Bemisal

Bemisaal is a 1982 movie directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The movie is quite different in comparison to previous movies of Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Movie has a complex story which tries to cover too many plots which i guess was bit unnecessary.One must watch this movie for 2 reasons. 1. Excellent acting by Amitabh Bachhan 2. Melodious songs of R.D Burman sung by Kishore Kumar and lataji. I enjoyed the main character of Amitabh and relationship of Rakhee and Amitabh Bachhan which probably never presented in any movie.Dialogues between Amitabh and Rakhee are awesome.

Major reason of failure of this movie at box office could be the complicated story line and no action. as it was expected in all Amitabh movies in that era.

I watched this movie today and would like to say that i was disappointed. The movie could have been better with a much tighter screenplay. The story is very haphazard and as a viewer i felt like a child lost in a big party. Acting was OK, cinematography was good, music was excellent but the story left a lot to be desired.

Amitabhs double role made no sense and did not add anything to the story. In fact, it diverted the story from its main topic that of how in the hope of trying to make quick buck you can lose your humanity and sense. The movie needed to delve deeper in the inner conflict faced by Vinod Mehra, Big B and Rakhee but it does not dig deeper into the main theme which would have made the movie much more gripping and thought provoking. The theme chosen by Hrishida was good but cant say the same about the execution. I think the stardom of Big B forced the makers to modify the original story and add extra Big B scenes which, in my opinion, just killed the real theme they wanted to explore.

The biggest disappointment is the movie comes from my fav director Hrishi da but is no where near the class of movies like Anand, Bawarchi, Namak Haraam, Golmaal etc.

This is different movie unlike other commercial movies. Story is the real sole with good direction by Hrishikesh mukharjee. All actors performed well, music exceptional.

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.

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.