Confluência

Who can forget "Dost Dost Na Raha," Bol Radha Bol Sangam Hoga Ke Nahin," "O Mere Sanam, O Mere Sanam" and "Mein Kya Karron Ram Mujhe Budha Milgaya" all excellent, meaningful songs with so much emotion from the playback singers, Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Mohd. Rafi, Mahendra Kapoor and Hemant Kumar with "I Love You." Sunder, an illiterate and poor boy, Gopal, rich and a millionaire's son and Radha, also from a rich family, are childhood friends and play games together but Gopal and Radha, oblivious to Sunder, love each other until one day he sees them playing a game in which Gopal purchases a toy House for Radha. He's furious and decides to purchase a toy aircraft in which he promises Radha that he will show her the world. After a while Radha tries to make him realise that she doesn't love him - but he's still oblivious to this and in turn gets hurt by and decides to join the air force. In the meantime, Radha and Gopal's parents decide that its time for their spouses to get married.

Raj Kapoor's "Sangam," which was first released in the mid 1960's changed Hindi cinema. Not was it only one of the first Hindi films in a long time to be produced in colour after Mehboob Khan's "Aan," but it was also filmed in places like France and Switzerland. This was also one of the first love - triangle stories. The music by Shankar - Jaikishen is still memorable today as are all the songs in the movie. The acting by the three - Raj Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayantimala, is also superb and involves a lot of expressions and emotions. There have been a lot of love - triangle stories after this but not one of them have match it. This is definitely one film that can be viewed over and over again. The other actor who does make a brief appearance in the film is Raj Kapoor's eldest son, Randhir Kapoor, father of Karishma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor.

For a matter of interest, the late Raj Kapoor and the late Rajendra Kumar were good friends, not just on screen, but of it as well. Rajendra Kumar's son, Kumar Gaurav, whose first film was "Love Story," was engaged to Raj Kapoor's daughter but the engagement broke and he married Namrata Dutt - daughter of actor Sunil Dutt and Nargis, whose son is Sanjay Dutt, famous for his roles in "Munnabhai M.B.B.S" and "Lage Raho Munnabhai." Nargis, as an actress, had also worked with the late Raj Kapoor in movies like "Barsaat", "Awara", "Aah", "Aag" and "Shree 420." The pair made such a good couple on the screen that there were rumours of them being romantically involved. Today, Raj Kapoor's grandson, Ranbir, son of Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, has made his debut in Sanjay Leela Bansali's "Saawariya" and has also said to have kept his name as "Ranbir Raj Kapoor."

The story is a little contrived and the acting melodramatic, but the songs make the movie. The songs are really very well situated amidst the beautiful and breathtaking scenery. Vyjantimala's spontaneous dance in the European hotel has never really been successfully duplicated in Indian cinema. It is a classic that was shot in one take I believe. The songs are really and truly memorable and are still heard today in the collections of Mukesh. Also, Raj Kapoor's acting was so effortless and natural in the boat scene where he captures Vyjanitmala and pulls her into his boat. The song is Mehbooba and is terrific. Another excellent song is Mere Prem Patra and the location shot is absolutely stunning and very colorful.

Indeed, a love triangle with two friends falling for one beautiful lady is one of the most tedious plotlines and not just in India, but this one is different thanks mainly to the script and Kapoor's excellent direction. In Kapoor's able hands, what could have been a bland love story becomes a poignant story of love and sacrifice, a true portrait of friendship and marital conflict, and altogether pure classic entertainment. It's not perfect - some of the parts, particularly in the first half, including the entire track of Kapoor's character disappearing, being mistaken for dead and then reappearing in the most predictably convoluted of film twists - just don't ring true. Then the usual naiveté of his character and him not ever realising that she doesn't love him got on the nerves. One also wishes the film was just a little bit shorter, although it's a petty complaint, particularly for a Hindi film. The film's runtime is more or less decent for the story it tells but then the show is so engaging and entertaining that not much patience is required for the most part even if some parts drag a bit.

The reason that some of the flaws are easily forgiven is that Sangam is greater than the sum of its parts. It might be great in the eyes of many viewers for reasons related to its nostalgic value, but I dare any uninvolved party to dismiss its technical brilliance. Some of the shots are just breathtaking and too good to be true (for the time when it was filmed). The sound is as great and the high production values, coupled with the beautiful sets, costumes, and the overall quality feel of the film, make for a true visual treat. But it's not just all gloss, the film is meaningful and substantial in its emotional effect, some of the dialogues are phenomenal, particularly when the drama grows. And it indeed grows in the second half, much to the point of looking like a different film in each of its virtual episodes. Even the songs, pure classics of Indian cinema including "Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega", "Bol Radha Bol", "Ye Mera Prem Patra", "O Mehbooba", "Buddha Mil Gaya", and "Dost Dost Na Raha" - all fantastic and beautifully shot, but they contribute to the narrative and are always situationally relevant.

As a mainstream Hindi film made at a time when films started gradually losing their sense of realism, often relying more on the melo- than the -drama, the film still manages to tread that fine line to create a film that is as credible as it is sentimental. The actors, as part of this deliberate choice of style, work well opposite one another. Raj Kapoor is better as a director here but acts well although something in his lack of awareness of the girl's feelings towards him (or lack thereof) was annoying. His initial demeanor explained in a way why she didn't want him, but similarly his change explained her change of heart. Rajendra Kumar is the more interesting, reserved character, and he is excellent in a heartbreaking performance. Obviously though, it is Vyjayanthimala who steals the show as the centre of attention - the love interest, the lover, the conflicted wife. Her transformation throughout the story is the most interesting, and she shines all through. By the end, despite all the melodrama, I was surprised by how moved I was and how deep and affecting the story turned out to be. A Raj Kapoor classic.

When I first saw Sangam back in 1965 on its initial release in Malaysia, I was a young boy whose deep impressions of the film was the lady in a white sari. I saw it again in 1974 on its re release. For the second viewing, it was the music and the songs. Unfortunately I had seen "Bobby" by then and thought all the three leads looked far too matured for the "teenage" and "young" characters they were playing on screen. But that was the trend of those bygone days when older actors played younger roles. It is rare for any musical that every single tune is as enduring to the ears as in Sangam. Only "My Fair Lady' "The Sound Of Music" and "Bobby" (1973) comes to mind. Since then with the convenience of television and now the DVD I had seen watched it once every few years and I revisited the film again last night. The male bonding and the sacrifice of Rajendra Kumar is very Asian and may well be on its way to be extinct. This sense of Asian obligation and moral value was and to some extend still is prevalent is a sense of maintaining a status quo and not rock the boat in a bad situation for want of not turning it worse. It is not a wrong or right decision. Everything that needs to be said about the acting, about the cinematography and its importance in Hindi cinema by taking the musical numbers out of the studios to exotic locations has been elaborated in these pages. What strikes me is the way in which Raj Kapoor with the use of music and only three principal characters hold our attention for more than three hours. All other characters appear briefly solely for narrative development. Although it is not a masterpiece, it is an enduring example of a simple love story (which has been done a million times over); with its chemistry between the characters and its music does not seem dated and still shine above others more than 40 years after its premier.

Goodness knows I am no expert on Bollywood movies but I loved this when it popped up on Netflix.

Endlessly attractive, entertaining and wryly humourous, its near four hours didn't seem too long at all. Even the song-and-dance routines (which I normally find cheesy and irritating in Bollywood movies) were impressive with excellent music.

I thoroughly understand why this movie is considered a classic and am very pleased to have expended (a lot!) of my time on it!