{"id":9502,"date":"2024-12-31T07:57:54","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T02:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=9502"},"modified":"2024-12-31T07:57:54","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T02:27:54","slug":"sangam-review-of-choices-and-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/sangam-review-of-choices-and-consequences\/","title":{"rendered":"Sangam \u2013 Of Choices and Consequences"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, one scene is enough to remind you of a director\u2019s brilliance. In Sangam,<\/em> that scene occurs more than mid-way through the film: Sundar (Raj Kapoor), whose jealousy is aroused by the knowledge that his wife had loved another man before their marriage, can neither accept her answer that it is in the past \u2013 \u201cJo beet gaya ek sapna tha\u201d, <\/em>nor can he [seemingly] understand that she\u2019s but human. \u201cKuchh aur nahin insaan hain hum,\u201d <\/em>she pleads, but Sundar is far beyond reasoning with. He spirals into a whirlpool of hurt, jealousy and rage that spills out in bitter taunts directed at his wife. He loves her, but it isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

\"Sangam

The darker side of love<\/p><\/div>\n

So, when Radha (Vyjayanthimala) tears up the fateful letter in aching despair and throws it out, Sundar waits until she leaves the room, then slips outside. He looks around furtively, then bends down and quickly picks up the fragments. Back inside, he tries unsuccessfully to piece them together again.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a chilling scene, showing how much jealousy can degrade a man. It is shot brilliantly (RK regular, Radhu Karmarkar); we, the audience, are on the inside looking out at Sundar, just as Radha is, her face mirroring the distress (and the anger) that we feel. While he <\/em>is looking inwards, aware of the depths he has plumbed. You can see it in his haggard look, in his distress, in his breaking down in anguish, the pieces of paper crumpling under his despairing palms. Who is he angry with? Radha? Himself?<\/p>\n

At one point, Radha pleads with him for understanding, for empathy. \u201cWhat do you see when you look into my eyes<\/em>?\u201d She begs. \u201cPyar aur sachchaii<\/em>,\u201d he admits. Love and Truth. But that isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

\"Sangam

When love is not enough<\/p><\/div>\n

Self-respecting Radha decides to leave. \u201cMat jaao, Radha.\u201d<\/em> Please don\u2019t go, pleads an agonised Sundar who can neither live with nor without her. There\u2019s both hurt and understanding in Radha\u2019s eyes as she responds, \u201cMujhse tumhaara dukh bardasht nahin hota.\u201d <\/em>(\u201cI can\u2019t bear your hurt.\u201d<\/em>) She has tried her best to save their marriage, but her best isn\u2019t enough either.<\/p>\n

Sangam<\/em> (1964) was Kapoor\u2019s first directorial venture in almost a decade; the last film he directed, Shree 420,<\/em> was released in 1955. Though conceptualised in the late 40s (Inder Raj Anand wrote the story, then titled Gharaonda,<\/em> around the time that Kapoor was filming Aag<\/em>), <\/em>the film did not take shape immediately. The world had changed in the intervening decade and a half. The nation-building ethos of the post-independence decade in which Kapoor made two of the most significant films in his filmography \u2013 Awara<\/em> and Shree 420<\/em> \u2013 had given way to the tumultuous sixties. It was the era of colour; of glitz, glamour, and excitement. People were ready to move on from the privations of the 40s and 50s. Cinema only reflected their aspirations.<\/p>\n

So, when Kapoor resurrected Sangam<\/em> in the 1960s, he returned to his roots of making more intimate films that examined interpersonal relationships, as in Aag <\/em>(1948) and Barsaat<\/em> (1949). But because Kapoor always dreamed big \u2013 think of the dream sequence in Awara<\/em> \u2013\u00a0 there were other changes as well: the small, intimate settings of Kapoor\u2019s earlier films changed into sweeping grandeur; the stark simplicity of dark streets and neighbourhoods in Awara<\/em> were now exchanged for bright, sunny European locales; the common man\u2019s concerns in Shree 420 <\/em>gave way to a more sophisticated romantic drama.<\/p>\n

