Synopsis
Bhoothnath
(Guru Dutt), a middle-aged architect wanders through the ruins
of an old haveli. Flashback to end of the 19th century. The
lower-class but educated Bhoothnath arrives in colonial Calcutta
looking for work. He lives in the grand haveli of the Choudhury's,
a family of zamindars while working beyond its compound at
the Mohini Sindoor factory run by Subinay Babu, a dedicated
member of the Brahmo Samaj. Subinay Babu's young daughter
Jabba (Waheeda Rehman) is amused by Bhoothnath whom she considers
an unsophisticated rustic. Bhoothnath becomes fascinated with
the goings-on in the haveli and every night observes the decadent
lifestyle of the Choudhury bothers. One night the servant,
Bansi, takes Bhoothnath to meet the younger zamindar's (Rehman)
wife Chhoti Bahu (Meena Kumari) who implores him to bring
her Mohini Sindoor believing it will keep her unfaithful husband
home. Bhoothnath is struck by her beauty and sadness and inadvertently
becomes Chhoti Bahu's secret confidante. A bomb explodes in
the market place and Bhoothnath is injured in the ensuing
crossfire between Freedom fighters and British soldiers. Jabba
looks after him. Bhoothnath becomes a trainee architect and
goes away to work on a training project. Chhoti Bahu's repeated
attempts to appease her husband have failed till she becomes
his drinking companion in order to keep him by her side. Bhoothnath
returns some years later to Calcutta to find that Subinay
Babu has died and that he and Jabba were betrothed as children.
He returns to the haveli and is shocked to find it in partial
ruins. Chhoti Bahu is now a desperate alcoholic and her husband,
paralyzed. She asks Bhoothnath to accompany her to a nearby
shrine to pray for her ailing husband. Their conversation
is heard by the elder zamindar, Majhle Babu. He orders his
henchmen to punish her for consorting with a man outside the
Choudhury household. As Bhoothnath and Chhoti Bahu travel
in the carriage, the carriage is stopped. Bhoothnath is knocked
unconscious and Chhoti Bahu, abducted. When he wakes up in
hospital, Bhoothnath is told Chhoti Bahu has disappeared and
the younger zamindar is dead. The flashback ends. Bhoothnath's
workers inform him a skeleton is found buried in the ruins
of the haveli. From the jewellery on the corpse, Bhoothnath
realizes it is the mortal remains of Chhoti Bahu...
The film
Though
compared to Satyajit
Ray's Jalsaghar (1958) as a commentary
on Bengal's decaying feudalism, Sahib
Bibi Aur Ghulam is a romantic and somewhat
nostalgic tale of a bygone era. The film
is a magnificent and sombre work with heightened
atmosphere, rich dialogues, haunting cinematography,
extraordinary song picturizations and brilliant
performances.
The
decadent lifestyle of the zamindars at the
end of 19th century Bengal is shown through
the two Choudhury brothers who seldom work
but spend most of their time in pigeon racing
or in the company of dancer-prostitutes
while their wives are left to distract themselves
by having jewellery made and remade! While
the servant Bansi, acts as chronicler of
the Choudhury's history, Bhoothnath is a
witness to the ravages of time and change
in the haveli. The narrative is told largely
from his perspective with other events being
relayed by Bansi whose on-screen explanation
of events provides the continuity between
the various time periods in the narrative.
Bhoothnath's own history is in sharp contrast
to the zamindar class. With no special privilege
beyond his Brahmin status, he rises from
humble rural beginnings to become a successful
architect who ironically oversees the destruction
of the very haveli which had so overawed
him when he came first to the big city.
Chhoti
Bahu is the pivotal character of the film.
Her personality is ambiguous and perceived
differently by different people. For her
obese sister-in-law, Chhoti Bahu is a simple
and foolish woman who has not learned to
enjoy her new status and wealth. For her
husband, she is an ordinary bland woman
from a poor background whose traditional
upbringing teaches her to be the perfect
wife and to regard him as god. For Bhoothnath,
she is an ethereal being who is always beyond
his reach.
 The build up to the moment when
we first see Chhoti Bahu is reminiscent
of Carol Reed's introduction of Harry Lime
(Orson Welles) in The Third Man (1949).
In a marvelously staged sequence, the camera
takes Bhoothnath's POV and follows the pattern
of a rich carpet on which he walks to enter
the room. His eyes are lowered and he is
terrified of meeting her. We hear Chhoti
Bahu still off-screen telling him to be
seated. Then we see a pair of feet adorned
by alta vermilion colour walk across the
room. As Bhoothnath sits humbly on the floor,
he is asked his name. As Chhoti Bahu asks
him what sort of a name is Bhoothnath, he
looks up. The camera tracks in dramatically
and holds on a close-up of Chhoti Bahu.
Her aura startles Bhoothnath (and us) and
from that first look, he (and us) becomes
forever her 'slave.' It is a magical moment
in the film and shows cinema's wonderful
ability to mythify its own characters.
Chhoti
Bahu is actually a woman ahead of her times.
