Directed by: Harsukh Jagneshwar Bhatt,
Bhalchandra Shukla
Music: Bhola Sresht,
Starring: Durga Khote, Meena Kumari,
Nirupa Roy, Arvind, Jeevan
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Okay, what made me buy this one? For one thing, it had Meena Kumari. And Jeevan.*
And palaces and kings and queens and magic and conspiracies and above
all a naulakha haar - a necklace worth nine lakhs. And when you think of
the period in which this film was set, and adjust for inflation, that
nine-lakh necklace would be worth a mind-boggling amount. Heck, nine
lakh rupees (nine hundred thousand rupees) today is
a heck of a lot! So well, to answer my own question, curiosity and a
penchant for the raja-rani movies (magic is a bonus), and yes, well,
Meena Kumari.
Mahil Rai Padiyal (Jeevan) is visiting a fair where he runs into Kiriya Rai (Ishwarlal), the crown prince of Mandhavgarh.
Kiriya
has come to the fair to buy something unique, but hasn't found anything
worth his interest. Mahil points out a woman wearing the eponymous
naulakha haar.
He
doesn't let Kiriya Rai know that this is his eldest sister, the queen
of Mohba. Kiriya Rai tries to steal the necklace in the middle of the
night, but is captured by a vigilant (and feisty) woman, who is quite
adept at handling a sword.
She
reclaims the necklace, strips Kiriya Rai of his turban and sword and
lets him go declaring that if he was the son of a true Rajputani woman,
he would take back his belongings without further ado. Kiriya is
humiliated, but has no option but to leave; his lackey consoles him by
saying that he should thank his stars that hecame back alive.
While
this conversation takes place, Mahil comes to visit - and to rub some
salt into his wounds. He also informs him that his sisters (for the
queen of the Banafurs is his eldest sister) were resting for the night
at Purva, three kilometres outside the boundaries of Mohba. There is no
army to worry about, and if Kiriya wanted to avenge his humiliation,
this would be the best time.
And
there are wheels within wheels: Mahil's father had been defeated by the
ruler of the Chandelas, Parmal in the war of Mohba. To save his
kingdom, the chieftain married his elder daughter Malna to the victor.
While Parmal Singh was encouraged by his wife to remain in Mohba, her
father and brother had to move to a small Jagir called Urai. When King
Parmal's sardars Desh Rai and Bach Rai defeated the Mandhavgarh army,
Mahil's other sisters Devla (Durga Khote) and Tilka were married off to
them much against his wishes. The Banafurs were rulers, and the
(should-be) ruler of Mohba - Mahil Rai Padiyal - is forced to remain an
ordinary jagirdar under their protection.
He
is hoping to get his kingdom back, but is the planner, not the doer.
And so, like Iago, he reminds Kiriya about the humiliation and exhorts
him to do the dirty deed for him.
Kiriya
agrees, and in the dead of the night, enters the camp with his men.
There, he beheads the army commander in front of Devla's eyes. (He is
her husband).
Devla is shocked, but has never been one to sit and cry.
She
picks up her sword and challenges Kiriya; unfortunately, she is
outnumbered, and is tied to a pillar. Now it is her son's and nephew's
lives at stake, and discretion being the better part of valour, she
gives in, and parts with the turban, the sword and the necklace.
But
not before warning Kiriya that he will have to pay for blood with
blood. He laughs, and leaves but not before taking the necklace and the
severed heads of the two chieftains with him.
Widowed,
the two sisters return to Mohba, where their sister and brother-in-law
are suitably upset. The King suggests that they attack Mandhavgarh, but
is dissuaded by his priest (and Mahil) who tells him that the stars are
not in favour of Mohba. Devla and her sister want to commit Sati, but
the queen reminds Devla that she is pregnant, and it is her duty to stay
alive until such time as the prince (how are they so sure it is a boy) is born, and is old enough to avenge his father. (And why couldn't her older son Alha have done the needful? Beats me!)
In
the meantime, a victorious Kiriya has returned to Mandhavgarh; his
father is overjoyed at the spoils of war - a war elephant, a flying
horse, the nine-lakh necklace
and the court dancer of the Banafurs - Lakhi.
Kiriya's
mother, however is less pleased - it is a shame, she declares, that
any son of hers, and a Rajput to boot, should behave so despicably as to
wage war on a sleeping enemy. Her husband is made of sterner stuff -
'All is fair in love and war" he declares, and the Baghela queen of
Mandhavgarh departs in a huff.
Lakhi
has decided that she will stay at Mandhavgarh, and try to earn their
trust, until such time as the heirs of Mahoba come to retrieve the heads
of their fathers, and avenge their deaths.
Soon,
nineteen years pass, and the two sons of Devla are grown into strapping
youth, much interested in hunting and other such royal pastimes. Devla
is hesitant to relate the past - they are young, she tries to convince
herself.
Soon,
Udal, the younger prince, is off chasing a deer. Just as he aims, an
arrow ends the deer's life. And he nearly comes to blows with a comely
youth, who is curt and arrogant.
Of course, it takes his friend Deva (Sunder) to inform him that the 'youth' is, in fact, a girl, (Bijma / Meena Kumari) and a rather beautiful one, at that.
