Sangam (*RK, Vyjayanthimala, Rajendra Kumar)
May 25, 2015 13:15:41 GMT
odadune, dancelover, and 1 more like this
Post by emily on May 25, 2015 13:15:41 GMT
Sometime soon I'll put together a semi-silly review of Sangam, complete with jokes, snark, and plenty of .gifs. Yes, .gifs. For now, though here are my thoughts after completing the movie tonight:
Whew. That was heavy. Not in a bad way. I've noticed in these older films that the drama crescendos, but not to the overly-dramatic, cringeworthy levels that it does in later Hindi movies. (I'm looking at you, '80s and '90s!) No, it hits you right in the gut, especially at the end.
I decided to watch without subtitles. I discovered when I popped in the DVD that there were no options for subtitles (thanks a billion, Induna) and had a momentary panic attack, but then thought...hey, I've seen a bunch of these, right? So I can pick up the basic gist, the "pyaar"s and "dil"s and such, right? Caught about every fifth word. Patapin was so lovely as to give me an option for subtitles, and I used for a little bit, but then I thought again...you know what, these are great actors. Let's let them act with their faces, make me feel simply by their acting and not the dialogue. And it worked. It really did work.
I can't help but think how extraordinary this would have been with Raj, Dilip, and Nargis (his original cast for the film) BUT...the trio of Raj, Rajendra Kumar, and Vyjayanthimala do a FANTASTIC job. Of the two films I've seen him in, Rajendra's played such upstanding characters (the good son in "Mother India" and the devoted friend in this one) that I wonder, could he ever pull off a villain?
This was the first film I've seen Vyjayanthimala in and I love her. (By the way, I'll post this in the lookalikes thread...but does anyone think she sorta looks like Preity Zinta? It comes out less in pictures and more in the way they move, gesture, smile, etc. I think it's uncanny.) Anyway, she really impressed me - no wonder she won Filmfare for Best Actress that year. I felt so bad for her character, caught in the middle of this love triangle. I feel like she was almost vilified, loving one man but marrying another, then having to defend her "infidelity" later on. Like come on! She didn't really have a choice. She did very well, and I LOVED her cute little "Buddha Mil Gaya" number.
Raj was kinda cute for playing a selfish, creepy jerk, I will give him that. You kind of sympathize with his character in the beginning, but then he gets all "me me me" for the rest of the film and it's just like...dude, stop. It gets to the point where you're sick of hearing the name Sundar. Go away, Sundar.
It's a three hour film but honestly, it flew by. I DID watch it in three parts, but the individual parts went super quickly. It never dragged, not like other three-hour films I've sat through (*cough* Mohabbatein *cough*). You were constantly on the edge of your seat, waiting for the love triangle situation to either dissolve or to completely mess everything up. The ending was actually NOT what I was expecting, so yeah, I sorta bawled my eyes out.
The soundtrack was very good. Besides the incomparable "Dost Dost Na Raha" (that always makes me tear up), I liked "O Mehbooba" (though not the picturization...stalking a girl on a boat through the fog ain't right, kids) and "Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega" (THAT's my favorite picturization...the love triangle really comes out and it's the one time you feel sorry for Sundar, playing the accordion through the pain of his best friend "stealin' his girl"). But it really was all good. Really.
Also, Switzerland! Who wore the stereotypical foreign feather hat better - Raj or SRK in DDLJ? Also, I was missing the random colorful chiffon saris and daydreaming song. Rolling in the snow made an appearance, though.
Anyway, I'd watch again! Definitely!
Feel free to search for any serious reviews of Sangam, because mine above was quite silly. I would post but I can't find any - running low on sleep, so my Google skills are severely under par. Also, watch the movie. Do it now.
Also, I love technicolor. Because Sundar ki neeli aankhen. Just sayin'.
Whew. That was heavy. Not in a bad way. I've noticed in these older films that the drama crescendos, but not to the overly-dramatic, cringeworthy levels that it does in later Hindi movies. (I'm looking at you, '80s and '90s!) No, it hits you right in the gut, especially at the end.
I decided to watch without subtitles. I discovered when I popped in the DVD that there were no options for subtitles (thanks a billion, Induna) and had a momentary panic attack, but then thought...hey, I've seen a bunch of these, right? So I can pick up the basic gist, the "pyaar"s and "dil"s and such, right? Caught about every fifth word. Patapin was so lovely as to give me an option for subtitles, and I used for a little bit, but then I thought again...you know what, these are great actors. Let's let them act with their faces, make me feel simply by their acting and not the dialogue. And it worked. It really did work.
I can't help but think how extraordinary this would have been with Raj, Dilip, and Nargis (his original cast for the film) BUT...the trio of Raj, Rajendra Kumar, and Vyjayanthimala do a FANTASTIC job. Of the two films I've seen him in, Rajendra's played such upstanding characters (the good son in "Mother India" and the devoted friend in this one) that I wonder, could he ever pull off a villain?
This was the first film I've seen Vyjayanthimala in and I love her. (By the way, I'll post this in the lookalikes thread...but does anyone think she sorta looks like Preity Zinta? It comes out less in pictures and more in the way they move, gesture, smile, etc. I think it's uncanny.) Anyway, she really impressed me - no wonder she won Filmfare for Best Actress that year. I felt so bad for her character, caught in the middle of this love triangle. I feel like she was almost vilified, loving one man but marrying another, then having to defend her "infidelity" later on. Like come on! She didn't really have a choice. She did very well, and I LOVED her cute little "Buddha Mil Gaya" number.
Raj was kinda cute for playing a selfish, creepy jerk, I will give him that. You kind of sympathize with his character in the beginning, but then he gets all "me me me" for the rest of the film and it's just like...dude, stop. It gets to the point where you're sick of hearing the name Sundar. Go away, Sundar.
It's a three hour film but honestly, it flew by. I DID watch it in three parts, but the individual parts went super quickly. It never dragged, not like other three-hour films I've sat through (*cough* Mohabbatein *cough*). You were constantly on the edge of your seat, waiting for the love triangle situation to either dissolve or to completely mess everything up. The ending was actually NOT what I was expecting, so yeah, I sorta bawled my eyes out.
The soundtrack was very good. Besides the incomparable "Dost Dost Na Raha" (that always makes me tear up), I liked "O Mehbooba" (though not the picturization...stalking a girl on a boat through the fog ain't right, kids) and "Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega" (THAT's my favorite picturization...the love triangle really comes out and it's the one time you feel sorry for Sundar, playing the accordion through the pain of his best friend "stealin' his girl"). But it really was all good. Really.
Also, Switzerland! Who wore the stereotypical foreign feather hat better - Raj or SRK in DDLJ? Also, I was missing the random colorful chiffon saris and daydreaming song. Rolling in the snow made an appearance, though.
Anyway, I'd watch again! Definitely!
Feel free to search for any serious reviews of Sangam, because mine above was quite silly. I would post but I can't find any - running low on sleep, so my Google skills are severely under par. Also, watch the movie. Do it now.
Also, I love technicolor. Because Sundar ki neeli aankhen. Just sayin'.
