An entertaining indictment of the government of the day, Manoj Kumar’s comment on the socialist fabric of India continues to be relevant. What he underlined in his script more than 40 years back still makes it to the election manifestos and speeches of our netas . They are still offering food, clothing and shelter to Bharat. Yes, that’s what Manoj Kumar personifies in the film. Bharat, who has graduated as an engineer, but is still waiting for a job that suits his education. Having grown up in Nehruvian India, for him his degree is his birth chart, his janmapatri. In many ways, it is the follow up of what Raj Kapoor reflected upon in the ‘50s with films like “Awaara” and “Shri 420”.
The film talks of growing discontent among the youth against the education system that promises a lot but delivers little. It hints at the tax policies that please neither the corporates nor the common man. All this still rings a bell and pulls you to revisit the film.
Woven in Manoj Kumar’s typical lyrical way, every time things get tight, there is song to release the tension but Manoj Kumar seldom loses touch with logic. When we break into “Haye Haye Re Majboori Ye Mausam Aur Ye Doori”, Manoj Kumar doesn’t give in to the sensual charm of Zeenat Aman for Bharat has to attend an interview in the next half-an-hour. The much maligned physical assault scene where Tulsi (Moushmi Chatterjee) cries ‘bhagwan ke liye mujhe chhod do’ is in fact a metaphor for what the need for Roti, Kapada Aur Makaan can lead you to. If the welfare state doesn’t fulfil its purpose, common man has to look above for help. It is this want that makes Bharat’s younger brother Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan in a cameo) agree to sell his country. It is this want that makes Tulsi believe the neighbourhood grocers, who turn out to be beasts. A sidekick swears in the name of Old Delhi or New Delhi according to convenience. Our politicians are still doing it. At times they invoke tradition, at others they bring in development on the menu.
It is not just the metaphors. When Bharat hits one of Tulsi’s tormentors, a wall in the background has ‘Vote for Congress’ written with coal. Remember it released, a year before the Emergency was imposed. Bharat addresses Tulsi as his comrade and once again to release the tension we have a song which talks about the killing inflation.
By this time, his Bharat image had crystallised and Manoj Kumar didn’t mind flaunting it. Take the scene where he is chased by a police man. When the officer asks his name, he says Bharat in a tone which blurs the line between the man and the country.
Even in the love triangle there is lot of symbolism at play. The ‘god’ ring that Bharat gifts to his beloved Sheetal strikes the conscience. Manoj Kumar doesn’t paint the third angle in the love story in contrasting colours. In fact Mohan (Shashi Kapoor) is as ideal as Bharat, it is just that he is on the right side of the system. In Manoj Kumar’s ideal world, Mohan, a corporate honcho, is seeing reading about provident fund laws and quotes John F. Kennedy: ‘ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’
It is the girl, who gives up on Bharat for material needs. The song “Aur Nahin, Aur Nahin, Gham Ke Pyaale Aur Nahin”, which fetched Mahendra Kapoor a Filmfare trophy, captures the mood.
Manoj Kumar’s favourite Nariman. A Irani (cinematography), Chandra Barot (chief assistant director) and Desh Mukherjee (production design) once again create compelling visual imagery, making the usual scenarios look appealing. The camera captures characters through the poles in an under construction building, it goes down the table and captures the scene through the glass; it reflects the balance in the ration shop with telling effect…the list is endless. The spotlight on the Doordarshan studio captures a young India getting hooked to a new medium not just for entertainment but also for creative jobs.
However, like many of his films after “Upkaar” and “Purab Aur Paschim”, the second half is not as a gripping as the first. He opens a lot of fronts and the strings no longer remain taut. With Indira Gandhi’s speech against hoarders in the end, the film assumes politically correctness as well. The film embraces Tulsi but ensures that her illegitimate child goes down the drain. The film is a product of the times when the idea of an urban working woman was usually a personal secretary to a successful businessman, and it invariably ended in a love affair with the boss.
A better filmmaker than an actor, by the time of “Roti Kapada Aur Makaan”, Manoj Kumar’s mannerisms had not becoming irritating. There is a certain innocence and dignity that made girls gravitate towards him and here he uses it to the hilt. The usually shrieking Zeenat Aman is refreshingly original here.
There are usual suspects that dot Manoj Kumar’s cinematic universe. Kamini Kaushal, who had acquired a reputation as Manoj Kumar’s mother, brings her genial charm all over again. Madan Puri as the cunning hoarder provides a counter to Mohan babu; and Prem Nath as the helpful Sikh friend fills the role of Hanuman that these modern day myths required.
But for me the lasting image of the film is the Santosh Anand song rendered by Mukesh. “Main Na Bhoolunga…” Will you?
Genre: Social drama
Director: Manoj Kumar
Cast: Manoj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Zeenat Aman, Moushumi Chatterjee, Amitabh Bachchan, Prem Nath, Madan PuriAruna Irani, Kamini Kaushal
Written by: Manoj Kumar
Lyrics: Santosh Anand
Music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal
Box office status: Hit
Trivia: Won 1975 Filmfare Awards for Received the Filmfare Awards 1975 for Best Director; Best Male Playback Award and Best Lyricist
