POIGNANT POETRY ON SILVER SCREEN - Revisiting EK DUJE KE LIYE

The beaches of GOA are witness to the tragic love story of the waves and the rocks. A story which often ends in a violent splash. The camera then climbs up the stairs to a completely deserted fort with haunted interiors chuckling with the voice of a man and a woman deep in love with each other. We hear them talk about how they would want their love story to make history. The camera shifts to "वासू सपना " written with chalk on the rocks, walls and sands of the wet and slippery Goan terrain। I haven't seen an opening sequence as haunted with love as this one. The build up to what went on to become one of the greatest tales of love in Indian film history is simply irresistible.

But before we continue writing an ODE to this ODE of a movie, We should first know why the author of this post watched this movie after a long long time. It all began when Notting Hill was played for the nth time on my computer and the lover of Indian cinema in me rose in curiosity trying to figure out the names of equally good Indian romance films. There were plenty which came to mind - Dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge, Qayamat se Qayamat tak, Punnagai Mannan, Bobby and some others too. Looking into the nuances of each of these films, I realised that all these movies have in them some aspect or the other of One Single Romance film made by Prasad studios in 1981. The Mother Of all Twisted Tales Of Love. The quintessential romance saga. The most poetic set of romantic sequences ever scripted on screen. A movie whose very title is the most accurate definition of what love is all about. EK DUJE KE LIYE. एक दूजे के लिये । And I set about watching this brilliant piece of film making. I was literally reading the poem being enacted on screen. Here are a few thoughts about one of the most beautiful cinema I've ever come across.

Ek duje ke liye is like a compilation of all the K.BALACHANDER SYMBOLISMS that exist. There is communication between the lovers through night lamps switching on and off, clothes being banged on the washing stone, dogs barking and books being dusted. There is tea and coffee - the allegoric equivalents of the lives of two women in love with the same man and they get it wrong in the restaurant only to exchange with a typical K.BALACHANDERISH dialogue closely following. There is the Saree falling off the rocks and into the sea showing that the woman is being raped. There is a morphed naked pic shown by a local rowdy to the heroine showing lust. There is playing around with the bindi on the forehead to show the alternating emotional feelings of a widow. And then there is Bharatanatyam to show frustration, anger, love, disappointment, and every other human emotion.

All this apart, EK Duje Ke Liye is also the birth place of all the present cliches of Indian Love stories. This was where it all started - what now has been repeated n million times on screen was once a set of very imaginative ideas.The lovers getting lost on a trip and returning together(ddlj). The lovers having parents with basic difference in ideology and hatred towards each others cast and language.(mani ratnam's Bombay,x,y,z,n,) The lovers being asked to spend an year without seeing each other(suri,etc). The lovers misunderstanding each other thanks to unfortunate events.(every other love story) The lovers dying in the end of the story just when everything is almost in shape for a wonderful future. (aamir juhi - qsqt, and others).

And unlike its soul less successors the tragedy in the climax is not just for the sake of it. It goes with the flow and the mood of the movie and wrecks every nerve which watches the film. There is multiple irony towards the end of the film and that is probably the most difficult thing to write.

And, In between all this great direction and script writing is ONE rocker of an acting performance. A mega display of end less talent. From this gem of an actor called KAMAL HAASAN. The man is totally into the role. Beautifully essaying the part of a tamilian trying to learn hindi. A man mad in love, torn in between reality and passion. Fighting for love and survival of the love. Kamal does a class act. Apart from his absolutely superior emoting skills, Kamal shows off the gymnast in him and also does some daredevil stunts on the BULLET bike. His dance is a treat to watch as always. The polyglot in him comes to the fore in the scene just before the climax where kamal effortlessly essays dialogues in all existing forms of Hindi in perfect accent. All this, just 6 years into acting as male lead. The man is a genius for sure.

However any tribute to this movie would be incomplete without the mention of two more names. Two people who have got together to give 5 absolutely unforgettable melodies. Laxmikanth and Pyarelal in what probably is the most dynamic work of an all-blues composition for a hindi album. Starting with the eponymous track of hum bane tum bane and moving to the spell binding Lata Mangeshkar class act in Tere Mere Beech me and solah baras ki bali umariya, There is romanctic divinity all around. There is also vintage SP Balasubramaniyam in the very imaginative Lift song - The song of titles - Satyam Shivam sundaram - a high flair song with text full of names of hindi films alone.

The film ends with lines which are probably the best thing K.Balachander could do to round off his greatest tribute to ROMANCE. "प्यार एक अजीब सी भाषा है। यहाँ जीतने वाले को कहते हैं हार गया और हारने वाले को कहते हैं जीत गया। इसमे जीतने वाले शादी कर लेते हैं और हारने वाले एक दूजे के लिये जान देकर अमर हो जाते हैं."