Bidaai (1974)

September 01, 2016 11:02 pm | Updated October 24, 2016 04:36 pm IST

CARRYING A MESSAGE LV Prasad’s “Bidaai”, starring Leena Chandravarkar and Jeetendra did well at the box office despite tough competition.

CARRYING A MESSAGE LV Prasad’s “Bidaai”, starring Leena Chandravarkar and Jeetendra did well at the box office despite tough competition.

LV Prasad made a distinct mark in Indian cinema. His work appealed to people across all sections of the society. He made movies that were accepted as family entertainers and he came up with topical subjects. Some of the notable movies that came from the Prasad Productions were “Milan”, “Khilona” and “Ek Duje Ke Liye”. The last named was a blockbuster at the box-office with Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri in the lead roles.

The decade starting 1970 featured some landmark movies in the history of Indian cinema. Parallel cinema was a rage and small time actors assumed big reputations with their small-budget movies. Their universal appeal encouraged movie makers to come up with fresh story plots. “Bidaai” did not belong to the category of commercial cinema as such but it became a surprising hit and once again confirmed the fact that LV Prasad did not need a huge star cast to make a hit movie.

There was nothing extraordinary about “Bidaai”. The music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal was the weak link in a narrative where Jeetendra was pitted against Leena Chandavarkar. The story was not dramatic enough to keep the audience engaged. Yet it did well at the box office. Actually the audience was in a transition phase too. There was “Anand”, “Mere Apne”, “Sholay”, “Deewar”, “Zanjeer” and the off-beat cinema that included landmark offerings from Shyam Benegal as “Nishant”, “Ankur”, “Bhumika”, “Manthan”. There was variety and quality.

“Bidaai” was not the first of its kind. A rich girl falling in love with a poor boy and their marriage going through a turbulent phase for many reasons. The daughter-in-law falling out with the mother-in-law and coming to grief later after realising her folly. This was a subject that had been dealt with many times. So what made “Bidaai” so warmly acceptable to the masses which were being treated to violence-ridden stuff in most movies.

Jeetendra, the Jumping Jack of Hindi cinema, had carved a niche for himself among the film makers from the South. He was a rage with his outlandish dresses and the frolicking on screen with heroines much younger. The list of hits kept increasing and Jeetendra was a busy star. Of course, he played some sedate roles too in movies like “Parichay”, “Khushboo”, “Kinara” where he showed his prowess as an actor who could hold his place with individual brilliance.

For many, Jeetendra remained an underachiever. He was paired with the top heroines of the times and he was not averse to compete with male stars of the day even when the script was loaded against him. He was a common name among many multi-starrers that became the trend in the 1970s. Producers found Jeetendra a highly disciplined star and it suited the actor too. His list of hits only grew with each passing year.

Leena Chandavarkar made no tall claims. The doll-faced actor managed to find herself space against some of the top names of the industry like Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna. She was not the most sought-after but she had her faithful followers.

Jeetendra and Chandavarkar came together first in “Humjoli” which was a super hit essentially because of its songs. Their next movie was “Bidaai” which fell below the expectations of their fans. For Jeetendra, the role fitted him nicely. An ambitious young man, Sudhakar (Jeetendra) wanting to give his family a comfortable life after having seen his elder brother leave the home.

The distressing period that the young Sudhakar experiences with his mother Parvati (Durga Khote) and sister Gauri (Meena T) leads to his resolve to make it big. But fate has pain in store for Sudhakar. Padma (Chandavarkar), daughter of a wealthy businessman Dharam Das (Madan Puri), falls in love with Sudhakar and ends up marrying him against the wishes of her father.

Brought up in an affluent ambience, Padma is not able to adjust to the modest home that Sudhakar offers and moves out of the house. Sudhakar is compelled by his mother to relocate with Padma. Sudhakar pledges to teach Padma a lesson but in the process loses his sister and mother. Their death leaves Sudhakar distraught and Padma repentant. The movie ends on a sombre note with a social message of the importance of a joint family

Genre: Social drama

Director: LV Prasad

Cast: Jeetendra, Leena Chandravarkar, Madan Puri, Durga Khote, Meena T, Asrani, AK Hangal, Jagdeep

Story: NT Rama Rao

Screenplay: LV Prasad

Dialogue: Anand Kumar

Lyrics: Anand Bakshi

Music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal

Box office status: Hit

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