Our
hero and the princess meet again - when she falls - literally - into
his arms; and love blossoms. Pouf! Just like that! And the princess hums
a song, confides in her maid (Lakhi, for whom time seems to have stood
still), and the good woman, knowing who the young man is, is not averse
to furthering the connection. She sets up a meeting, another song
ensues, and they are exchanging bangles and rings.
In the middle of all this, of course, they have forgotten one important thing - they haven't told each other their names. (Hey, don't ask me! I am not that romantic.)
But
the fat is soon going to be in the fire - Mahil's sidekick has seen the
whole ring-bangle-exchange, and rushes off to give the joyful news to
his master. Whereupon, Mahil decides to visit Kiriya to inform him that
'gold and woman need to be guarded'.
Bijma
is put under house arrest, and Udal is left to wonder why his love
hasn't come to him as promised. Upset at her continued absence, he and
Deva get into an argument at the village well, and then with their
cousin (Mahil's son, and responsible for a horrible comic side-plot),
and Udal proceeds to break his cousin's arm. Incensed at his son's mistreatment at the hands of Udal, Mahil provokes him into avenging his father's death.
(Now
here is where the DVD inexplicably took a darn leap. So excuse me while
I fill in plot holes from reading the back of the DVD cover.)
Udal
goes to Mandavgarh, only to realise that Bijma, the girl he loves, is
the sister of the vile Kiriya who had killed his father and uncle. When
she learns of this, Devla insists that he forget her. But this is more
than Udal can promise. Disguised as a sanyasi, he makes his way back to
his love - she gets Lakhi to sneak him into her room. But Kiriya finds
out. When he knocks on Bijma's door, she turns the disguised Udal into a
parrot,
but Kiriya catches it, wrings its neck, and throws his sister into the dungeon.
(Back to the movie.)
Lakhi, takes the pitiful corpse, mounts the flying horse (so that
is why it was there!) and flies to a copse with some ancient God - and
revives the parrot using some magic water. She then flies back, only to
be captured by Kiriya's men, but she manages to let the parrot escape.
She is thrown into the dungeons too (can't say much about the man's originality).
When
their mother objects, Kiriya informs her that her daughter is hellbent
on sullying their 'izzat' by falling in love with the son of their
enemy. She visits her daughter in the dungeon and berates her for being a
blot on the old escutcheon. A spirited Bijma asks her who the real blot
is - she, or her brother, who had killed unarmed men while they slept?
The
queen, who really is a decent soul at heart, tells her that she must
indeed turn the parrot-prince back into a human. So that Udal can meet
Kiriya on the battlefield. If Udal wins, then Kiriya will have died an
honourable death. If Kiriya wins, then he will have wiped off the
'daag'. Bijma is overjoyed. But her mother has a condition - Bijma must
forget her love.
Bijma
is aghast. But Lakhi argues that she cannot be selfish. It is important
that the prince regain his human form. Sorrowfully, Bijma agrees, and
the duo make their way to the prince's camp, where the belaboured parrot
(having been chased by Kiriya on the flying horse) has sought safe
haven in Deva's tent.
Bijma changes the prince back, but remembering her promise, soon returns his ring and flees.
Udal
stops Lakhi from following her. When Udal returns, a joyful Devla
announces that they will march toward Mandhavgarh - she, Lakhi and Udal
will head one troop, while Alha, Deva and her nephew (no name) will head
another. Lakhi takes them into the Mandhavgarh fort through a secret
tunnel, while the others attack the main gates.
Smashing sword fights ensue inside the fort, while mayhem rules outside its gates. Everyone is fighting everyone else. Lakhi and Devla are quite good with their swords.
Udal is busy fighting Kiriya - first with swords....
then, when Kiriya, drops his sword, chivalrously throws his own aside so they can fight with daggers...
and
the elephant mows down quite a few Banafur soldiers until Devla
reminds it of its former owners, whereupon it changes direction and mows
down Mandhavgarh soldiers...
the flying horse doesn't get to do anything at all, and Jeevan has made his way back to Urai.
So,
will Devla avenge her husband? Will Udal succeed in fulfilling his
mother's oath? Will love triumph over enmity? And what will happen to
Lakhi?
(I realised after
watching the movie that Jeevan doesn’t really have anything to do; and
there isn't much 'magic', which is a shame considering the promise of
the DVD summary!
A
couple of decent songs, though the music is nothing much to write home
about. Hilarious shots of the fighting - especially when soldiers take
turns to die - one Banafur soldier, followed by one Mandhavgarh one -
and shout 'Aaaaah' each time an arrow hits. The parrot being chased by
the flying horse was a hoot, and so were the 'heads' that rolled onto
the floor when they were beheaded.
This released soon after Baiju Bawra,
which makes me wonder why Meena Kumari signed this at all. She was good
though, and showed the talent that was to make her a legend. Durga
Khote was a revelation. I quite liked her character, spunky and more
given to action than sitting around wringing her hands. Nirupa Roy is beautiful! Really!
And no, she is not crying. She isn't misplacing children. She is
strong, and not beyond some devious manipulation of her own.
No, the necklace, 'naulakha' or otherwise has nothing to do with the story. And as for the rest, don't worry about logic. There isn't any.
© Anuradha Warrier