Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda

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.

I don't usually write reviews on films, whether I have liked the movie or not, but when I tried to search the best film I have ever seen I was shocked to notice that there was only one review for this movie and to add more to it the rating of this movie which probably should have been higher.

Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda title comes from the story of the seventh horse of the Sun's chariot, which is the weakest and youngest of the horses but goes on to become the driving horse of the chariot. The movie is about love seen from men's perspective at different situations.

The film is presented as a flashback of an artist, Raghuvir Yadav, who remembers the master raconteur Manik Mulla (Rajit Kapoor). In Allahabad, every evening, the bachelor Manik Mulla tells stories to a group of friends at his house. Over two evenings, he tells his friends three different stories of his love affairs to define what love is all about. These three stories are independent stories about three different women with whom Manik had relationships, first as pre-pubescent boy, then an adolescent and lastly as a mature adult. After each story, the friends discuss about the human traits and the definition of love. You are then surprised to notice that these stories were happening at the same time. The protagonist, Manik, is shown as an escapist in all his affairs. Each story is amazingly intertwined with the notion of love, romance and separation. The presence of the same characters in all the stories makes it the most amazing.

The way the film ends where in the raconteur, Manik just vanishes away, and in the process, a writer(Raghuvir Yadav) is born, makes it a classic. Its an ideal example of film-making. All the supporting cast for the film is fabulous.

This film is an adaption of Dharmvir Bharti's classic by the same name.

The movie revolves around the romantic involvement of the protagonist -- Manik Mulla (brilliantly essayed by Rajit Kapur) with three women from different strata of India's social hierarchy: the lower-caste, the middle class, the intelligentsia. The movie is consequently laid out in three parts which are excellently woven together to form a wonderful story with lyrically humorous dialog and excellent performances. Shyam Benegal's direction is flawless and one can notice the characteristic complexities he infuses into his characters. Also, typical of Benegal, is the portrayal of the family co-existing synchronously with society and the protagonist in a perpetual surrealistic state of mind. The finale will leave you dazed and in awe of Benegal's story-telling prowess.

Manik Mulla (played by Rajit Kapoor) mesmerizes his listeners with his thoughts about love being disciplined on economic restrictions. The direction is mind blowing . The way the stories are connected is just superb, every story portrays manik mulla as central character , how his life takes shapes as he comes across three girls at different stages of his life... In the end there are definite conclusions (with little socialist angle ) The language in the movie is so pure and serene , it inspires to learn Hindi vocab. I have seen this movie several times .. there is a nice song in it too..

A must see if you like art movie , I bet you will fall in love with the characters as you see them.

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 ..