She is not content to be a subservient and
docile wife and fights for her husband's
attention, demanding her own sexual needs
be met. She even dares to suggest that Chhote
Babu is probably impotent despite all his
masculine bravura. However she too cannot
escape the decadence of the zamindari era
and when she ventures out of the haveli
for the first and only time, it costs her
her life.
As
usual Guru Dutt
had a different cast and crew in mind before
starting work on the film. He considered
Shashi Kapoor and then Biswajit before taking
on the part of Bhoothnath. Nargis and
then Jitendra Arya's wife Chhaya were considered
for the role of Chhoti Bahu. He wanted S.D. Burman
and Sahir Ludhianvi for the music and lyrics
but S.D. Burman was unwell and Sahir declined
the offer.
While
each of the performances are spot on, if
there is one person who is the heart and
soul of the film, it is Meena Kumari.
Her portrayal of Chhoti Bahu is perhaps
the greatest performance ever seen on the
Indian Screen. The sequence where Chhoti
Bahu dresses for her husband singing Piya
Aiso Jiya Main is a poignant exploration
of a woman's expectations and sexual desire.
And later on when she has become a desperate
alcoholic, you cannot help but cry with
her in the sequence where she pleads with
her husband to stay with her and then angrily
turns on him to tell him how she has prostituted
her basic values and morals to please him.
However the common factors between the actress's
life and Chhoti Bahu are too dramatic to
be merely coincidental - The estranged marital
relationship, the taking of alcohol, turning
towards younger male company, the craving
to be understood and loved - all elements
evident in Meena Kumari's own life.
Hemant
Kumar's evocative music particularly Chhoti
Bahu's songs give the film a haunting quality.
Geeta Dutt's
rendering of the three Chhoti Bahu songs
- Koi Door Se Awaaz De Chale Aao,
Piya Aiso Jiya and Na Jao Saiyaan
represents some of the finest singing
she has ever done. Her voice with all its
sensuality and pain complements Meena Kumari's
performance perfectly. Chhoti Bahu's 'signature
tune' - the melancholic music played each
time Bhoothnath meets her adds enormously
to the aura of tragedy surrounding her.
Mention must be made of Bhanu Athaiya's
costumes and Biren Naug's Art Direction
and above all V.K. Murthy's stunning cinematography
with masterly use of light and shadow, none
better than the mujra - Saaqiya Aaj Mujhe
Neend Nahin Aaegi, where the lead dancer
is always in the light and the dancers in
the background lit up in a manner that no
light falls on their faces. This when often
there is both character movement and camera
movements being coordinated in the course
of the shot! And rarely has the Indian screen
seen better use of close-ups particularly
those of Meena Kumari who looks absolutely
stunning.The editing rhythm with its many
dissolves and fades adds to the film's mysterious
feel.
The film was a modest commercial success
dividing audiences. The more traditional
just couldn't accept a pious Hindu wife
taking to drink or the friendship (even
though totally platonic) between Bhoothnath
and Chhoti Bahu. The film was however a
huge critical success. To quote the review
featured in the Times of India dated June
24, 1962...
"The
well-knit screenplay, achieving an effective
balance between the various characters and
emotional phases, provides a neat dramatic
pattern. It appears to be a specially successful
job considering the verbosity and digressiveness
of the novel of Mr. Bimal Mitra who, though
often brilliant, writes in a highly disorderly
way."
However
the last song of the film, Sahil
Ki Taraf Kashti Le Chal sung by Hemant
Kumar was edited out of the film. The
song had a shot which showed Chhoti Bahu
resting her head on Bhoothnath's lap in
the carriage. Audiences reacted sharply
to this so Guru Dutt removed the song and
the 'offending shot' changing the carriage
scene to a dialogue exchange between Chhoti
Bahu and Bhoothnath. He also shot an additional
scene with the paralyzed husband repenting
his sinful and debauched lifestyle. Hemant
Kumar reused the tune for Sahil ki Taraf
for the song Ya Dil ki Suno from
Anupama (1966).
Sahib
Bibi Aur Ghulam went on to win Filmfare
Awards for Best Film, Director, Actress
and Photography. Shockingly Hemant Kumar
lost out the Award for Best Music which
went to Shankar - Jaikishen for their populist
score in Professor (1962). The film
also won the President's Silver Medal and
the 'Film of the Year' Award from the Bengal
Film Journalist Association. The film was
also screened at the Berlin Film Festival
in June 1963 and was India's official entry
to the Oscars that year.
The
controversy about who actually directed
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam has increased
over the years. Since the film is characteristic
of Guru Dutt's feel and style, it is difficult
to think that he did not direct the film.
However Guru Dutt never denied Abrar Alvi's
role in the film nor did he make any counter
claims when Alvi won the Filmfare Award
for Best Director for the film. Abrar Alvi
has stated that Guru Dutt did direct the
songs in the film, but not the film in its
entirety. The editor of the Film Y.G. Chawan
however says that for the film it was Abrar
who sat with him. To quote him...
"Abrar
worked so hard on that film but he never
got any credit. People say it was produced
by Guru Dutt so it had to be Guru Dutt's
film."
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