truly unique piece of work.

When the movie was released that time people did not watch that kind of movies.I watched today and I would say this was the performance by rajit Kapoor underrated actor ..

Shyam Benegal directs this 1993 film based on Bharti's Hindi novel. The highly experienced cast and talented production team manage to cook up a rich tapestry of semi-dream-like experiences of a young man, entering into adulthood. Using a story-teller mosaic, the narrator (Rajat Kapur) goes back and forth over the lives of 3 women whom he was involved with in his high-school and early college.

Simple-minded country bumpkins do lead colorful complicated lives filled with drama and intensity. Surely but occasionally. Mostly not as it is shown here. There's somewhat of a mismatch between the rural atmosphere and the refined, educated, urbane, clean-cut protagonist. That cavalier attitude of his ('Look, I've arrived') doesn't give it away, rather it only serves to confound. Benegal conditions you from the very start not to expect great drama until the very end. Watching the dead-pan account with an equally dead-pan expression is all you can do. Use of purist as opposed to colloquial Hindi fails to have the desired effect. Could be due to Benegal's early background in documentaries for Films Division, NFDC, 'Door'darshan, et al.

If one watches such movies at a theater, it will either be mostly empty to start with, or mostly empty within 10 min., or most certainly mostly empty halfway thru i.e you can sit anywhere post-interval and munch on your popcorn. Audiences thumb it down, and the producers foolishly tell themselves its because viewers are illiterate, they don't get it, etc.

No doubt the screenplay, direction, photography, etc are all top-notch. But if there's no drama and not much entertainment, why blame viewers? Style alone can't substitute for substance.

The movie made no ripples at the box-office and disappeared without a trace (can't blame that on Shahrukh-Madhuri). Left a lot to be desired by way of suggestibility (not suspense, go figure!)

I saw this movie about a year back and was really impressed by Benegal. I am not much of a reviewer, and decided to submit a review only because i was appalled by the reviews this movie has got here. This movie definitely deserves a watch, at least by all Indians. The screenplay was brilliant, the plot unfolds slowly and beautifully and you start feeling for the characters. The performances are brilliant, Nina Gupta and Amrish Puri being the most impressive. The direction and photography are flawless and clearly show why Benegal is so respected. Overall, the movie was entertaining and thought-provoking and definitely one of the best Hindi movies i have ever seen. And i can say i loved it more than several top 250 IMDb movies.

The Hindi, i agree, might be a little difficult to understand at times, but let it not bother you, or still better, use subtitles.

What worked:

• the screenplay and storytelling; it's one of those movies which touches you instantly as you go through the movie. The mood, setting and the narrative is balanced and tells the story with sub layers and each with a separate but intertwined theme. I am especially impressed by the way story unfolds, the narrator narrating the stories and he is somehow present in all these stories. Also, the use of vantage point to explore the characters' individual perspective is so clever and smart. I am hugely satisfied with the time of the movie, made me relate to the story although it's set in different time zone. And of course the songs , they are awesome.
• strong performances; Rajit Kapoor, Amrish Puri and Neena Gupta stole the show. It's so satisfying to see such a phenomenal performances. And of course, Shyam Benegal, for me , it's one of his finest movie. Overall production team deserves the praise.
• multiple interpretations and analysis; the movie questions our definition of love, marriage in a society with different socioeconomic status in a linear focus. Many instances of the movie shows the characters interpretation about love, events in life and human behaviors.The movie also is a metaphorical satire. Each set of stories has a weak, strong and confused character. As a psychological enthusiast, the movie is filled with many references in the field.The title was of the movie is explained at the end of the movie, and it does make sense.

Final verdict: highly recommended.