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Directed by: Girish Karnad
Music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal
Lyrics: Vasant Desai
Starring: Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Shekhar Suman, Amjad Khan,
Shankar Nag, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Harish Patel, Anooradha
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Director Girish Karnad took two Sanskrit plays – Charudutta by Bhasa (300 A.D.) and Mrichhakatika by Shudraka (400 A.D.) – and converted it into a sensual drama that plays out against a backdrop of political upheaval.
Set in a fictional town in Ujjain under the tyrannical regime of King Paalak, the story moves from the disorderly house of courtesans, and their pursuit of pleasure, to two disparate love stories whose strands intertwine, not only with each other, but with the underground political movement that is rebelling against the tyrant. It is also a very different India, as the sutradhar (narrator) reminds us – an India where courtesans had honour; where kama (passion) and dharma (religion / duty) co-existed with love and gain.
The movie owes a lot to the tropes of the theatre – where the play is ‘staged’ only to dissolve into reality – on stage. The sutradhar makes periodic appearances, as if to reminds us that we are both observers and the observed.
Girish Karnad’s sutradhar (Amjad Khan) will also appear as Rishi Vatsyayana, the author of the celebrated Kama Sutra. At this time, however, he hasn’t completed his magnum opus. He is still discovering new asanas (here, sexual positions), and is in the midst of writing his treatise on man-woman relationships.
It is spring and the Vasant Utsav is nearing. The town is teeming with activity, even though night has fallen. The sutradhar introduces us to a motley group of characters –the beautiful nagar vadhu Vasantsena (Rekha) fleeing from the lecherous Samsthanak (Shashi Kapoor), the brother-in-law of the cruel King Paalak; revolutionaries, headed by Aryaka (Kunal Kapoor), and his nameless political advisor (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) plotting to overthrow the king; Sajjal (Shankar Nag), a thief, and his beloved, Madanika (Neena Gupta), a slave in Vasantsena’s household; Teli (Annu Kapoor), the royal masseur gambling away wealth that he does not possess; Charudutt (Shekhar Suman), a poor brahmin playing his flute and not listening to his friend Maitreya (Harish Patel) mourning their poverty….
Charudutt’s wife, Aditi (Anooradha), has taken their son Rohit (a young Master Manjunath in his debut), and gone away to her parents’ home after another fight over his dissolute ways – his love for music has seen him go through his savings and her jewellery. Charudutt wants Maitreya to escort their maid Radha (Gopi Desai) to his in-laws’ house. Tired and panic-stricken, Vasantsena rushes into the dark compound to hide, just as Maitreya and Radha step out. Samsthanak, who has been valiantly chasing Vasantsena, mistakenly accosts Radha, whose screams bring Aryaka to the scene. He takes the opportunity to fell Samsthanak with a well-placed blow.
Maitreya and Radha leave, while Charudutt, oblivious to the tamasha outside continues to immerse himself in music. Vasantsena is ready to leave when he breaks into a song. Like moth to flame, she is drawn into the house. She trips over his son’s toys and Charudutt thinks Radha has returned. Cursing Maitreya for not escorting her to his wife’s aid, he asks ‘Radha’ to get him his shawl so he can escort her instead.
It is only when Vasantsena drapes his shawl over his shoulders that he realises his mistake. As she unveils herself, he is instantly smitten. Vasantsena is no less afflicted, but she masters herself enough to explain her presence. Charudutt offers to escort her, but soon realises that lamps do not light themselves for poor men. Vasantsena is not offended – now that Samsthanak has left the neighbourhood, she does not mind going alone. However, to foil thieves, she leaves her jewellery in his keeping.
It takes very complicated manoeuvres to remove her jewellery, and she asks Charudutt for help. He acquiesces, but the more he tries to remove the various jewels, the more entangled he gets in them. Maitreya returns at this inopportune moment, but conveniently remembers that he hadn’t made an offering at the temple. When he leaves, Vasantsena suggests that it might be easier to remove her jewellery if they lay down.
The night passes and lovelorn Vasantsena returns home. Vatsyayana is still researching new sexual positions and he makes periodic stops at the brothel for purposes of research, where he explains to the prostitutes (and the film does not balk at calling them that – vaishyas) that he has taken a vow of celibacy in order to advance the cause of science. His disciple manages to spot a new position in one of the rooms; that makes it the 29th position in the book.
Outside the brothel, Teli is unsuccessfully trying to sell himself to pay off his debts. Aryaka’s nameless friend rescues him, out of the goodness of his heart – or so Teli thinks. But, no. His rescuer has an ulterior motive – as the royal masseur, Teli is free to walk into the palace. With his help, the revolutionaries could stage a coup. Teli demurs. He is no soldier. In his bid to escape, he gives Vatsyayana a glimpse of the 30th asana – only the sage is writing his treatise for the common man, and thinks it better to keep silent.
In the meantime, Sajjal has found his way into the brothel, and hides in Madanika’s room. When she finds out that he is willing to marry her, she is furious. She is a slave, and will not be let go. Sajjal offers to buy her from the madam. She scoffs, but he forces her to believe him.
Back home, Charudutt is equally lovelorn. Aditi has returned home, and she is cleaning up. It is Maitreya who reminds him silently that Vasantsena’s jewels are still at home. Luckily, before she picks up the bundle, she is diverted, and Charudutt is reprieved. He hands the bundle over to Maitreya to keep safe. Maitreya goes to bed with the bundle under his head. However, his anxiety does not let him sleep. When he hears Charudutt (as he thinks), he hands over the bundle to him. Only, it is Sajjal who is trying to steal the gold he needs to buy his Madanika’s freedom.
