Sarcasm aside, once I got past the irony of it all, I found SSS to be a fairly enjoyable film. There was lots of pretty things to look at. The story was interesting. I added Zeenat Aman and Shashi Kapoor to my list of actors I want to see more of. And I had my first taste of 70s Bollywood--which, by the way, is just as groovy as everyone says it is!
And, you know what? After watching the film, I think Raj Kapoor made the right choice for his heroine. Zeenat gave the role a mysterious, mesmerizing tone that perhaps only she could pull off. Yes, she was barely dressed and every movement she made was super-suggestive...But it kept you watching...and created a believeable backdrop for an otherwise unlikely tale. I mean, let's face it...only Zeenat's bronze curves prancing through the forest could make a man fall in love without even seeing her face (And by that I should clarify a man like Shashi Kapoor's Rangeev, who was self-admittedly hung up on physical appearances).
Now, I usually steer clear of plot summaries in my posts for two reasons: 1) I'm extremely bad at pulling out main ideas and 2)I'm afraid of going on a tangent and telling too much. But I'm beginning to think they might be helpful to those who have not seen the film and want to decide whether or not it is something they would like. So, I've decided to include a little plot synopsis in all of my posts from here on out. And I promise, I'll try to keep them as simple and brief as possible.
So, here goes: Rupa (Zeenat Aman) has been considered unlucky since the day she was born. She is an outcast, a lonely young girl with few friends and a father who considers her misfortune a curse. As a young girl, Rupa is burned in a cooking accident, which leaves one side of her face scarred. Villagers whisper that Rupa will never get married, and her father fears the same.
Enter Shashi Kapoor (Ranjeev), an engineer transported to Rupa's village to oversee construction of a dam. One morning, Ranjeev is lulled out of his quarters and into the forest by Rupa's enchanting voice, where he spies her volumptous image from afar. He pursues her relentlessly, never once seeing her scars (If the thought of Ranjeev meeting Rupa several times without noticing the side of her face seems impossible to you, just watch the movie. You'd never believe this would work, but it does. Way to go, Raj Kapoor). Ranjeev is head over heels for Rupa, and asks her father for her hand in marriage.
We start to hold out hope for Ranjeev and Rupa until we discover Ranjeev has a phobia for anything less than beautiful. In his own words, he "cannot tolerate any form of ugliness". Uh-oh. What happens when Ranjeev unveils his new bride? I won't reveal anything else, but the rest of the movie takes you down this path.
One nagging flaw in all of this: As the viewer, you seem to be the only one other than Ranjeev who notices how hot Rupa is. The rest of the town appears oblivious to this fact, which seems kind of ridiculous. Scar or no scar, Zeenat Aman is one sultry babe. It's like watching Marilyn Monroe walk through an army of soldiers without turning any heads.
Make no mistake, though--Zeenat Aman gave us more than sex appeal in her performance. I hadn't really seen her in anything, except for Laawaris, which I really didn't remember much about. I thought she was awesome here--the role gave her an opprotunity to take on many different shades to Rupa's personality, and she delivered every time. Her dancing was cool, too-- very snake-like and alluring. Check out this video of "Bhor Bhaye Panghat Pe" and you'll see what I mean (also be sure to notice Shashi's adorable face at 4:22).
In the 70s, men in the U.S. were drooling over Farrah Fawcett. I'll bet men everywhere else were fantasizing about Zeenat Aman in the waterfall.
I've heard that Satyam Shivam Sundaram did not sit well with some because Raj Kapoor flaunted Zeenat Aman's sex appeal to no end. This definitely spiced things up a bit, but I can see why some might be disturbed given the treatment of the main character. Personally, I chose not to overanalyze it, and I'm glad I didn't. It was worth my while to just sit back and enjoy the eye candy, because there was lots of it. As a matter of fact, the entire movie was colored with beauty, from Rupa to Ranjeev to the trippy "Chanchal Sheetal Nirmal Komal"(more on that later).
Ahh, but the real reason I bought Satyam Shivam Sundaram was because it starred Shashi Kapoor.
He's such a fan favorite, especially with my fellow bloggers (check out Sanket's awesome tribute), that I couldn't wait to get my hands on some of his films. In hindsight, this probably wasn't the best place to start, as Ranjeev wasn't the most likable character in the world, but...It just means I'll have to watch more of his films, right? Not that he didn't do a great job--I'm convinced that I would have hated Ranjeev if anyone else had played him. But Shashi had a sort of softness in his voice and smile (I loved the little nervous chuckle he did under his breath!), a boyish quality that caused me to blame his actions on immaturity rather than character. Like Rupa, I kept wanting to forgive him, kept trying to give him ways to redeem himself (***SPOILER***And he does redeem himself in the end--once he and Rupa end up together, I wiped his slate clean of all his past sins. I couldn't help it, because I honestly trusted that he would shape up and treat Rupa right from there on out***SPOILER END***).
Which brings me to the creme filling in Satyam Shivam Sundaram--the song that looks like it was inspired by a 70s acid trip, "Chanchal Sheetal Nirmal Komal". Seriously, I kept expecting little munchkins to pop out and join in on the song. Well, whatever RK was smoking, it did the trick, because this song is jam packed with visual goodies. And, as I've done with my other Raj Kapoor posts, I've included some pics for you...
As you can see, Satyam Shivam Sundaram made more of a visual impact on me than anything else. But it was still a decent film--and totally worth my time. Watch it for Zeenat, for Shashi, and for eye candy galore.
Text © 2008 Nida Nazir Bitten By Bollywood