Sangam<\/em> became grander in scope. It was RK Films\u2019 first film in colour; it was the first Indian film to be shot in Europe (Switzerland, Paris, Venice); it would set the template for romantic triangles for decades to come.<\/p>\n

\"Sangam

The eternal triangle<\/p><\/div>\n

Despite all this, the human interest inherent in Kapoor\u2019s films remained intact. As did the social commentary. [Barsaat<\/em>, in my opinion, is the only RK film, which is a pure love story.] If, in Aag,<\/em> he pleads for parents to allow their children to follow their dreams, in Sangam,<\/em> he makes a case for relationships to be freed from societal diktats. Both films portray Kapoor\u2019s character as less than heroic. Both films also reference current events \u2013 if it\u2019s the Partition in Aag,<\/em> it\u2019s the Sino-Indian War of 1962 in Sangam. <\/em>Kapoor\u2019s famed attention to detail can be seen here as well; he flies a Canberra as a bomber pilot, but it\u2019s a Dakota that he flies while delivering supplies. There\u2019s even a throwaway scene which explains why a bomber pilot would be delivering supplies.<\/p>\n

But Sangam <\/em>remains primarily an unexpectedly mature take on messy human relationships. From Aag <\/em>onwards, Raj Kapoor had never shied away from showing the darker side of love and here too, it\u2019s his character\u2019s obsession that precipitates events.<\/p>\n

Kapoor plays Sundar as a lovable bumpkin but as director, never glorifies Sundar\u2019s obsessive love for Radha, his stalking of her or his belief that because he loves Radha, she must love him too. Kapoor films these scenes from Radha\u2019s perspective and her reactions make it clear that he\u2019s annoying. Unlike many other films that used the stalking-as-wooing trope, Radha doesn\u2019t miraculously fall in love with Sundar later.<\/p>\n

Think of the scene where Sundar exhorts Radha to admit she loves him. \u201cBol Radha bol, sangam hoga ke nahin?\u201d <\/em>he asks, to which she constantly replies in the negative. But does Sundar listen? He\u2019ll just keep asking, he tells her, until she says yes. The subtext is chilling. By keeping the focus on Radha\u2019s reaction to this statement, Kapoor adds a frisson of foreboding to what\u2019s a seemingly light-hearted scene.<\/p>\n

When Sundar joins the Air Force to prove himself worthy of Radha, he leaves Radha in Gopal\u2019s (Rajendra Kumar) care. Gopal\u2019s acquiescence infuriates Radha who screams her truth to Sundar before he leaves for the war front. The aircraft\u2019s noise is not as deafening as Gopal\u2019s silence.<\/p>\n

\"Sangam

A promise made; a promise kept<\/p><\/div>\n

When Sundar goes missing, presumed dead, Radha tries once again to take charge of her own life \u2013 \u201cDon\u2019t you love me<\/em>,\u201d she asks Gopal. He, freed from his promise to his dead friend, is finally able to tell her how much. But when Sundar returns, and Gopal, trapped in his self-imposed role as Sundar\u2019s guardian angel, decides unilaterally to step aside, Radha becomes collateral damage. Neither the man she loves nor the man who loves her listens to what she has to say.<\/p>\n

\"Sangam

When no one listens\u2026<\/p><\/div>\n

Because Kapoor (the director) frames Sundar mostly through Radha\u2019s perspective, we see him for what he is \u2013 a good man at heart, but one who is self-absorbed, even selfish in his relationships. \u201cI can\u2019t live without Gopal\u2019s friendship and Radha\u2019s love,\u201d<\/em> he states, not realising that his desire for both will result in one\u2019s grief and the other\u2019s heartbreak.<\/p>\n

But it is as the possessive husband beset by the idea of his wife having a lover in her past that Kapoor, the actor, shines. He\u2019s brilliant (if unsympathetic) as a man torn apart by his own insecurity and sexual jealousy. There\u2019s a brittle edge to his performance suggestive of the twisted suffering that he\u2019s undergoing and that he inflicts on the wife he loves above all else.<\/p>\n

