Prem Rog

Review By Kamal K

Very Powerful movie, i say..MUST watch.. No wonder why Rishi kapoor ji was a Heartthrob..Watching him is always a delight.. Beautiful story line.. And superb acting, Innocence of Rishi ji and Padmini ji stole the show.. I hv seen this movie multiple times.

This movie was way ahead of the times. It requires an immense amount of intellect to appreciate the undertones. Socialism, culture, love, abuse, feminism and self respect embroiled into one stunning movie. It swept the floor at the National Awards, with a powerhouse performance from Padmini, but equally great performance from Rishi. Problem is that Rishi acts so effortlessly that he makes it look easy and always gets overlooked by Awards.

The movie is directed to utter perfection, the songs, cinematography and script is second to none. They can't make anything like this again. My favourite scene is near the finale during the village power blackout and confrontation between Rishi & Shammi, the dialogue which turns all the lights back on still gives me goosebumps.

The writing on the wall is clear - "Prem Rog" qualifies to be the weakest link under the baton of the "Showman". Raj Kapoor fans will be disappointed with this outing.

The plot attempts to work on two levels namely realise true love and societal reforms, sadly it fails on both fronts. As I followed the narrative I felt that even Raj Kapoor realised that its not working and the nonchalant factor in the proceedings is apparent. The plot is preachy and clearly outdated for the time it was made.

Rishi Kapoor attempts to give his best shot to portray a idealist/ reformist but maybe some other actor without baggage would have been better. Padmini was a bad choice, again a fresh face could have given depth to the character who exuberates innocence and pain. The rest of the star-cast was adequate.

Music and lyrics are the only strong points of "Prem Rog". Raj Kapoor got Suresh Wadkar into the fold of RK banner. Lata as usual was at her melodious best.

This was one of Raj Kapoor's successful attempts at combining entertainment with social themes. The film is long but generally earns its length by dealing in some detail with the issue of widow remarriage. The film is basically a star vehicle for Padmini Kolhapure who is equal to the task. She is innocence personified in the first half and successfully shows a mature side later in the film. Rishi Kapoor is decent as usual while Shammi Kapoor is fine in a supporting role. The villains are mostly caricatures and the romantic scenes tend to drag on a bit. Some of the songs could have been cut. Still it's a good watch and one of Raj Kapoor's best films late in his career.

Overall 7/10

Two things that stand out are Cinematography by Radhu Karmarkar, this is probably the most astounding Cinematography I have seen in an Indian movie other than "Sangam". Then there are the most gorgeous sets ever seen in an Indian Film (Rangaraj). This was one of the last movie's by the venerable Raj Kapoor, who wanted to paint a love story on a rich Canvas. His let down is the Cast, Rishi Kapoor was probably a better actor in his later years, here is a flop with no Screen presence, where as Padmini Kholapure is mediocre with very mechanical motion in her dance numbers. There are too many characters with too many lines and very few to make any impact. This is the only Raj Kapoor movie that I had to fast-wind ever. Other mainstay of his movies was the music by the Maestro's of melody, Shankar-Jaikishan, which is obviously lacking by their absence. The Raj Kapoor magic for some reason was lost in this otherwise a Cinematographical masterpiece and a Visual treat.