Sangam: Celebrating 50 years

I vividly remember berating my late father, an Air Force officer, about not letting me stand next to the taxiway and wave him off as his plane taxied towards the runway. In fact, I also demanded that I be allowed to run alongside. If the lady in white could do it to the taxiing Canberra, why couldn't I? I protested, only to bring forth an indulgent chuckle.

I was referring to the scene in Raj Kapoor's famous love triangle Sangam. It has been 50 years since it was released and is still etched in the national consciousness for its novel theme, extraordinary performances, spectacular locales and outstanding music (by Shankar-Jaikishan). The film was a massive hit and fetched Raj the Filmfare Award for Best Direction and Best Editing, and Vyjayanthimala the Best Actress award.

Director's Choices

Interestingly, Rajendra Kumar, who played the third angle, performed a reverse role in Aas Ka Panchhi that was released three years prior to Sangam. He joined the military (as Raj does in Sangam) and went out of the scene for a while. Later, when he returned, he found his love interest getting married to his childhood friend, a doctor. That lady was Vyjayanthimala as well. Raj was originally to make this film in the late 1940s under the title Gharonda with Dilip Kumar, Nargis and himself but the project got postponed till 1962. Nargis had by then, quit films following her marriage to Sunil Dutt. When Raj approached Dilip Kumar, the latter wanted the right to edit the final copy of the film. Raj, rejecting such a condition, then approached Dev Anand who too declined the role. The role ultimately went to Rajendra Kumar.

This beautiful cinematic tale of love, misunderstanding, separation and sacrifice was a trailblazer in several respects. It was Raj's first colour film and, distinguished by its epic length of 238 minutes, it had two intermissions. This was also the first Hindi film in colour that was shot abroad. Radhu Karmakar's masterful cinematography of the foreign locales under Raj's visionary stewardship mesmerised the audience and started a vogue for foreign shoots with Love in Tokyo (1966), Evening in Paris (1967), Around the World (1967) and several others. This movie was the first of its kind whose central theme was male bonding which went well beyond an ordinary friendship. The woman was incidental: to be used as a gift by the men, as a proof of their mutual friendship. She resented it but no one was interested in her feelings.

It was a brave Raj who brought this unsettling issue for the first time on the big screen. The film's songs have since then become classics. The popular Bol Radha Bol stands out for Vyjayanthimala's appearance in a swimsuit. She later confessed that "she swims like a dead fish" and all the close-up shots were taken in a swimming pool, while the long shots were done by her body double. This song also had Vyjayanthimala uttering a few dialogues, a trend which caught on with Saira in Aman, Sharmila in An Evening in Paris and many others.

Evergreen

Then there's the evergreen Prem Patra, which is gentle and romantic. There's a story behind this song. Hasrat Jaipuri (the lyricist) fell in love with a neighbourhood girl called Radha and wrote this poem for her. The poem may never have been delivered, but Raj was to later deliver it to the world as the perennial mantra for lovers. Not many are aware that in this melodious Rafi rendition, Lata joins in at the end. Buddha Mil Gaya was a trend-setter. Vyjayanthimala later stated that it was not a dance but a parody. Picking up the lampshade, dancing on the stool, it was all very impromptu. Incidentally, Lata was tricked into singing this song. Several years later, Lata said in an interview that in her entire career she had felt embarrassed only while recording this number! So miffed was she that she decided neither to see the film nor sing a note for Raj's next, Mera Naam Joker. They made up again for Bobby.

In Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, Raj was at his best, handling the departments of the accordion, singing and dancing and emoting with consummate skill. Rajendra, who was mostly playbacked by Rafi, had Mahendra Kapoor to back him. Mahendra's son, in an interview, stated that Raj had grown very fond of him during a tour of Russia and promised him a chance to sing for the second lead in his films. Mahendra remarked that Raj would forget his promise once he reached India but Raj took the cigarette he was smoking and burnt his hand and said the mark would remind him. Dost Dost Na Raha is my personal favourite. The way its picturisation brings out the characters' inner feelings illustrates Raj's total mastery of the medium of the Hindi film. The piano riffs were played by Shankar himself. Sangam brought out differences between Shankar and Jaikishan. When Amin Saayani's Binaca Geetmala - then a litmus test for popularity - selected Prem Patra for the top spot over Dost Dost Na Raha, the seeds of dissent were sown. Rafi's song was the creation of Jaikishan-Hasrat team, whereas the Mukesh song was conceived by Shankar-Shailendra combination.

Differences

Shankar accused Jaikishan of having revealed this in an interview in violation of an understanding between them that the tunes, despite being composed separately by them, would always be identified as Shankar-Jaikishan's. For him, Dost Dost Na Raha was his life's best composition but it had been bested by his colleague's tune which was lightweight. The bitterness of the controversy took its toll on subsequent assignments. Their friendship began to crumble. Sangam was a phenomenon which spawned many trends. In the climax scene where Rajendra is about to die after having shot at himself, he utters, "Sangam Ganga aur Jamuna ka hi hota hai aur sangam ke liye Saraswati ko lupt hona hi padta hai," as his face disappears from the screen. You are left to wonder whether Raj's attaining his manzil-e-maqsood (being Vyjayanthimala's affections which he articulates in O Mehbooba song) didn't come without a usurious penalty!