Paigham (1959)

1959

Directed by SS Vasan

Music: C Ramchandra

Starring: Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, 
Raj Kumar, Saroja Devi, Motilal, 

Johnny Walker, Pandhari Bai, 
Pratima Devi, SN Bannerjee

I had put Paigham on my to-watch list a long time ago, but just never got around to watching it. I would keep bypassing it in favour of other films, good, bad, indifferent. For some reason, it just didn't seem interesting enough. Until, some time ago, fellow blogger Richard posted a song from the film. That made me curious enough to watch it during one of my insomniac nights. 

Best friends Manju (Vyjayantimala) and Malti (Saroja Devi) are looking up their results - Manju has come first in her BA exams, and Malti has failed, (but is totally insouciant). The differences do not end there - Malti is the daughter of a mill owner driving a Rs30,000 car, while Manju, the daughter of a single mother, is in dire need of a job. 

Malti promises her a clerical job in her father's factory; when Manju's mother hears the name of Malti's home town, she swoons. When she doesn't regain consciousness even after awhile, Manju, desperate, sets off to get a doctor. She is looking for a rickshaw-wala and is intrigued by the fact that the one she meets is a rather well-dressed young man who is reading Gandhi's autobiography under the light of the street lamp.

Her interest is further aroused when he remonstrates - in English - with the doctor who refuses to make house calls unless he is paid. He also pays the doctor, since Manju, in her hurry, has forgotten all about money. But she's too worried about her mother to bother too much about him.

Ratan (Dilip Kumar), the young rickshaw-wala, has passed his Engineering with honours; a letter announcing the marriage of his niece brings him back to his mother (Pratima Devi), brother Ram (Raj Kumar) and his family in Rangpur.

They are overjoyed to see him, though Ram is apologetic that he had not been able to send money for Ratan's expenses the past two months. Ratan tells him not to worry; he had managed to make enough money plying his rickshaw. He waves his brother's objections away by saying that he had worked at an honest job, and had not duped anyone.

The mill that Ram works in is owned by Malti's father Sewakram (Motilal), who is a jovial man who cannot say 'no' to his daughter. Thanks to Malti, Manju is appointed as a typist there. Soon, Manju is on her way to Rangpur despite her mother's misgivings.

 

The next day, Ram takes Ratan to the mill; while he is there, an expensive imported machine breaks down. The mill's chief engineer opines that the part will have to be ordered; the mill cannot work without the machine, and will have to be shut down leading to much loss. Ratan offers to fix the machine; Malti, who has accompanied her father to the mill is taken by the young man's looks and confidence, and encourages her father to give the youth a chance. 

Manju is happy to see him too. Soon after, she meets him ostensibly to return the money that he had paid the doctor on her behalf. He puts it back in her purse, telling her that he will ask her for it when he needs it. They are well on their way to falling in love with each other, though Ratan keeps it light, teasing her at every opportunity.

Sewakram, pleased with Ratan's work with the machine, and egged on by Malti, offers him a job as chief mechanic. Both Manju and Malti are pleased to hear him accept. Malti visits Ratan at the mill, and is not too pleased either with his ignoring her, or with Manju's interruption. 

 

Manju, on the other hand, is jealous, and upset with Ratan for yelling at her. He soon makes up with her, teasing her into admitting she is jealous.  

They are spotted by Malti, who is furious at being spurned.

It is on his first payday that Ratan realises that something is seriously wrong; the workers had been working overtime to fulfil orders and the Diwali bonus has been announced. Only, Ratan discovers that the workers are being cheated of their dues – they sign for three months’ bonus, and are given only one. He questions the discrepancy, but is informed by everyone, including his own brother that that is the norm. Ratan is troubled. To him, suffering injustice without raising his voice against it is as bad as committing the injustice in the first place.

More trouble follows. There's an accident at the mill. In order to avoid paying indemnity, Seth Sewakram has it publicised as a suicide attempt. Ratan is aghast. How can his brother stand for something so unjust? Ram, on the other hand, though accepting that his employer is wrong, is old-school, and prizes loyalty to the company and his employer above anything else.

With Ratan at the head of the enraged workers, they go to Seth Sewakram’s house to demand justice. Ratan is even more troubled when he realises that Seth Sewakram has coerced the injured worker into signing his claims away for a paltry 200 rupees. His ideals, his integrity, does not allow him to remain silent. His idealism inspires the workers to establish a union, and they elect him the leader. This puts him into direct confrontation with not only Seth Sewakram, but also his brother. Manju’s friendship with Malti, meanwhile, has already developed cracks. 

Dismayed by the workers’ loyalty to Ratan, and their continued intransigence, Seth Sewakram decides to fire both the brothers. As it is, Ratan’s involvement with the union has led to his niece’s engagement being jeopardised. Ram wants him to make his peace with the mill owner, and Seth Sewakram himself does not want to let a good worker go. 

Will Ratan give into family considerations? Will he dissolve the union and stay back? What is the secret that Manju’s mother keeps from her until her death? Will the workers receive justice? Before the movie ends, there will be a death, an attempted murder, attempted arson, and a court case. 

Paigham is certainly not a 'great' film; it's a simple story of class conflict, interspersed with the usual mix of romance, drama (which rarely descended into 'melodrama'), and comedy. But Dilip Kumar, Raj Kumar and Vyjayanthimala lifted it up a couple of notches. Both Ram and Ratan are upright, decent folks  - the difference is that Ram is old school, and lives by his loyalty to his employer - namak halal, while Ratan is idealistic and places honour and integrity above everything else, including his family. 

As the man who believes that the worker and the employer share a symbiotic relationship, Ratan is idealistic without becoming preachy, and that's a fine line to tread. Dilip Kumar handles it well. Of the trio, it was always Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand who were considered the romantic heroes, but the romantic scenes in this film make you wish Dilip Kumar did more such roles instead of being slotted into tragic, melancholic roles. He has neither RK's intensity, or Devsaab's sophistication, but he was real and believable, humorous and self-deprecating, and oh, so melt-into-a-puddle earnest. (I fell in love.)

The chemistry between him and Vyjayanthi is sparkling, and he is wonderful in the scenes where he teases her until she admits that she was jealous, and later, annoys her with a story of a previous love. She gets more and more hot and bothered, until he confesses that he was 12 years old when it happened. 

Vyjayantimala had something more to do than just be eye candy in a couple of songs and dances. She lit up the screen in the light, romantic scenes, and it is easy to believe that her character was totally in love with Ratan - the shyness, the jealousy, the love - she used her eyes to great effect. She was equally effective in the dramatic scenes, reminding you that behind the danseuse was a fine actress, who never really got her due. 

Raj Kumar, who, I must confess, is not usually one of my favourites, was really, really good as the affectionate older brother, who nevertheless cannot understand his brother's uncompromising idealism. He was restrained, without a trace of his usual mannerisms, and became Ram with aplomb.

 

The comedy track was unnecessary. I can't believe I found Johnny Walker irritating, but I did. He made me want to take his butler's cap and shove it down his head to keep him from talking. Yes, it was that bad. 

What let me down completely, though, was C Ramchandra's music. The composer must have had a bad day, or this was one of the films where he was given the job in the morning, and tossed off the tunes four hours later. Pleasant enough tunes, but probably something he thought of while brushing his teeth. 

Yet, on the whole, it was a pleasant watch, especially if you like Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala.

Trivia: The role of Vyjayanthimala's reel mother was played by her real-life mother, Vasundhara Devi.