Sharmilee (1971)

शर्मीली

Sharmilee ("Shy")  appears on the surface to be a jaunty masala film with many of the usual elements: a soft-focus heroine (here in a dual role), a handsome, upstanding soldier (who also happens to be an orphan raised by a priest), a passel of shady hipster bad guys, wistful romance, mistaken identity, and a generous helping of dishoom-dishoom.  As is often the case in films of its era, though, Sharmilee is is something of a morality play, an allegory projected through a masala lens. 

Captain Ajit (Shashi Kapoor), stationed in Kashmir, is instantly smitten when he meets the spunky, aggressive Kamini (Rakhee).  Kamini disappears after one dazzling evening of poetry, though, and Ajit despairs of ever seeing her again.  Then Ajit's adoptive father, the kind-hearted Father Joseph (Nazir Hussein), unaware that Ajit has fallen for Kamini, seeks to arrange Ajit's marriage to Kamini's excruciatingly bashful twin sister, Kanchan (Rakhee, the other half of her dual role).  Ajit is briefly confused, but all seems set straight soon enough, and Ajit is set to marry his sprightly Kamini; Kanchan is depressed but resigned to her wallflower status.   When a shady gunda from Kamini's past surfaces, however, things take a turn for the weird, and a whirlwind of mistake, confusion, and deception follows, with an aerial climax worthy of the most over-the-top masala imaginable.

Sharmilee's allegory reflects an ambivalence in Indian culture toward modernization and westernization.  The duality - traditional versus modern, east against west - is embodied in the twin sisters.  Kamini, brash and modern, attracts all the attention; suitors come to the family to consider marriage to the modest, retiring Kanchan and end up enchanted with the flashy, outspoken Kamini.  She even wins the heart of Ajit, the ideal Indian man, a loyal and heroic soldier, obedient and deferential to his elders.  But the film punishes Kamini, and in the end it is the traditional Kanchan who is exalted and glorified.  Though she puts on a modern persona to please Ajit, Kanchan's heart is always demure.  Bollywood501 offers the excellent observation that unlike Kamini, Kanchan can successfully adopt western trappings only because she remains at the core a traditional Indian girl.  Thus, Sharmilee's ultimate moral is that without a traditional grounding, westernization is shallow, unmoored, and even dangerous. 

As a film, Sharmilee is reasonably entertaining, though some of its twists are whiplash-inducing.  Its driving force is the passion of the beautiful Shashi Kapoor; he radiates masala charm and charisma, but as Ajit  wheels from tenderness to anger to despair, Shashi's pure, abundant acting talent is also quite evident.  Ajit is an Indian renaissance man - a brave soldier, a good son, a passionate lover, a sensitive poet, and the interplay of these shades is the most compelling aspect of the film.  Rakhee is passable in her double role; she shows much more life and spark as the brassy Kamini, though, leaving the film's real heroine, the sad, innocent Kanchan, dull and flat in comparison.  The film falters where the masala-action elements take over; these are contrived, and undermine the film's strengths, which lie in the close interactions between Shashi and Rakhee's two avatars. 

Finally, Sharmilee's soundtrack is a gem by SD Burman; its standout song is the lyrical "Khilte hain gul yahaan," wistfully sung by Kishore Kumar and picturized on Shashi, who is as pretty as the song; Kanchan's domestic fantasy "Aaj madhosh huaa" is sweet; and the rest of the soundtrack is lovely as well.

(Sharmilee is available for download from Jaman.)

Comments

[Sanket]

Like most Bollywood films I forgive alot of the silliness and confusing plotlines to enjoy watching the actors and hearing the songs. Sharmilee doesn't disappoint one either front as it has Shashi & Rakhee at their peaks (physically and professionally) & a stand out soundtrack to boot. Every song on this SD Burman gem resonates with classic charm and is still beloved after all these years.

[carla]

Sanketji, I'd love to see you do a post on your favorite SD Burman soundtracks - I love his work so much.

You really ARE a bad influence on me, GOAT. I stumbled across this review while evaluating my pusher's latest attempts to rekindle my addiction, and now I find myself buying the following:

chasme buddoor
gol maal
aradhana
maqbool
sharmilee
mera naam joker
hazaar chaurasi ki maa
om jai jagdish
bawarchi
hum kisise kum nahin

Several of these I can blame on you. When you sing a film's praises, the odds are high that I will find it very difficult to resist checking out for myself, which means buying them. Fortunately your reviews are so well-written that when I do decide to go ahead, I can just about guarantee that I will enjoy it. :)

[maxqnz]

I've just watched this, and feel a little let down. Everything you wrote about it seems true, yet I feel that Kamini was short-changed in the film. Even though it is at least hinted that her kidnap drove her to her ultimately maniacal end, I kept waiting for some sort of "redemptive sacrifice" from her that would acknowledge the fact that she was not a "bad" girl at heart to begin with. That and the factor you've pointed out about Kanchan. There's shy, there's introverted, there's withdrawn, then there's nut-job Kanchan, it seems. One second she's incapable to speaking to anyone or anything capable of speaking back, the next she's successfully passing herself off as her college-educated swinging sister. Great songs, but I guess that I've now seen enough masala romances and twin stories to be able to rewrite this one "properly" ;-).

For all that, Khilte Hain Gul Yahan is a knockout, and there's no doubt at all that Shashi got the best bits out of the good looks bag among the Kapoor boys. Thanks for the pointer to this one, and to Jaman, whence came my copy.

[carla]

Glad you saw the film maxqnz. I've never really reconciled myself to *Sharmilee* and its message. I agree completely that Kamini takes a beating she doesn't deserve.

[varun]

i loved shashi and this is his one of best performances. he can display both love and hatred at the same time. rakhi is also very charming and the songs are damn good specially "khilte hai gul yahaan" and "o meri sharmilee". scenes like when he goes to see the girl at her house is really funny. another one in which he catches her stealing and then throws a volley of questions on her is also good.really a classic. must watch!!!!!!

[invertir forex]

Great to see a collection of blog posts that includes thoughtful and perceptive commentary. Keep up the great work!!!

[Aşk Büyüsü]

Great to see a collection of blog posts that includes thoughtful and perceptive commentary. Keep up the great work!!!