Bemisal

Review By Kamal K

Awesome movie...I don't know why it flopped then..probably too many sub plots which are not well knit with each other..and masses could not relate to a different Amitabh Bachhan...who was the tallest(no pun intended) actor walking in India then..but super acting by Big B... and great music by Pancham da.

Bemisal review :

By the '80s, the angry young man tag was so synonymous with Amitabh Bachchan that the audience was unwilling to see him in any meek and mild avatar. As a result, some of his good films like Jurmana (1979), Silsila (1981) and Bemisal (1982) underperformed at the box office. In fact, Bemisal directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, had Bachchan in one of his best and highly underrated performance ever.

Based on Hrishi da's own Bengali movie Ami Se O Sakha (1975), Bemisaal was a poignant tale of a triangle between Bachchan, Rakhee and Vinod Mehra. As an orphan raised by Mehra's father, Amitabh not only sacrifices his love for Rakhee and gets her married to Vinod Mehra but eventually even takes the blame for an illegal abortion committed by Mehra.

R. D. Burman's scintillating music score complimented the scenic Kashmir locales beautifully. 'Yeh Kashmir hai' song became a chartbuster and it is still in my songlist. Another song which I love is 'Ek roz main tadapkar' picturised on Amitabh and Sheetal who got the chance of a lifetime to be his heroine though her role had negative shades.

Bemisal completed a silver jubilee at Mumbai's Opera House but was still called a box office flop as it didn't perform to Bachchan's high standards. The film is a must watch for his fans who will certainly enjoy seeing him in an emotional dual role.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

Hrishida's last film with Amitabh-Bemisaal was a Hindi remake of the Bangla film Ami Se O Shakha starring Uttam Kumar!

The film was based on a medical background and since my father was a doctor it became a favourite of his and our entire family. It looks as a suitable movie to end this golden team of Hrishida-Amitabh although I wish that they make some more movies. In an interview Hrishida revealed that once he had an argument with his good friend Raj Kapoor on human psyche. Raj Kapoor said that if one gives bread and shelter to a dog he always remains faithful but if u do the same to a man he will stab your back. Hrishida replied that it was not the same everytime and he said the plot of Bemisal proved that!

The script has shades of earlier Hrishida's classics Anand-medical profession and 2 friends who have different views on the profession and Namak Haram where also Amitabh takes the blame on something which he had not commited. It also has shades of Tere Mere Sapne. The story and screenplay of Bemisaal is amazing. The relationship between the 3 main characters is amazing. The friendship of Amitabh and Vinod, the romance of Raakhee and Vinod and above all the relationship between Amitabh and Raakhee are very well scripted and enacted. Hrishida repeated his team of Jurmaana-which had Amitabh bachchan, Raakhee and Vinod Mehra in lead. The movie released in 1982 has one of the best ever performances by Amitabh Bachchan. He is the lifeline of the movie. He excels in every scene and it is amazing to see him pump life in the complex character of Dr. Sudhir Rai. Surprisingly he did not had a proper action scene nor did he had a drunk or exactly comic sequence.

The performances by Vinod Mehra and Rakhee are also top notch. R. D. Burmans music lifts the film and all songs still remain popular!!

The movie was the least successful of the 6 Big B movies released in 1982. The other 5 being Namak Halaal, Khuddar, Shakti, Satte Pe satta and Desh Premee. Infact it did not do an impressive business but it remains a classic and was a huge favourite on the video circuit!!!

The year was 1982 and Amitabh was enjoying a blitz of super hits which catered for the masses. In the midst of all them is a film called Bemisal. Amitabh was not into parallel cinema and I think Bemisal was his little foray info it. The result is a confusing love triangle, peppered with self-sacrifice, lust and insanity. Amitabh looks uncomfortable and sullen in his role as a doctor grappling with his emotions for his best friend's wife. Vinod Mehra is his usual one dimensional diminutive self. This was one actor who knew how to play the underdog loser with such aplomb. Then there is Rakhee who plays the clueless wife who thinks Amitabh's affection for her is like a sister. Her character could have been developed much more but she tends to disappear once Amitabh switches his attention to Sheetal, the whip wielding seductress. Watch it if you must but I would rather spend the time watching satte pe satta, mahaan or suhaag. Amitabh at least looked comfortable doing those regular roles tailor made for him.

the movie is also bemisaal like its name. actually it is the story of the movie which makes it different from all other movies. this was a great year for amitabh with hits like "satte pe satta", "shakti" and "namak halal". bemisaal was not a big hit but of course critically acclaimed and it had two of the most finest gazals of that era. performance wise amitabh is unmatchable. it might not be one of the best movies of hrishikesh mukherjee but ofcourse it is a masterpiece vinod mehra has done justice to his role and so has rakhi. i rate this movie as 8.5/10.