Hindi film industry has a penchant for typecasting actors and putting them in a straitjacket, from which they are never able to escape, does not stop with people in flesh and blood. This trait of the industry extends to entire groups of people, religion, ethnicity or language. Thus, there are umpteen films based on the life and times of nomadic tribes, gypsies or put succinctly in Hindi, as a ‘kabeela’. Even if a film is not entirely dedicated to this theme, but has it woven as a sub-plot in the broader narrative, the treatment remains unaltered. These people, and their entire way of life, is trivialised as a caricature- with weird hairdos, crazy antics, outdated traditions and foolish outfits.
Kabeela, directed by Bolu Khosla (this was to be his only directorial venture, unlike his more illustrious sibling Raj Khosla), and released in 1976, remains confined within the space defined for such genres in the wider ambit of Bollywood. Sadly, Khosla had the opportunity to add a distinctive flavour to his film, at least in one department –– costumes. With Bhaanu Athiya at the helm, over the top attire for most actors could have been toned down substantially to give them a touch of subtlety. Equally tacky is the work of Art Director Ram Yedekar and Agnes Fernandes (set décor). Surely, by middle of the seventies, substantial strides had been made in this field, as was shown in films like “Sholay” and the likes. One is also not able to fathom the less than average songs in the film, with music composed by the celebrated duo of Kalyanji-Anandji.
However, “Kabeela” is redeemed by performances of the lead pair –– Feroz Khan and Rekha, as also the competent screenplay by Jayant Dharmadhikari and crisp dialogues by Akhtar Romai. Action sequences choreographed by Mast Burhan are riveting in parts, like Feroz Khan chasing a train on horseback and then running over the entire stretch to the drivers’ cabin (almost like Sholay’s legendary sequence). Waman Bhonsle, who edited the film, successfully managed to restrict its length to just about two hours, a rarity in those days when films tended to be quite long and close to two and a half hours. Had he been slightly bolder, the needless scenes between Babli (Bindu) and the village grocer (V. Gopal) could have been entirely chopped off, as they hardly elicit any laughter, the primary reason because of which they were inducted into the film.
Khan, who can rightfully claim his place in the pantheon of Bollywood greats due to the panache and aplomb, the style and finesse with which he directed his films, starting with the 1972 “Apradh”, also had a screen presence which made him a perfect choice for such macho roles. His versatility may suffer from serious lacunas and limitations, but these can easily be overlooked.
As for Rekha, by the time “Kabeela” was released, she was truly transformed. Her command over Hindi, her perfect diction and her nuanced histrionics were all becoming apparent.
“Kabeela” is the story of a gypsy clan, where Durjan (Imtiaz Khan) aspires to become Sardar (chief) of the clan. But before that he has to contend with three challengers –– Sardar Babbar (Premnath as the existing sardar; as loud as ever, but worth watching because of his dynamic screen presence; although, at times, he looks extremely funny with his preposterous hairdo and clothes which are more befitting for a circus clown than a gypsy head), his own father and Mangal (Feroz Khan, son of Sardar Babbar and Chamkali- Kamini Kaushal- looking very funny in a large wig, unlike her normal graceful presence). Durjan draws first blood by killing his father in a duel after falsely implicating him. Meanwhile, Bijli (Bindu- in an extremely atrocious hairstyle, but in a rare positive role) woos Mangal.
But in an act played by destiny, Mangal rescues a village belle, Shobha (Rekha) from a bull gone amok in the village market leading to blooming of love between the two. This brings a change in Mangal’s mind-set, who wants the kabeela to leave its path of crime and join the mainstream as per rules of the land and the country. But Durjan and his cohorts (including Sharad Saxena as Shaitan Singh) oppose the idea.
In the interim, Shobha is abducted by members of the clan at the behest of Dildar Singh (Shyamkumar), under whose patronage the nefarious activities are given shape. Realising his mistake, Mangal goes back and rescues her in the nick of time and through Police Inspector Ajay ( veteran actor Sudhir) sends her back to her village, where villagers, at the behest of the evil Lalaji (V. Gopal) label her as being of bad character and order her to leave. An embittered Shobha reaches the kabeela to seek solace from Mangal, who refuses to acknowledge her, leading to a breakdown of their relationship. It takes serious effort on part of Mangal to prove his innocence.
However, the situation is incited by Durjan, who plays this as a sign of Mangal’s betrayal of the kabeela after he rescues Shobha from the clutches of Dildar Singh (who has paid for her abduction), as also Mangal’s heroic effort to prevent the train from getting derailed and saving the life of hundreds of hapless passengers. Now, it is up to Sardar Babar to deliver justice as per laws of the kabeela. In front of him is his son. How will act? What will be the denouement? It forms a part of the climax.
Genre: Romantic drama
Director: Bolu Khosla
Cast: Feroz Khan, Rekha, Kamini Kaushal, Imtiaz Khan, Prem Nath, Bindu, Surendra Nath, Sharat Saxena, Sudhir, V. Gopal, Dhumal
Story: A.K. Aggarwal
Screenplay: Jayant Dharmadhikari
Dialogue: Akhtar Romani
Lyrics: Farooq Qaiser
Music: Kalyanji-Anandji
Box office status: Hit
