NEEL KAMAL
A film review by Amin Meghani
Copyright 1995 Amin Meghani
Off the back shelf:
NEEL KAMAL[ks] (Raj Kapoor, Jahan Ara?, Madhubala) ***
When Ganga (Madhubala), a (supposedly) low-caste untouchable, first sets eyes on Madhusudhan (RK), a handsome sculptor, she knows he's the only man in the world for her. It takes quite a bit of convincing, however, to bring Madhusudhan to see things her way. Societal mores in those days forbade inter-caste marriages (sound familiar?), and Madhusudhan is painfully aware of cruel future rebuttals were he to succumb to Ganga's love. Instead, he allows himself to be swayed by Rani Saheba's (Ara) attentions. By the time the principals discover that Ganga is of noble birth, it is too late. Or is it? Ganga has claimed Madhusudhan for her own and emerges triumphant in her seeming defeat.
I have not seen Madhubala in too many films, but I have noted on occasion her remarkable resemblance to Marilyn Monroe. In NEEL KAMAL, though, she is barely on the verge of adulthood and the transformation to the riveting beauty of later years is not yet evident. It is impossible not to be affected by her childish enthusiasm, her pure and simple beauty, and her unswaying, unadulterated love for Madhusudhan that triumphs in the end against all odds. I have not been moved by so poignant a performance (in recent memory). RK's suavity and magnetic screen presence speak volumes of the dazzling star he was (destined) to become.
Kidar Sharma, one of the fathers of modern (post WWII) Indian cinema, displays his thorough command of the medium. As the merest trifling example of his genius: there are a couple of (early) powerful scenes involving bloodshed; however, these do not glorify violence, but rather are designed to effectively convey a genuine sense of grief and bereavement for those innocents killed needlessly. To this end, these scenes are superbly filmed and succeed admirably in their objective.
Stars of the 40s and 50s have often recalled fondly the stern, no-nonsense nature of the great Kidar Sharma. I can't help but wish he were alive today, so that he could roll up his sleeves and teach today's so-called directors what it takes to make a real film. And if they refuse to learn, why he could easily take them across his knee and administer 10 to 12 of the juiciest...Singapori ishtyle!!
I will always remember NEEL KAMAL as the movie in which I fell in love (and I suspect I'm neither the first nor the last in this endeavor) with that rarest of lotuses: a beautiful girl called Madhubala.
--Amin
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews