In Satyam Shivam Sundaram,
director Raj Kapoor sets out to teach us it is not what is outside, but what is
inside that counts (Really, Raj? And you chose a scantily-clad Zeenat Aman to
illustrate that point?).
Sarcasm aside, once I got past the irony of it all, I found
SSS to be a fairly enjoyable film. There
was lots of pretty things to look at. The story was interesting. I added Zeenat
Aman and Shashi Kapoor to my list of actors I want to see more of. And I had my
first taste of 70s Bollywood--which, by the way, is just as groovy as everyone
says it is!
And, you know what? After watching the film, I think Raj Kapoor made the right
choice for his heroine. Zeenat gave the role a mysterious, mesmerizing tone that
perhaps only she could pull off. Yes, she was barely dressed and every movement
she made was super-suggestive...But it kept you watching...and created a
believeable backdrop for an otherwise unlikely tale. I mean, let's face
it...only Zeenat's bronze curves prancing through the forest could make a man
fall in love without even seeing her face (And by that I should clarify a man
like Shashi Kapoor's Rangeev, who was self-admittedly hung up on physical
appearances).
Now, I usually steer clear of plot summaries in my posts for two reasons: 1) I'm
extremely bad at pulling out main ideas and 2)I'm afraid of going on a tangent
and telling too much. But I'm beginning to think they might be helpful to those
who have not seen the film and want to decide whether or not it is something
they would like. So, I've decided to include a little plot synopsis in all of my
posts from here on out. And I promise, I'll try to keep them as simple and brief
as possible.
So, here goes: Rupa (Zeenat Aman) has been considered unlucky since the day she
was born. She is an outcast, a lonely young girl with few friends and a father
who considers her misfortune a curse. As a young girl, Rupa is burned in a
cooking accident, which leaves one side of her face scarred. Villagers whisper
that Rupa will never get married, and her father fears the same.
Enter Shashi Kapoor (Ranjeev), an engineer transported to Rupa's village to
oversee construction of a dam. One morning, Ranjeev is lulled out of his
quarters and into the forest by Rupa's enchanting voice, where he spies her
volumptous image from afar. He pursues her relentlessly, never once seeing her
scars (If the thought of Ranjeev meeting Rupa several times without noticing the
side of her face seems impossible to you, just watch the movie. You'd never
believe this would work, but it does. Way to go, Raj Kapoor). Ranjeev is head
over heels for Rupa, and asks her father for her hand in marriage.
We start to hold out hope for Ranjeev and Rupa until we discover Ranjeev has a
phobia for anything less than beautiful. In his own words, he "cannot tolerate
any form of ugliness". Uh-oh. What happens when Ranjeev unveils his new bride? I
won't reveal anything else, but the rest of the movie takes you down this path.
One nagging flaw in all of this: As the viewer, you seem to be the only one
other than Ranjeev who notices how hot Rupa is. The rest of the town appears
oblivious to this fact, which seems kind of ridiculous. Scar or no scar, Zeenat
Aman is one sultry babe. It's like watching Marilyn Monroe walk through an army
of soldiers without turning any heads.
Make no mistake, though--Zeenat Aman gave us more than sex appeal in her
performance. I hadn't really seen her in anything, except for
Laawaris, which I really didn't remember much about. I thought she was
awesome here--the role gave her an opprotunity to take on many different shades
to Rupa's personality, and she delivered every time. Her dancing was cool, too--
very snake-like and alluring. Check out this video of "Bhor Bhaye Panghat Pe"
and you'll see what I mean (also be sure to notice Shashi's adorable face at
4:22).
