Ghulami

The film marked the debut of one the greatest film directors in Bollywood, JP Dutta.

It deals with the inequality of land ceilings in rural India. It focuses on a young boy who grows up to rebel against the cruel land owners, who have been ripping of poor farmers. Dharmendra delivers his greatest performance, aided fabulous performances by the supporting cast.

Technically, the movie is great like all JP Dutta films. The score is haunting. The dialogues by OP Dutta is brilliant. The screenplay is as detailed as you can get.

A movie that should not be missed by any movie fan.

Ghulami was the maiden venture of now well-known filmmaker, J.P. Dutta. It's a thought-provoking movie, baring the bitter truth of the slavery of the downtrodden Indian poor peasant to the heartless Indian caste system as well as poverty. The poor peasant (mainly belonging to a lower caste in the discriminatory caste system) takes birth in a loan which had been taken by his ancestors and dies in loan, leaving it for his next generation; his land and belongings are always under the threat of confiscation due to non-payment of the loan and worstly the honour of the ladies of his family is under constant threat from the lusty landlords, still enjoying the undesirable benefits of the feudalistic landownership system continuing for centuries in the rural India. On 15th August, 1947, our country got independence but the poor peasants are still accurst to bear the brunt of the slavery of the mighty.

Ghulami (1985) was the maiden directorial venture of J.P. Dutta whose story was written by his father, O.P. Dutta. He has presented the story of a well-educated and but full of self-respect peasant (Dharmendra) who unfortunately finds himself on the lower rung of the ladder of the social structure because of his birth. The daughter of the supercilious landlord, though, possesses a different nature and outlook and she (Smita Patil) is a close friend of him. The police of the village, as usual, is sold in the hands of the landlord (Om Shivpuri) and join hands with him and his arrogant and lustful sons (Bharat Kapoor and Mazhar Khan) to oppress and humiliate the already victimized by misusing the power of the uniform. A like-minded ex-serviceman (Mithun Chakraborty) join hands with him and a lower-caste kind-hearted Hawaldar (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) also comes to his side after losing his son in an confrontation with the upper caste and rich mighties who don't allow the lower caste grooms to ride a horse. The main protagonist has to become a bandit in the eyes of the law to save the land and the honour of the hundreds of peasants, leaving his pregnant wife (Reena Roy) behind. The husband of his friend (the landlord's daughter) is a senior police officer (Nasiruddin Shah) who also becomes his enemy on personal level after knowing about his friendship with his wife. The violence-ridden climax underscores this harsh reality only that the rebels die, the cruel and unjust system doesn't.

I am a Rajasthani, well-acquainted with the deserts there and therefore I acknowledge with high appreciation, the skill of J.P. Dutta in capturing the area in with finesse. The complete background and the milieu is highly realistic and impressive - the sand dunes, the Hawelis, the village lanes, the tattered houses of the poor and even the Police Chowki. The narrative is in complete synchronization with the milieu nowhere the movie renders an air of being an imaginary story. Almost everything looks real.

The narrative is spellbinding. Right from the very first frame to the very last frame, the movie is able to keep the viewer tied to his seat with his eyes glued to the screen. The screenplay swiftly moves from scene to scene and J.P. Dutta has demonstrated his better sense by keeping the movie completely free from meaningless comedy and unrealistic romance. The love-angles are touching, not titillating.

The music of Laxmikant Pyarelal the meaningful songs (only three) having been penned by Gulzar. The best one is definitely Jeehaal-e-Muskin Mukon Ba-Ranjish Bahaal-e-Hijra Bechaara Dil Hai (picturized on Mithun and his love-interest Anita Raj). Mere Pee Ko Pawan is an underrated excellent song. The third one is Pee Le Pee Le which is also good to listen and better to watch.

The impressive, meaningful and touching dialogues are another highlight of this movie. The production value is quite high and the cinematographer has marvelled in not only capturing the beauty of rural Rajasthan but also creating impact through the shadows in certain scenes.

J.P. Dutta possess the knack to extract the best from his caste. All the main characters - Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Nasiruddin Shah, Kulbhushan Kharbanda etc. have delivered their best. Leading ladies- Smita Patil, Reena Roy and Anita Raj also have done pretty well in their low-profile roles in this male-dominated movies. Supporting caste (Sulochana, Om Shivpuri, Bharat Kapoor, Mazhar Khan, Raza Murad etc.) has also done justice to the respective roles assigned. Except the over-the-top Anjan Shrvastav (the accountant of the landlord), all look flesh and blood human-beings.

Ghulami is an outstanding movie which was a box-office hit also. To understand the caste-ridden class-conflicts and related dynamics in India, this movie can be used just like a textbook.

Right from the opening scene of the movie till the end what you see is the most realistic protrayal of Ranjit Singh Chaudhary, the titular character of a village in Rajasthan,India. How he fights for equality and bondage free lives forms the story. Each character is perfectly chosen and enacted with even more finesse by the ensemble cast. The songs and the story keep haunting you for many days. Cinematography, dialogues, realistic locations, never boring plot make this one of the finest performances of Dharmendra's life.

After many years Dharmendra acted in a top class movie without his usual tom foolery. I have watched this movie 6-7 times and I don't tire watching it. The dialogues and emotions are heart rendering. The acting by each and every of the legendary cast were spot on. The social commentary of prejudice, injustice and discrimination that exists in our society is very bold and succinct. The songs are melodious with the evergreen "Zilhal-e-miskin" coming to memory. "Koi shaque nahin" what Mithun could do with a good script and great direction. "Thank you" to Kulbushan for one of his finest roles in his career. Smita Patel was very elegant both in looks and acting. Reena Roy and Anita Raaj were superb in their respective roles. To top it off the final scene was both poignant and symbolically perfect. Amitabh's narration in the end summed up the movie nicely. It's nearly 40 years since this movie was released but it is still relevant. I wished there were more movies of this caliber today.

With the presence of actors like Naseer, Smita Patil, Omshiv Puri, and 1980s, looks like an art movie. It is a tale beautifully told by debut director Dutta. Dialogues are amazing. Combination of stalwarts like Laxmikant Pyarelal and Gulzar to make songs has made the songs immortal. Not just the songs, even the background music of Laxmikant Pyarelal is evidence enough why the duo is best after Shankar Jaikishan. Although all actors have given phenomenal performances but Dharmendra is at his best. The way he has delivered the OP Dutta dialogues puts him ahead of even Naseer. Mithun is a very good addition to the main story line. Most outstanding is Dharmendra. There is something in the movie for everybody...plut it is a clean movie that you can see with your whole extended family.

Any rating less than 10 will mean under assessment of Dharmendra, Smita Patil, Lata Mangeshkar, JP Dutta, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Gulzar and beautiful photography of massive Landscapes of Beautiful desert of Rajasthan.