Yaadein (1964), starring Sunil Dutt and only Sunil Dutt! shocked? Yes, this movie has its name marked in the Guiness Book. I have always been a fan of movies showcasing complicated relationships and dark human emotions within a relationship that no mainstream cinema talks about. Movies like Arth, Bazaar, Abhimaan, Aradhana, Anamika, Aandhi, Silsila, Ijaazat etc.—trust me, my list goes on, are a few to name. The history of cinema from the 1950s to the 1970s is the golden period, during which movies were known for experiments and creating classics. Yaadein is one such gem.
After watching Gaslight (1944), one of the historical cult psychological thrillers where a manipulator husband manipulated his wife on the verge of madness (though the story is much more complicated than this), I was searching for a grey-shade movie in Bollywood that has a unique style of storytelling and then find this ‘one-in-a-lifetime’ movie Yaadein.
The movie starts with a scene in the huge drawing room, where the ringing breaks silence of the phone. Outside, heavy rain and thunder continuously create a sense of restlessness in the minds of the audience. The door opens, and Anil (Sunil Dutt) enters the room, switches on the light, and picks up the call in utter confusion. which makes the audience understand the mental and emotional state of the protagonist. The situation further intensified with the sound of thunder and lightning. It was his friend’s call that invite him, along with Anil’s family, to his marriage. The conversation goes on, about why his Brahmachari friend is getting married. In this scene, we get to know that Anil is married and has two children. But where are they? Then his friend gives him a hint that they must be gone for an outing. This not only gives a sense of relief to him but also to the audience, who are still judging the character of Sunil Dutt with suspicion. As the story goes on, he starts recalling how much he loves his wife; the monologues and intense emotional episodes give chills to the audience. The pattern of thought processes again breaks with the phone ringing. It was a call from his extramarital affair, to whom he was saying not to call anymore at home but again wickedly enough asking her to call his office number, which shattered his image as protagonist and put him as the wicked man who is cheating on his wife.
single-handedly showcasing the emotions of a man from being a clueless person roaming in the house to a married man who has no idea where his wife and children are, to a cheater and ignorant husband and father, the movie completed its 15 minutes. As an audience, you will not feel that you are watching a show where you are left clueless, bored, and overburdened by the presence of just a single actor. Sunil Dutt as Anil Mehra proceeds the storyline by interchanging his personality from a loving husband who wonders where his wife is, to a cheater, manipulator, and misogynist husband who puts questions over his wife’s character and motherhood. The era of film history from the 1950s to the 1970s always bewildered me with the human mind’s creativity to understand the nuance of human emotions and morals.
In the next scene, he throws the wine bottle at the picture of Mariam holding baby Jesus, and the whole painting gets destroyed. The wine flows from the painting downward, washing away “We love you, Papa,” which was supposedly written by his children. We end up guessing the current marital status of the character! Is only Yaadein( memories) all that is left with him? His behavior as a maniac, manipulator, and cheater, shouting in the empty house as a misogynist claiming the rightful duty of a pati-vrata patni, leaves the audience with utter disgust and hatred towards him. His resistance to lodging an FIR in the police station with the fear of insult in society showcases the rigidity of society and the patriarchy at their peak, with a garnish of toxic masculinity. After that when he angrily moves to the kitchen, claiming he can survive without them and doesn’t need them at all in his life. But as he destroyed the whole kitchen and could not even boil water, he showcase his involvement in domestic life in reality!
How did he meet his wife? To answer this question, the story proceeds to their first meeting, which happens to be in a club. The way the crowd of the club is being shown is a masterpiece of the creativity of Sunil Dutt as director, along with his creative team. The use of graffiti and cartoon paintings to symbolize the club’s buzz is commendable. His cute conflict with the girl’s brother, who is in the army as a major, brings a breeze of fresh comedy when he pledges to take revenge on the man by making him his brother-in-law. But this giggle from the audience also unleashed the actor’s fragile male ego and hidden rage toward his brother-in-law. He marries his love interest after a passionate make-out scene, again acted solo by Sunil Dutt with the help of props like rain, a big, glamorous Purdah, and skillful lighting on the camera and seductive voices of Nargis Dutt and Sunil Dutt. The ringing breaks this romantic memory of the actor of the alarm clock. Through this audience understands how craftily and skillfully the daily domestic objects are being used to fulfill the absence of any human character and leave their absenteeism hardly noticed by the audience.