When Maitreya discovers that he had inadvertently given the jewels away, the resultant conversation with Charudutt reveals Vasantsena’s nocturnal visit to Aditi. Upset, she leaves home again, handing over her last piece of jewellery to Maitreya to give to Vasantsena in lieu of the stolen jewellery.
When Sajjal shows Madanika the stolen jewels, she recognises them as Vasantsena’s and is petrified. She forces him to pretend to be Charudutt’s servant and give them up. They are overheard by another maid, who lets Vasantsena know. After teasing them a bit, she rewards Sajjal for returning her jewels by freeing Madanika.
As the happy couple leave to get married, they are accosted by the nameless revolutionary who wants Sajjal’s help to free Aryaka, who has been arrested some time before. Sajjal is tempted by visions of making history, and much to Madanika’s ire, he goes away.
Maitreya is quite upset when he comes to Vasantsena. He hands over Aditi’s necklace and informs her about the theft and its aftermath. Vasantsena understands only that Charudutt is alone at home; she tells Maitreya that she will visit Charudutt that night.
Back at the brothel, Ma is trying to teach an old dog some new tricks – how to win a woman in three easy steps. She asks Samsthanak to spruce himself up, to be gentle and courteous, and to woo Vasantsena instead of chasing her up and down the streets. She also asks him to send a covered chariot the next day, and she will persuade Vasantsena to visit him in Pushkar Van.
Unaware that her future is being decided, Vasantsena is meeting Charudutt again. Much to his amazement, she is wearing the jewels that were stolen from his home. She confesses that she had gambled his wife’s necklace away, but is willing to leave her jewels as compensation. This time, however, Charudutt realises that it is not quite as hard to remove the jewellery.
They spend a passionate night together, and come morning, Vasantsena is ready to go back home. Charudutt will have none of it. He goes off to order a covered chariot so they can spend the whole day in Pushkar Van, without Vasantsena being recognised by her adoring public.
He leaves and Aditi returns, much to Vasantsena’s embarrassment. However, Aditi is not so much offended as intrigued. After all, it’s only the wealthy who can afford mistresses. Now that her husband has a mistress, and such a well-known one, she is proud. Besides, she says, blushing, her husband has changed after he spent a night with Vasantsena. They understand each other, though Vasantsena is cut to the quick when Aditi claims she is not really jealous of Vasantsena because the latter is older, and therefore, not really her peer.
For a while, Vasantsena immerses herself in Aditi’s everyday life, even leaving her jewellery in little Rohit’s clay cart. Soon, however, it is time to go. A mischance makes her get into the chariot sent by Samsthanaka, while Aryaka, rescued by Sajjal, and hiding in Charudutt’s house, hides in the chariot sent by Charudutt. Both chariots make their way to Pushkar Van.
Once there, Vasantsena is horrified to see Samsthanak instead of her beloved Charudutt. Frightened, she flees, only to have him follow. In a fit of anger that she loves someone else, Samsthanak strangles her, and then breaks down in a paroxysm of grief. Charudutt, who had been lost in dreams of Vasantsena, comes there; learning that he is Charudutt, the jealous Samsthanak frames him for Vasantsena’s murder. Before the bewildered and bereft Charudutt can protest, he is accused of both theft (of her jewels) and murder and sentenced to be executed.
Is Vasantsena really dead? Will Aryaka succeed in his coup? Will Aditi persuade Samsthanak to rescind her husband’s sentence? What about Samsthanak himself? Will good triumph over evil?
I love period films, and when it is as well-made as this one, it’s a bonus. Like all Sanskrit dramas of the time, Utsav too has layers and layers of emotion, courtesans, burglars, musicians, revolutionaries, all overlapping, intertwining, entangling, until you are not sure where one starts and the other ends. Then, like a magician on stage, the playwright shakes his reed and palm leaves, and it all falls into place with a satisfying thud. Laxmikant-Pyarelal came up with a quietly melodious score, one of their best (especially considering this score released in the 80s, which was the burial ground of melody), relying heavily on the flute and drums, and the lyrics by Vasant Desai matched the languorous mood.
The acting was topnotch, with Rekha as Vasantsena walking away with the honours. She was beautiful as she always is, but beyond that, she underplayed her role, letting her very mobile face express her feelings – love, fear, terror, hurt, yearning. And for an untrained dancer, Rekha is incredibly graceful in her movements.
Shashi Kapoor and Amjad Khan were perfect in their respective roles and the supporting actors – Anooradha Patel, Harish Patel, Neena Gupta, Gopi Desai, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Kunal Kapoor, Annu Kapoor et al – did a wonderful job in maintaining the quiet pace of the movie. Why haven’t I mentioned Charudutta? Because, unfortunately, it was very hard to like Shekhar Suman. He acted well, but had about as much screen presence as the clay cart that appears toward the end of the movie. 
Producer Shashi Kapoor didn’t stint on the production and it shows in the little touches – the accessories, the furniture, the simple costumes, the language (a very Sanskritised Hindi), the authentic sets, the gorgeous jewellery and elaborate coiffures, even the almost-poetic sword fights, choreographed by PK Gopalan Gurukkal… it is unfortunate that the film lost him a crore and a half, leaving him riddled in debt.
Trivia? Amitabh was supposed to play Samsthanak, only he had the accident on the sets of Coolie, and Shashi stepped in. In an interview after the film’s release, he was told: “Having watched you in that fantastic role, you can't imagine anyone else doing it.” "But I can," Shashi replied. "Amitabh has unmatched comic timing."
And yes, a glimpse of the young Sanjana...
