In pursuit of Love

Ever since the tragedy of the engineering students getting washed away in the Beas River television channels have been playing the footage over and over again and distressing as it is we have been watching the dreadful images over and over again.

What is about tragedies that get us hooked on to them? Why is it that we like to revisit films that made us cry rather than watch films that made us laugh over and over again?

Why do we remember songs that make us sad rather than songs that lift our spirits? Psychiatrists reveal that this has more to do with connection than entertainment. These songs, these images, these stories connect to our psyche and make a place in our memory and over a period of time we become attached to these memories.

This may be true because most of the great love stories in our literature or on the big screen always ended in a tragedy be it ‘Romeo Juliet’, ‘Heer Ranjha’ or ‘Laila Majnu’. Coming to think of it most of our classics particularly the Black and White films ended in tragedies.

In Mehboob’s ‘Andaz’1949 a triangle love story starring Raj Kapoor- Nargis- Dilip Kumar, Nargis engaged to Raj Kapoor and wooed by Dilip Kumar shoots Kumar by gun point because this was the only way she can prove her loyalty to fiancé Raj Kapoor. In the climax Nargis is sentenced to jail which is an extension of Sita’s trial by the fire to prove her chastity to Lord Ram after living in Lanka with Ravan. Every time I watch the film I’m angry with Mehboob Khan for the chauvinistic end but he has explained in an interview that it was the only way to terminate the love story.

In ‘Kagaaz ke Phool’1959 the climax portrayed Guru Dutt a broken man and a failed filmmaker while his protégée Waheeda Rehman is a successful star unable to reach him. The closing scene where she stands with her arms outstretched is poignant because all the superstar can feel for her guru now is just compassion.

‘Mughal-e-Azam’1960 brought to life the doomed love affair between the Crown Prince Salim, played by Dilip Kumar and the beautiful, ill-fated court dancer thereby perpetrating a war between the prince and his father the great Mughal Emperor Akbar, played by Prithviraj Kapoor. While most tales of Salim and Anarkali end with the death of Anarkali, ‘Mughal- E- Azam’ grants her freedom from a secret tunnel in return for a pending favor.

‘Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam’1962 had Meena Kumari as the Choti bahu of a crumbling feudal family. She is lonely and craving for her husband’s attention and resorts to alcohol and becomes a hopeless addict. After her husband, Rehman, is paralysed, she ventures out of the walls of the haveli with Bhoothnath, Guru Dutt and is killed for daring to breaking the rules of patriarchal society. Another Sita sacrificed for the dignity of Ram.

‘Khamoshi’ 1969 portrayed Waheeda Rehman in the role of a nurse who is asked to pretend to be in love with her patient, Dharmendra and unwittingly falls in love with him finally leading to her collapse. ‘Anand’ 1970 was a tragic masterpiece from Hrishikesh Mukherjee was a bitter sweet story about a hero, Rajesh Khanna dying of cancer determined to make every moment of his remaining life happy an antitheses of ‘Mili’ by the same filmmaker where the lively Jaya Bhaduri does not get up from the bed after she discovers her illness.

‘Deewar’ 1975 saw Amitabh Bachchan playing the rags to riches story of a don Vijay Verma, the elder brother who grows up with an acute awareness of his father's humiliation and is victimised for same. In the process of fighting for his rights Vijay is killed by his police inspector younger brother, Shashi Kapoor. Vijay, Amitabh had to die in the end because he is on the wrong side of law while Ravi, Shashi had to win because he represents the values of his mother, Nirupa Roy.

In ‘Safar’1970 the audience mourned the death of not the character but the superstar Rajesh Khanna where as in ‘Umrao Jaan’1981 the audience empathised with the tragic tale of a courtesan shunned by her separated family because she has shamed them by becoming a courtesan. It is said that the film was to original end on a positive note where poor parents in need of money come to sell their daughter to her and Rekha says “Ab ek aur Umrao nahi banegi.” Director Muzzafar Ali how ever felt that felt that a desolate Rekha looking into the mirror in the last shot would be more effective and it was.

‘Ek Duje ke Liye’1981 depicted the lovers die in the end and the film inspired many suicide cases in real life. Director Balu Mahendru was forced to alter the end by concerned parents but Balu was firm that it is obsessive parents that drive children to destruction. Soon, Balu came up with another heart wrenching film ‘Sadma’ that had the nation crying and inadvertently even this was anti parents. Both these films Balu admitted were inspired from real life.

‘Qayamat se Qayamat Tak’ 1988 is an extension of Romeo Juliet about feuding families who drive their children to devastation. Juhi is shot down by Aamir’s people in the end and Aamir stabs himself to die with his beloved while the parents watch their dreams die hard.

‘Maya Memsaab’1993 was story of a woman who lives in fantasy because she is disillusioned with reality. Doomed to depression Maya spreads despair. On the other hand ‘Maachis’1996 about the loss of hope in times of terrorism. ‘Dil Se’1998 about a stranger Manish Koirala invading Shahrukh Khan’ life and driving him to devastation! Tabu does the same to Irfaan Khan in Vishal Bharadwaj’s ‘Maqbool’2003 inspired from ‘Macbeth’.

The end had to be tragic in all the stories because dram lies in lovers never finding happiness..!