Director: Saawan Kumar Tak Starcast: Pradeep Kumar, Anil Dhawan, Bindu, Neetu Singh, Vidya Sinha, Faryal & Pinchoo Kapoor Special Ap...
Director: Saawan Kumar Tak
Starcast: Pradeep Kumar, Anil Dhawan, Bindu, Neetu
Singh, Vidya Sinha, Faryal & Pinchoo Kapoor
Special Appearance: Vinod Mehra & Rekha
Music: Usha Khanna
Released on the 2nd of August, 1974, Saawan Kumar Tak’s Hawas was truly a film ahead of its times, not only it dealt with a topic that is still considered taboo in Indian society, but also showed it most unapologetically. It was a box office success but hardly discussed anywhere except maybe its immortal song, “Teri Galiyon Mein Na Rakhenge Qadam”, filmed on Anil Dhawan and sung by the great Mohd.Rafi.
Storyline: Natwarlal (Pinchoo Kapoor) is a criminal who operates
a gang that con rich people in almost a foolproof manner. After two successful
“missions”, a charming but shrewd member of the gang Anil Kumar (Anil Dhawan)
is assigned a dangerous job by Natwarlal. He has to go and find a job in rich
old man Shailendra Singh’s (Pradeep
Kumar) office and entice his young daughter Neetu (Neetu Singh) to get a share in his expansive property and wealth. Anil is informed that
Shailendra has a second wife Kamini (Bindu) who is a “nymphomaniac” and is
always on the lookout for male company. She has a diamond necklace worth Rs 50 million and Natwarlal warns Anil to stay away from her and yet
procure the necklace. But things quickly start spiraling out of hand when
Kamini gets attracted to Anil and wants him at any cost. How do the
relationship dynamics between Anil, Neetu, and Kamini unfold and how does it lead to a thrilling climax forms the rest of the story.
Direction: Hawas was the second film directed by Saawan Kumar
Tak, and right from his first directorial venture Gomti Ke Kinare (1972), it
was evident that the storylines or scripts which were considered “bold” and “female-centric”
by others were his forte and Hawas is no different. He deserves credit for
choosing such an “out of the box” concept for those days and keeping the film fast-paced
with the necessary twists and turns and insertion of subplots at the right
intervals. However, I was personally not happy with the denouement where he
(along with co-script writers Ameen Sayani and Bimal Dutta) seemed to give in
to the pressure from the financers and distributors and give the film a rushed
ending. The cinematography by the very famous Kaka Thakur is pretty good,
especially the zany but interesting camera angles in the song “Aao Yaaron Aao”
is praiseworthy. The brisk editing by Y.G. Chouhan deserves a special mention.
Performances: Anil Dhawan as the young and dangerously charming Anil
Kumar is is good form here. He looks his part and performs really well in the
romantic scenes and his attitude in the initial two con jobs was spot on.
However, he is a little awkward in the emotional scenes especially the ones
which involve his sister (Vidya Sinha). Neetu Singh was very young when she did
this film but she looks naïve which is so required for this role and does a
good job. Randhawa gives a surprisingly good performance in this film and
Pinchoo Kapoor as the portly, womanizing baddie Natwarlal is quite efficient.
Vidya Sinha doesn’t have much to do in her debut venture and Vinod Mehra as the
psychiatrist is quite good. Pradeep Kumar always looked regal in such roles and
here also he is no exception. The film revolves around the character of Kamini
and Bindu delivers a knockout performance in this role. She looked svelte and
alluring and her dusky appeal perfectly go with the role. Her expressions and
body language are bang on and she deservedly got a Filmfare nomination for her
role.
Music: Music by Usha Khanna is definitely one of her best. Teri Galiyon Mein Na
Rakhenge Qadam (Mohd.Rafi) is truly a timeless classic and still has tremendous
recall value. Aao Yaaron Aao (Asha Bhosle) is an extremely addictive song which
has a “Pancham”ish feel to it. Apne Dil Mein Jagah Dijiye and Yeh Hawas Kya Hai
have great arrangements and excellent vocals by Asha Bhosle. Kal raat usne is also a melodious number
which has a fresh feel to it. It's also notable for Sawan Kumar’s debut as a
lyricist. Post this film, he wrote lyrics for many films for his own production
as well as other films.
Overall, Hawas is quite a watchable film even after 50 years of its
release despite its slightly problematic script. It’s deftly directed, has
superb music, and has an interesting concept.
No comments