Griha Pravesh(1979)

The DVD cover caught my eye, and the plot sounded interesting, so I bought it. At first, I found the pace a little too leisurely, but after a while, I grew to appreciate the movie's "go slowwww" approach. While the "coffee = Mansi, tea = Sapna" symbolism was a bit heavy-handed, it was still interesting to watch, and a nice change from the masala flicks that are usually in my DVD player.

"..You go back to your coffee. And I'll live with my tea." Sapna's(Sarika) words to Amar(Sanjeev Kumar) sum up the entire movie for me. Amar may have turned to Sapna for the intimacy that was missing in his relationship with Mansi(Sharmila Tagore), but in the end, he went back to what was safe and familiar. It was evident that Amar wasn't ready to leave Mansi from the following: his inability to tell her straightaway about his affair with Sapna; his attempt to dissuade Sapna from coming to his house to meet his wife("I feel that you haven't really seen me..if you see me in the house, you might change your opinion about me..."); his refusal to sit and have tea with Sapna and Mansi, and the way he left Sapna to walk home by herself.

The next-to-last shot of Amar, Mansi, and their small son, Babla, sitting at the table, sipping their respective cups of coffee, speaks volumes. It's such a perfect ending. It kinda leaves you hanging, but at the same time, you sense that Amar and Mansi will remain together, even if they're not as close. As Amar says to Mansi earlier in the film, "It happens, Mansi. It happens with everybody. People just stay close to each other while staying together. The togetherness tends to get shortened. You see, Mansi, one day we might be together in the bed. But, we might not be as close. Today's togetherness will get shortened. And then we'll go on the honeymoon. To freshen up our today..."

Karishmaa(1984)

Hindi remake of Tik...Tik...Tik. I learned about the existence of this flick via a Reena Roy thread on a now-defunct Bollywood forum. Unfortunately, not even the VCD appears to be readily available, and since it was a flop, it will probably never see a DVD release. **sigh** Why is it that most of the older movies I'd like to watch aren't commercially available(in the US, at least)? If only I'd known about them when VHS was the norm. Anyway...

Instead of Madhavi, Swapna, and Radha there is Reena Roy, Tina Munim, and Swaroop Sampat respectively. Kamal's second ex-wife, Sarika, who had a cameo in Tik...Tik...Tik, reprises her bit part, but with a little more screen time it seems, judging from this clip and another scene that was posted to a masala board.

More YouTube vids:

Ek Haseen Lakhon Mein - intro song of Reena, Tina, and Swaroop

Teri Nazar Se Meri Nazar Ka - Kamal and Reena

Jaan Meri Tere Liye Janam Liya - another song with Kamal and Reena

Khol Doonghi Dil Ka Tala - Kamal and Tina Munim

Swaroop in a white bikini - Personally, I prefer Madhavi's trimmer figure, but Swaroop looks nice, and has a very pretty face. (ETA: Here's a longer version of this scene, with sound)