Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Barsaat (1949)

Raj Kapoor directs this meditation on love. Pran (Kapoor), a wealthy lad with a poetic soul, is passionately in love with impoverished country lass Reshma (Nargis). When she attempts to run away with Pran -- over the objections of her traditionalist father -- she slips and falls into a river, and apparently drowns. As Pran and his womanizing buddy Gopal (Premnath), who just cruelly dumped another girl, Neela (Nimmi), are driving through the country, they are more than a little surprised to see Reshma about to be married to a fisherman (K.N. Singh). Pran runs off the road and wrecks his car, halting the wedding, and eventually marries Reshma. Gopal is crushed and penitent when he learns that Neela committed suicide. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Barsaat (1949)
Yes, in the very Indian tradition of tragic love stories. Neela death was nearly gratuitous since most of the problems faced by the heroes had been overcome and that only this one last loose end was not tied to join the last couple together even as the potential groom was willing to give up everything for her. But it was expected at least one death had to occur and I so expected that it was going to end as Romeo and Juliet when one person had died or appeared to be dead and the remaining one was overcome by grief.

This one has the typical villains with the man that while saves Reshma he decides to make her his bride and holds her captive as a slave for his personal pleasures. The father also plays the part of the bad father that is willing to kill his daughter rather than let her marry the man of her choice.

Not sure why the rating at Blockbuster was so low at 2 stars but I think it deserved 3.5 stars.

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