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dweemeister · 7 years ago

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Mr. & Mrs. ‘55 (1955, India)

Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) are cited by international film critics as some of the greatest films of all time, not just some of the best Bollywood (Hindi-language Indian cinema) has to offer. But to be forthcoming about my expertise, I admit ignorance about those two dramas, as my knowledge of Indian cinema remains a weakness. Non-English language movies hailed as international classics tend to be dramas, not comedies. Yet both require the same amount of cultural and historical context to understand, so what are these critics and historians doing? I will leave answers to that question to you, the reader; for now, here is a delightful screwball comedy and lighthearted social satire from Dutt, building and improving upon the flirtatious humor found in Baaz (1953; hey, I’ve seen that one!).

Anita Verma (Madhubala) is a young woman who takes every opportunity to leave her aunt Seeta Devi’s (Lalita Pawar) house when her crush, tennis player Ramesh (Al Nasir), is playing a tournament. Ramesh is more interested in the upcoming Wimbledon Championships than Anita, and brushes her off. Seeta, rolling her eyes towards her niece’s tennis star worship, is a hardline, self-described feminist who simply hates men – I am certain misandry is incompatible with feminism, but feel free to correct me – and attempts to impress upon her niece her sociopolitical ideals. But struggling cartoonist Preetam (Dutt) incidentally meets Anita, falls instantly in love with her (she could care less about him at first), and will eventually wreck Seeta’s best-laid plans. But before that happens, Seeta is looking for a man to marry Anita as Anita’s father’s will stipulates that she must marry within a month of turning twenty-one years old in order to inherit his fortune.

Also featuring in Mr. & Mrs. ‘55 are Johnny (Johnny Walker, a Dutt regular) and his girlfriend from his office, Julie (Yasmin).

To call Mr. & Mrs. ’55 a feminist film is a stretch that no one should be attempting. One hopes that the “feminism” (again, more misandrist than anything else) found in Mr. & Mrs. ‘55 is satirical, and not what screenwriter Abrar Alvi and Dutt actually believe to be feminism. As Anita’s auntie, Seeta is mistrustful of any men of any status, is suspicious of her niece’s activities outside of the house, and, ultimately, is scornful of a woman’s life choices if those choices do not adhere to the concept of feminism that Seeta herself has subscribed to. Though Seeta’s depiction cannot be described as damning, the character is confrontational, condescending, and manipulative not only to men, but later to Anita in wanting to secure even a fraction of her deceased brother’s fortune for herself.

Adding to the film’s questionable writing is a scene where Anita meets Preetam’s sister-in-law (Kumkum) about ninety minutes into the film – this encounter will eventually convince Anita that traditional married life is honorable, worthwhile. The sister-in-law, residing in the countryside, extols the sources of happiness in her life: tending to the homestead, the time spent with her children, and the company of her husband. She also adds that being on the receiving end of her husband’s beatings is just an aspect of their time together, and that she does not mind at all. This line comes from almost nothing and will be received as outdated. I profess not to know about gendered norms in India during the 1950s, but even then, such dialogue should have provoked some ire from audiences. Anita has a change of heart, and becomes more open to loving Preetam. This character development arrives too rapidly, sending another conflicting message about gendered roles that could have been prevented. This is reckless writing.

Yet if one can forgive these storytelling indiscretions, the two central performances are outstanding. Beginning with Guru Dutt, he brings an intensity – not in regards to sexuality or loquaciousness, but to how he commits just enough emotion for each comical or dramatic scene he appears in – to his performance that makes it difficult to look away from. Always charming and combining a social cynicism with his character’s artistic passions, Dutt, like in Baaz, is a well-rounded, excellent romantic lead who can laugh at his own travails. He might not be the handsomest, the fittest, or the most confident-looking fellow who ever graced a Bollywood film, but his acting discipline renders all of that irrelevant. But as Anita, Madhubala is given the most to do here as her character undergoes the most change from the film’s beginning and end. Anita comes of age here, moving from tennis star fangirl to confused budding feminist (at least, in her auntie’s ideal) to a young woman understanding that happiness is something that is found and understood for oneself, not defined by others, and is not interfering or devaluing the lives of others. Indeed, her happiness is expressed in regressive ways, but the inherent truth of a modest, introverted idea of happiness remains.

Johnny Walker and Yasmin’s characters are not necessary to the plot and their scenes make the movie longer than it should be, but this film would not be as enjoyable without them. As Johnny and Julie, respectively, they supply the film with comic-musical situations that one can’t imagine Preetam or Anita finding themselves in. They serve a worthy purpose, if ultimately tangential to Mr. & Mrs. ’55 at-large.

The strong musical score by composer O.P. Nayyer and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri is less vestigial; the songs appearing during almost all of the film’s dramatic highs. Ever broke into song while stalking your athletic crush while they were swimming laps at the pool? Well, “Thandi Hawa Kalli Ghata” (sung by Guru Dutt’s wife, Geeta Dutt – dubbing Madhubala) might be a familiar experience to you, but I doubt you had backup dancers and singers at that moment’s disposal. It is a romp of a song, let down only by the fact that I think somebody needed to teach the extras how to properly dive into a pool (simply leaning and falling into a pool does not count). “Jaane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji” is for Johnny and Yasmin as they begin their courtship. A few lyrics are repeated a little too often and could use some variation, but this is as fun and flirty as one could ask for. “Udhar Tum Haseen Ho” (Mohammad Rafi dubbing for Guru Dutt) appears once Anita has understood her feelings for Preetam – I mean, what did you expect, that she would fly out to Wimbledon to watch Ramesh? – amid cinematographer V.K. Murthy’s floating camerawork and use of chiaroscuro. A beautiful string line carries the flowing, ¾-time melody. It is a lovers’ waltz – in rhythm, if not in how the two lovers approach and move with the other.

With the music and the acting as convincing as Preetam’s sister-in-law’s talk with Anita, Mr. & Mrs. ‘55 is a pleasure to watch. But this praise comes with some reservation – that Guru Dutt and Abrar Alvi are not interested here in portraying genuine feminists or feminism. Their intentions in how the women are portrayed might be satirical, but this is never clear (perhaps that calls for a more conscious, respectful remake; I certainly think that satire and feminism can clash and coexist in a Bollywood movie). Nevertheless, Mr. & Mrs. ‘55 represents a triumph for most everyone involved (all of whom were to build off their work here and destined for greater films), offering ridiculously watchable entertainment.

My rating: 8/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

#Mr. and Mrs. 55 #Guru Dutt #Madhubala #Johnny Walker #Bollywood #Lalita Pawar #Yasmin #Abrar Alvi #O. P. Nayyer #Majrooh Sultanpuri #Geeta Dutt #Mohammad Rafi #V.K. Murthy #My Movie Odyssey

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