Back in the late 1970s a film had such a low profile release that it barely created a ripple at the box office. Those were the days of heady multi-starrers, and Amitabh Bachchan was the king. Even the likes of Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra were left playing catch-up with him. Understandable then that a film starring Kanwaljit Singh and Madhu Chanda — one uses the word ‘starring’ with a certain generosity — stood as little chance of withstanding the storm as a solitary tree in a desert.
The results at the turnstiles were on expected lines. But when was the box office ever known to be kind to a good film? Even Guru Dutt was often rebuffed. And wasn’t it lukewarm at the beginning to all-time toppers like “Pakeezah” and “Sholay”? “Shankar Husain” had no such luck; the film did not do well when it released; its collections could not pick up through word of mouth either, as the film had all too brief a stay at cinema halls, and today it stands almost forgotten. Why then are we talking about a film that did not get much appreciation 30-odd years ago? Well, for a couple of things. One of which is its music; the film’s songs are still favoured in niche circles, even if many cinegoers cannot recall the name of the film. Then, the small matter of the subject, as director Yusuf Naqvi talked of communal amity without a sermon. Here was a film that was happy to depict the essential unity of the nation at a time when communal riots were never more than a rumour away in the surcharged atmosphere.
Here a Hindu doctor — Dr Shreeram Lagoo in a layered character — brings up a Muslim boy rescued in floods as his own; the little boy follows his faith even as he gets a brother in the medico’s own son. Under one roof we have a Muslim and a Hindu boy, each following the tenets of his faith without so much as a dissenting note, except the doctor’s sister who loves the little Muslim boy yet feels guilty on the child jumping all over her. The twist comes when the Muslim boy — Kanwaljit — falls in love with a girl called Kulsum, who herself had been rescued by a Muslim man. Kulsum, it turns out, was initially Kusum, a Hindu girl. Now bring the Hindu boy into the proceedings and you have a film that gets a shade contrived.
Far fetched, many said then. Maybe, but what is important is to look at the context and you realise why “Shankar Husain” deserved much more than what came its way. Yes, some parts of the film appear tacky, many are rendered weak because of amateurish camerawork; some suffer because of the lead pair’s inability to get into the spirit of the role.
As for the songs, well, they all have a distinct Khayyam stamp. Be it Lata Mangeshkar’s under-celebrated “Apne aap raaton mein” which has a unique haunting quality, or the more popular “Aap yun faaslo se guzarte rahe”, both are worthy of a rewind. When Lata sings “Jaane kaun baalon mein ungliyan pirota hai, khelta hai paani se tan badan bhigota hai”, the romantics can just close their eyes and soak in the moment.
The masterpiece, though, is Mohammed Rafi’s “Kaheen ek masoom nazuk si ladki”. It is out-and-out a singer’s song, the music accompaniment is kept to the minimum and Rafi is brilliant with his pauses, his voice modulation, his clarity. The lyrics are the stuff a young man’s dreams are made of; the man will have to be a shade poetic though to use expressions like “Chalo khhat likhe jee mein aata to hoga, magar ungliyan kapkapati hongi, qalam haath se chhoot jaata hoga, umange qalam phir uthati to hongi, mera naam apni kitabo par likh kar woh daaton mein ungli dabati to hogi…kaheen ek masoom nazuk si ladki”.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to the song: it is better to listen to it for the sheer genius of Rafi, because Kanwaljit, on whom the song is picturised, comes across as too stiff, too wooden as an everyday guy dreaming of his sweetheart. In ordinariness he is ordinary, very ordinary. Much like his co-star Madhu, who is a poor woman’s impersonation of Mala Sinha. Need one say more?
Still, Naqvi’s “Shankar Husain” is endearing. It has shades of Kamal Amrohi, not quite in the “Pakeezah” mould with his dialogues, but he is good even when not at his best. It has Khayyam at his very best. It has seasoned poets like Jan Nisar Akhtar, Kaifi Azmi and Kaif Bhopali together. All this adds up to a film that is remarkable in parts, memorable in its message.
Genre: Social drama
Director: Yusuf Naqvi
Cast: Pradeep Kumar, Kanwaljit Singh, Madhu Chanda, Suhail, Gajanan Jagirdar, Shreeram Lagoo, Jalal Aga, Dina Pathak
Dialogue: Kamal Amrohi
Music director: Khayyam
Lyricist: Jan Nisar Akhtar, Kaif Bhopali, Kaifi Azmi
Box office status: Unsuccessful
Trivia: Madhu Chanda played Kulsum/Kusum in the film
