Utsav

Utsav review :

Based on the famous Sanskrit drama called 'Mruchhkatikam', Utsav was an erotic drama directed by theatre veteran Girish Karnad and produced by Shashi Kapoor. It was on offbeat film with plenty of erotica shot very aesthetically. Newcomer Shekhar Suman had an elaborate love making scene with the gorgeous Rekha. Anuradha Patel and Rekha's sensuous 'aadhi raat' number hinted at lesbianism. Shashi Kapoor was miscast as the villainous king lusting after Rekha. The role was initially offered to Amitabh Bachchan who turned it down.

Overall, Utsav was too arty and abstract to find an audience in the '80s. A complete box office disaster released at Metro Cinema, Mumbai.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

The period painted by the director, art director and the cinematographer is utterly convincing. You simply surrender. Sharad Joshi's dialogue is delightful. Music is just as convincing for the period. Great movie making.

I saw this movie a very long time ago and it was quite controversial when it was released, because of the erotic scenes. The movie is not at all vulgar, there is a beauty to even the adult scenes and it shows how open minded India was at that period.

Rekha is fantastic in her portrayal of Vasantasena, the courtesan whom the entire Kingdom desires. Shashi Kapoor as the evil minister was also good. Shekhar Suman was cast probably for his innocent looks at that time. Amjad Khan as Vatsyana is hilarious. Rest of the cast are also good.

The music is phenomenal. It's sad that the core message of the movie was lost on the masses.

The best part of the movie for me was the last scene which I will not reveal here.

Directed by Girish Karnad, this movie is a pure delight to watch. Within a comparatively small budget, the director, has managed to recreate the period atmosphere of the Gupta age complete with lavish sets and costumes. Competent performances by all and some incredible music by Laxmikant Pyarelal's songs like Saanjh Dale, Man kyun Behaka, Neelam pe naleh chhaye have been wonderfully choreographed. What made this movie thoroughly enjoyable were the delightful characters: Courtesans, Musicians, Burglars, revolutionaries etc all cleverly inter-woven in this wonderful story of Vasantsena, played by Rekha, seen through the eyes of Vatsyayana the author of "Kamasutra".

Rekha's performance as Vasantsena is marvellous. It is a classic movie about eroticism told in a non-titillating way. For example in the scene where Vasantsena takes off her ornaments with the aid of Charudutt is one of the most poetic eroticism I have ever seen.

Enjoy...

I saw this movie yesterday and felt that the roles of Amjad Khan were underdeveloped, both as the narrator and as Vatsyayana. He is introduced as narrator but does not do anything after that. He then comes up as Vatsyayana but is lost after a few scene. I thought Vatsyayana could have been a recurring motif for the movie- just to highlight the eroticism of the times in the Gupta age, called the Golden Age of India.

Acting wise, Rekha is superb, nearly phenomenal! Debutant Shekhar Suman displays the nervousness of a now-poor man who is being seduced by a famous and rich courtesan- but he lacks screen presence, an obvious side effect. As a rookie and that too in front of Rekha, he would naturally have been nervous! The most curious case was that of Shashi Kapoor's Sansthanak- a role he would never have played anywhere else and something that Akhilendra Mishra's (aka Kroor Singh of Chandrakanta) of today would feel more comfortable playing! Still his acting needs to be commended- I noticed only really late that this was SHASHI KAPOOR!

Overall, the feeling was that while it was good, it could have been even better.