Koshish (1972) Jaya Bhaduri, Sanjeev Kumar, Dir: Gulzar

[filmifan]

what a beautiful movie! the storyline follows the courtship of a deaf-mute couple, Aarti (Jaya Bhaduri) and Hari (Sanjeev Kumar), as well as the meeting and inclusion of their dearest friend, a police officer blinded in an accident. this interesting friendship is one of many relationships that Gulzar uses to question various ideas of what it means to be able to communicate and whether that gift is truly respected and appreciated. i heart Gulzar even more after seeing this film, and Jaya and Sanjeev are absolutely perfect in conveying their dialogues with their eyes and body language. the penetrating way in which Hari sometimes gazes at Aarti - just a wonderful mix of attraction and vulnerability - really made Sanjeev appealing to me as the romantic lead. i particularly loved his and Jaya's pairing here after having seen Silsila and wishing they'd dumped their respective spouses there and lived happily ever after, together, in unselfish domestic bliss.

oh, and i cried. several times.

Koshish also has a scene with crank phone calls where some interesting people are picking up the receiver on the other end.

there were only a couple of negatives. one, the ending seemed a bit abrupt. the second, there not being subtitles for the notes that Aarti and Hari passed to one another. there is one that Aarti's mother reads out loud, but i'd like to know what the rest said even though the actors' actions give you an idea. so, i posted screencaps of the notes here, and hopefully someone will be kind enough to translate. and if anyone knows of a version that does subtitle the notes, please let me know (i rented the Bollywood Entertainment disc).

[wannabe]

Heh, heh, I hear you about the notes.  I once saw a Chinese film, which had won all kinds of awards at festivals, where the leading lady is mute.  Very much like here, she passes a note to her husband about half way through the movie. He reacts with shock, horror, etc., and leaves her and the town.  Naturally this note was not subtitled, though it was shown in close up.  For the next 20 years of the story, or, the rest of the movie, various people make constant reference to the note, either telling the wife character, "You shouldn't have said what you did in the note!"  "He left because of what you said in that note!"  or the wife herself saying (via other notes which were subtitled) "I should have never said what I did in that note!"  You can imagine me going completely bonkers in my seat, wanting to scream, "What was in that freaking note?!"

To get back on topic (sort of) this movie is supposed to be the inspiration for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's movie about a deaf-mute couple, Khamoshi.  In other forums I have read that this film is far superior (no surprise there), and that Sanjeev Kumar gave a great performance (again no surprise).  Now that I know that Jaya is in it, too, I will make it a point to get this and watch it. (Actually I had forgotten the title, which is what was holding me up, so thanks for starting this thread.)

BTW, I read the translations of the notes in the other thread you pointed to, so whenever I watch the movie, I at least won't be as confused as you were. 

[filmifan]

ok, now you have me curious as to which Chinese film that is.

i've seen Khamoshi and did think of it at one point while watching this one. i enjoyed it, mostly due to Nana Patekar's and Seema Biswas's performances as the parents, but the film has more subplots like their daughter's romance and love of music. Aarti and Hari are the main characters in Koshish, and i do prefer it over Khamoshi.

the notes pretty much say what i thought they did - it's a testament to Jaya and Sanjeev that they communicated these things so well non-verbally - but i didn't want to miss any of the possible nuances between their characters. their romance is sooo sweet, and one note in particular made me go 'aawwwwwwww,' due to a previous scene, when i read the translation.

[wannabe]

When I read the translations of the notes, I was trying to picture how someone could act those feelings/statements.  So, now I'm really curious to see how Sanjeev and Jaya pull it off, though I have no doubt they will both be exceptional.  Sanjeev Kumar to me was pretty much perfect as an actor, and Jaya in those days was also excellent.  I don't think she's all that these days, but whether that's a reflection of her long hiatus from acting, or the kind of roles she gets now, I don't know.

The name of the Chinese movie was "The Silent Wife", and it's from the 1960's.  (you do eventually -- that is, just before the end of the movie -- find out what was in the note, when the husband and wife reconcile.  )

[delia]

What a special, and very sweet film! I've had it around for a while, and finally got myself to watch it tonight. Good decision! I liked it a lot. The fact that so much of the film was silent, with Jaya and Sanjeev (both amazing!) communicationg in their own way. I really felt for the characters, and heard myself saying NO! out loud

Spoiler (hover to show)

when their first child died

A little slow at times, and it dragged a bit at the end, but still, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.
And filmifan:

the penetrating way in which Hari sometimes gazes at Aarti - just a wonderful mix of attraction and vulnerability - really made Sanjeev appealing to me as the romantic lead.

Yes! He was very handsome, and their chemistry exceptional, at times, the way they expressed so much in just glances.

ETA: pushed "Post" before I was ready...

[filmifan]

I really felt for the characters, and heard myself saying NO! out loud

Spoiler (hover to show)

when their first child died

oh, i know what you mean. that was one of the most frustrating and heartbreaking scenes i've seen in a film.

[delia]

Having had (half of) the night to think about Koshish even more, I thought about the pictures of the sky that are used throughout the film, as a shift from one scene to another, or as a silent (!) conveyer of atmosphere. I liked that, liked the way it was done, and found it rather un-bolly (with my still very limited filmi experience) in it's simplicity.

Also liked the tragicomical scenes, that used the leads' disablement (e g their interaction with the blind man) but always kept on their side and remained very true to them. Another thing that reoccurred was their (and especially Aarti's) reactions to things that made a noice. She alternated between being extremely amused, and OTOH provoked. A good detail!

But I think I read somewhere (in a book on BW, I think) that Koshish never was a success, and that I do understand, it is very different.

[RuthS.]

i particularly loved his and Jaya's pairing here after having seen Silsila and wishing they'd dumped their respective spouses there and lived happily ever after, together, in unselfish domestic bliss.

Totally!  Throughout Silsila I was like, "Chadni, wtf are you thinking?!"

Definitely checking out Koshish now

[RuthS.]

...argh, dang no-subtitles-havin' bharatmovies.com! 

[Usha]

Lovely movie !  
The ending feels forced and abrupt, but the rest is just beauty.
It was very constraint to just telling the story of Hari and Aarti, not sidetracking or making "comical release" ( which it didn`t need btw, Hari and Aarti made their own gags ) with the no-good brother of Aarti.
Not being mean, but the brother got what he deserved, not a drunken filmi ending, but a simple "you reap what you seed" .

Great acting between Sanjeev and Jaya   They really made their looks and body talk to show emotion.

Are there more movies with deaf / dumb themes ?

PS : Shemaroos has the notes translated

[odadune]

Such a sweet movie.  Watched it last summer, when I first went on an oldies kick.  I was reluctant at first, because I'm not really into "art-house" movies as a rule-I like more escapist movies, most of the time.  But this really opened my mind to the fact that people could make warm, down-to-earth movies about likable people that didn't really aspire to be "commercial" movies in the normal sense.

Despite liking the movie, I haven't actually gotten around to buying it yet, so thanks to Usha for the tip about the Shemaroo release and its subtitles

Re: other Bollywood films about deafness and muteness, isn't Rani's character blind and deaf in Black?  Gulzar, the director of Koshish, has a mute character in his later Namkeen, but it's not a physical issue, it's due to mental trauma.  I found Namkeen pleasant but not as good as his best.  It comes in two versions: the one that's easier to find is shorter and ends without much resolution to the character arcs; the longer, harder-to-find one ends sadly for most of the characters.