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So this time I'll be treating you to an oldie but a goodie. Also this is the first Hindi film that I'm blogging about. I need to warn you though that if you watch this movie expecting the typical Bollywood masala or fight scenes where a guy throws himself in front of a truck and still survives, then don't watch it. Bazaar directed by Sagar Sarhadi in 1982 is an excellent film. Unlike the other films that I've blogged about, this particular film isn't easy to watch. I can't bring myself to watch it again either. It's deeply unsettling but highly impactful.
"Bazaar" is a Hindi word which means "market-place". The film is set in Hyderabad and depicts the predicament of the poor, destitute Muslim families who have to sell their daughters to affluent males in the Gulf so that they can put food on the table, if only for a little while. Consequently this tells us about the whole "marriage bazaar" where they conduct rituals and ceremonies so as to make it seem a lot less morally repugnant and a lot more acceptable to society. Bazaar stars Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Supriya Pathak. Stellar performances given by all three of them and they show great competence!
This film follows two threads which come together after the first half. I won't be telling you how because that would just be a real spoiler. We meet Najma (Smita Patil) and her lover Akhtar who live together. Akhtar wishes to become his own man before he marries Najma which reveals to us that he is financially dependant on his brother Shakhir Ali Khan, a wealthy individual from Dubai. Najma was going to be married off to an individual quite like Shakhir Ali Khan but being extremely stubborn and firm rather than fickle and submissive, she decided to take matters in her own hands and ran away with Akhtar. Next we're introduced to Salim (Naseeruddin Shah) who's the creative type i.e. he's a thinker and a poet. In other words, he's broke. He's loved Najma for years but couldn't marry her because he had no social status. Doesn't mean he didn't try though! You have to love him for that, a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve is either a keeper or just a schmuck waiting to get walked all over on. Before Najma ran away with Akhtar he asked her if she loves him and she replied by saying that she cannot marry him. How typical, won't say yes but won't say no either. The fact that he still continues to love her even though she's Akhtar's is heart-breaking. You can see the absolute love, adoration and want for her in his eyes. Talk about unrequited love. He says so much without saying anything. He believes that Najma should become independent of Akhtar and Shakhir Ali Khan and be her own person instead. It's so brilliant to see such a radical thinker in that day and age and who isn't threatened by an independent woman. Don't you just love him for that?
Elsewhere in Hyderabad we meet Sarju and Shabnam (Supriya Pathak) who are blissfully in love. Sarju is really poor but does small, odd jobs so that he can marry Shabnam and support her. Their love seems so clichéd but on the contrary it is pure, passionate and strong. I think it seems clichéd because nowadays we have such a cynical view on love. Having said that, you find yourselves rooting for them throughout the movie. So coming back to our love triangle, Shakhir Ali tells Najma to find/buy him a bride. He's a very abusive, dominating and creepy man so you can see that he needs all the help he can get. There's a scene in the movie where he's chasing a woman after getting really drunk but she goes and stands behind her three sons. Right at that moment we see a glaring red colour which is just genius cinematography because it perfectly captures that expression of "seeing red". Another example of the absolutely stunning camera work are the flashback scenes. They may not seem too great technicality wise but I personally, loved that it was so unembellished and bare.
Najma agrees to do Shakhir Ali's bidding because Akhtar tells her that if she doesn't do as he says then Shakhir Ali won't help them out and then they'll never be able to get married. Here, we see the whole crux of the film. It's really important because you see that it's a woman who's selling off another one. It also makes you wonder about how far you'd go and what would you do to get what you want.
So I'm sorry if this was a super-long one as well but I had a lot to say about this movie.. I haven't told you the entire plot either because there are quite a few twists and turns and you feel pretty helpless while watching it. In fact I'd like to compare it to the book "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte. The characters in the movie and the book are infuriating, ruled by their instincts and their predicament is pretty morbid and depressing. Not a movie for the faint - hearted but it will give you a lot of food for thought especially if you compare it to modern Bollywood cinema.
This film follows two threads which come together after the first half. I won't be telling you how because that would just be a real spoiler. We meet Najma (Smita Patil) and her lover Akhtar who live together. Akhtar wishes to become his own man before he marries Najma which reveals to us that he is financially dependant on his brother Shakhir Ali Khan, a wealthy individual from Dubai. Najma was going to be married off to an individual quite like Shakhir Ali Khan but being extremely stubborn and firm rather than fickle and submissive, she decided to take matters in her own hands and ran away with Akhtar. Next we're introduced to Salim (Naseeruddin Shah) who's the creative type i.e. he's a thinker and a poet. In other words, he's broke. He's loved Najma for years but couldn't marry her because he had no social status. Doesn't mean he didn't try though! You have to love him for that, a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve is either a keeper or just a schmuck waiting to get walked all over on. Before Najma ran away with Akhtar he asked her if she loves him and she replied by saying that she cannot marry him. How typical, won't say yes but won't say no either. The fact that he still continues to love her even though she's Akhtar's is heart-breaking. You can see the absolute love, adoration and want for her in his eyes. Talk about unrequited love. He says so much without saying anything. He believes that Najma should become independent of Akhtar and Shakhir Ali Khan and be her own person instead. It's so brilliant to see such a radical thinker in that day and age and who isn't threatened by an independent woman. Don't you just love him for that?
Elsewhere in Hyderabad we meet Sarju and Shabnam (Supriya Pathak) who are blissfully in love. Sarju is really poor but does small, odd jobs so that he can marry Shabnam and support her. Their love seems so clichéd but on the contrary it is pure, passionate and strong. I think it seems clichéd because nowadays we have such a cynical view on love. Having said that, you find yourselves rooting for them throughout the movie. So coming back to our love triangle, Shakhir Ali tells Najma to find/buy him a bride. He's a very abusive, dominating and creepy man so you can see that he needs all the help he can get. There's a scene in the movie where he's chasing a woman after getting really drunk but she goes and stands behind her three sons. Right at that moment we see a glaring red colour which is just genius cinematography because it perfectly captures that expression of "seeing red". Another example of the absolutely stunning camera work are the flashback scenes. They may not seem too great technicality wise but I personally, loved that it was so unembellished and bare.
Najma agrees to do Shakhir Ali's bidding because Akhtar tells her that if she doesn't do as he says then Shakhir Ali won't help them out and then they'll never be able to get married. Here, we see the whole crux of the film. It's really important because you see that it's a woman who's selling off another one. It also makes you wonder about how far you'd go and what would you do to get what you want.
So I'm sorry if this was a super-long one as well but I had a lot to say about this movie.. I haven't told you the entire plot either because there are quite a few twists and turns and you feel pretty helpless while watching it. In fact I'd like to compare it to the book "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte. The characters in the movie and the book are infuriating, ruled by their instincts and their predicament is pretty morbid and depressing. Not a movie for the faint - hearted but it will give you a lot of food for thought especially if you compare it to modern Bollywood cinema.
I loved the Flick
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