He recklessly roams into his bedroom and starts missing his love, his wife. Desperately he went near the dressing table and saw a bunch of his wife’s hair tangled in his comb. He took out the bunch of hair, smelled it, and felt his wife’s presence. He is even swatching his wife’s lipstick in his hand and kissing them, imagining Mark as his wife’s lips. This scene left the audience wondering if the actor was still sane! The entire scene is so romantic and beautiful, which gives chills to the audience and leaves us feeling suffocating in their marital condition. His urge and desire for his wife, are showcased so marvelously with the help of a female cartoon, and a voluptuous sculpture of a woman. The whole love-making scene ended with the voice of thunder and lighting. His character now takes a shift from an angry husband to a lover, who is head over heels in love with his wife. The pain and remorse intensified with the music of Shehnai. The whole scenario shifts to a happy loving family, where he once again becomes the father of a son after having a daughter. His throwing a party and celebrating his son’s birthday, that too being alone on the screen and keeping the audience intact with the storyline and screenplay is no less than magic. The crowd, pump, and show of the party is being depicted by balloons as human figures and foods as props with jazz music creating an ambiance of a first-class elite party.
Being depicted as once a happy healthy family the director showcases the hidden frustration and negligence of the actor from his wife, whose reality is still questionable! His turning into a man-child and ignorant encouraged by his wife is visible. His realization of his wife’s selfless care and nurture toward him and his children once finally recognized pushes him to the verge of a helpless maniac and depressed man. The whole shifting of emotions from being a loving husband and father now shifted to a maniac depressed man left the audience with a sense of awe and helplessness. He holding the saree (which she wore at the time of marriage) goes into a deep depression, sorrow, and regret with the sense of losing all the love he ever had. Now he started questioning the purpose of his life without his wife. Him shouting and crying “Priya tum mujhe jeene kyu nahi deti? Es ghar se chali gayi ho yaado se bhi chali jaao” with the skillful depiction of his wife’s sense of presence with the shadow and paintings. Added to the pain with him, laughter in the background playing ‘Ab mera kaun Sahara’ make him realize how loving his family was, and how adorable his children were. This filled his heart with fatherhood, and he started fixing the broken painting of Mariam and baby Jesus. He is deeply remorseful and regretful, urging to be with his family again. He started getting manic episodes with the voices of toys and dolls giving the audience chills and fear. His mental and emotional cage showcases his suffocating condition, and he is on the verge of getting mad. ” Ye yaadein mujhe maar dalengi, mai akela ho gaya sab mujhe bhool gye… mai yaado ko mita dunga”. The monologue left us wondering what if we never had memories. His shouting ” Priya tum ek sapna thi” left us audience in deep fear and disgust with the character. Him holding rage and tears with the Saree of his wife, depicting him as a lost lover who once had all the love and care that one ever can desire, but lost it with his ignorance and entitlement.
With the ‘Saptapadi shloka,’ he is completely indulging in feelings of regret and remorse and realizing how he destroyed his happy healthy family. With taking responsibility, guilt comes and suicidal tendencies emerged with uncontrolled emotional outrage. The whole condition is simply showcased without any helping character but the single actor Sunil Dutt himself. He narrates the complete storyline. His decision to attempt suicide seems justified with such a vulnerable maniac condition. He decided to do suicide with the saree that his wife wore during their marriage is soul-wreaking and makes the audience freak out with emotions on the verge of tears and aches. Though the story ended with Nargis returning home along with the children. She entered the home and saved her husband from committing suicide. Finally, they exchange validation of emotions and confessed their love for each other. The couple decided to give marriage another chance.
(Pictures used by the author for demonstration purposes.)