\"Sangam

The face of jealousy<\/p><\/div>\n

Like in his debut feature, Kapoor does not shy away from expressing his vulnerable side. Only, here, there\u2019s a darkness inside him that exploits that vulnerability turning it into cruelty. If Kewal in Aag<\/em> is scarred on the outside, Sundar is equally scarred on the inside. In both films, the scars are self-inflicted.<\/p>\n

Gopal, who loves Sundar as a brother and friend, has always supported and protected him, always given in to his demands. The latter\u2019s openhearted good nature has always bent Gopal to his will. It is a dynamic that persists throughout their lives. And Radha \u2013 who knows what she wants and is willing to voice it \u2013 is forced to move from one man to another trying, like many women before and after her, to make the best of her situation. Indeed, in this film about the deep friendship between two men, it is the woman who struggles to get them to understand her.<\/p>\n

Kapoor frames these scenes beautifully. The triangulation that exists in their relationship \u2013 Sundar confessing his love for Radha to Gopal, who takes his proposal to Radha\u2019s parents; Gopal replying to Sundar\u2019s letters to Radha; Sundar inviting Gopal on his honeymoon with Radha \u2013 is emphasised by the framing.<\/p>\n

\"Sangam

The eternal triangle \u2013 as comrades, conflicted, or confrontational<\/p><\/div>\n

Kapoor also weaves the film’s music (Shankar-Jaikishan, Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri) seamlessly into the narrative, nudging it along, using the songs to enhance the story’s context and the characters’ mood. Whether it is Dost dost na raha<\/em> or O mere sanam <\/em>or Bol Radha bol<\/em>,<\/em> the songs were more than just placeholders.<\/p>\n

At its core, Sangam<\/em> is a film about choices. It is about the ripple effect of those choices \u2013 Sundar refusing to listen to Radha\u2019s objections; Gopal sacrificing his love (and Radha\u2019s happiness) for his friend; Sundar\u2019s inability to trust his wife\u2026<\/p>\n

And it is about Radha, who suffers the consequences of the \u2018choices\u2019 forced upon her.<\/p>\n

\"Sangam

Vyjayanthimala as Radha, the apex of the conflict<\/p><\/div>\n

She is the strongest of the three characters, the most morally upright, the most consistent and the most vulnerable. Though wealthy, educated, and relatively independent, societal constraints still influence her behaviour. She cannot voice her choice of life partner to her parents, for instance; she is forced to depend on Gopal to do so. When he refuses, and also extracts her promise not to tell Sundar about their relationship, her only option is to go through with her wedding to Sundar.<\/p>\n

But within these patriarchal constructs, Radha is an intriguingly complex character, and Kapoor doesn\u2019t shy away from showing the plurality of her emotions.<\/p>\n

Once wed, (however that \u2018choice\u2019 may have been forced upon her), she determines to move on and strives to live her life as best she can. But there are still moments when she\u2019s angry at the cards she\u2019s been dealt, a slight sadness that peeks out when she\u2019s alone. But there are also moments of happiness with Sundar and she\u2019s not shy about vocalising her wants and needs. Female sexual desire has never been so explicitly referenced without judgment before.<\/p>\n

\"Vyjayanthimala

Of female desire and male double standards<\/p><\/div>\n

Later, when Gopal comes to visit \u2013 forced by Sundar\u2019s persistent invitations \u2013 Radha advocates for herself. She had loved Gopal once; now, married to his friend thanks to his misplaced sense of responsibility, she doesn\u2019t want Gopal\u2019s presence to destroy the fragile bloom of her new relationship. \u201cYou came for his sake<\/em>,\u201d she tells him. \u201cNow, leave for mine<\/em>.\u201d Her silence regarding her past is not because she fears compromising herself. It is because she knows that the truth will destroy Sundar.<\/p>\n

For Radha to walk out of her husband\u2019s home because she can no longer endure his pain or her own is, similarly, a bold step. Women certainly didn\u2019t do that back then. Neither Sundar nor the film judge her for doing so.<\/p>\n

Vyjayanthimala bites into a role that allows her to portray a spectrum of emotions. Her anger at Gopal\u2019s betrayal (he\u2019d been writing to Sundar in her name), at his willingness to sacrifice her, her life, her happiness, at the altar of his friendship; her increasing helplessness as she endeavours to assuage Sundar\u2019s jealousy; her fury when she realises that once again, the two men are deciding her<\/em> future\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cNahin ho sakta,\u201d<\/em> she screams. “Main tumse poochti hoon, aur tumse \u2013 tumse, jisne mujhse pyaar kiya, aur tumse jisne mujhe byaah kiya – tumhein kis ne haq diya ki aaj phir tum donon milkar meri zindagi ka faisla karo?\u00a0(It\u2019s not possible! I ask you, and you \u2013 you, who loved me, and you, who married me \u2013 who gave you the right to decide my life\u2019s trajectory?<\/em>) Through Radha, Kapoor gives voice to a woman\u2019s anger at the helplessness imposed upon her.<\/p>\n

But Gopal is as much a victim, albeit of his own choices, as he is complicit in Radha\u2019s suffering. His misfortune is that his love for Radha equals his love for Sundar, and when these two loves clash, he chooses to sacrifice his (and Radha\u2019s) happiness. His deliberate silence before Radha\u2019s marriage constrains him later when his love letter to Radha becomes the bone of contention between the two people he loves most. Through Rajendra Kumar\u2019s quiet, controlled and effective performance, we are brought to sympathise with his feelings even when we do not understand his actions.<\/p>\n

\"Raj

\u201cI\u2019m not a beggar; I\u2019m your friend.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

But Sangam<\/em> rightly skewers the idea of a friendship that demands \u2013 and makes \u2013 such a sacrifice. \u201cPhir wohi qurbani!\u201d<\/em> scoffs Sundar. As the recipient of years of benevolence, he knows how debilitating the burden of gratitude can be. What sort of a friendship is this in which truth falls by the wayside?<\/p>\n

As Radha says bitterly, \u201cWah, kabhi ek dost mujhe bali chadhaata hai, kabhi doosre dost.\u201d<\/em> That one line emphasises the crux of the narrative: a woman is not an object to be bartered.<\/p>\n

But Sangam <\/em>goes one step further. \u201cAur na hii do shareeron ka milan sangam hota hai\u201d<\/em> (\u201cNor is the union of two bodies a true relationship<\/em>\u201d), is a revolutionary statement to make today, let alone 60 years ago when sexual purity had to be maintained above all else and the bonds of marriage were considered sacrosanct. To advocate for a married woman to leave her marriage and be reunited with her lover was unheard of.<\/p>\n

To argue that a successful relationship is one that\u2019s based on love and understanding, not one that is merely sanctioned by society was a bold take for the time and is as relevant today. In Sundar\u2019s words, \u201cSangam wohi hota hai, Radha,\u201d <\/em>he says, \u201cjahan dil dil se milta hai. Aatma aatma se mil ke param aatma ho jaata hai.\u201d <\/em>(True union occurs when hearts and minds meet; when souls meld to become one with the universe.\u201d<\/em>)<\/p>\n

The climax emphasises the utter futility of it all. There\u2019s no happily-ever-after, no neat tying up of ribbons to ensure that audiences go home with the idea that love conquers all. If anything, it underlines the pointlessness of \u2018noble\u2019 sacrifice.<\/p>\n

Sangam\u2019s <\/em>relationships may be messy but they are real; the characters may be flawed but they are human; the denouement may be dramatic but Kapoor\u2019s directorial vision, Inder Raj Anand\u2019s emotionally layered characterisation, and the excellent acting by the leads make you feel for the characters and keep you invested in their stories.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click Raj Kapoor@100<\/a><\/h2>\n

for Critiques, Reviews, Interviews<\/h2>\n

\u2014 The Centenary Tribute Series<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Raj<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sangam\u2019s <\/em><\/strong>take on messy relationships is as relevant today as when it was first written more than seven decades ago, avers Anuradha Warrier<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":789,"featured_media":9516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[420,2593],"tags":[2610,1047,2609,2596,1950],"class_list":["post-9502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-film-reviews","category-raj-kapoor-centenary","tag-love-triangle-films","tag-raj-kapoor","tag-rajendra-kumar","tag-sangam","tag-vyjayanthimala"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/789"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9502"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9521,"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9502\/revisions\/9521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}