Anupama (1966)

Cast: Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore,Tarun Bose, Shashikala, Deven Varma

Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Music: Hemant Kumar

Lyrics: Kaifi Azmi

Capsule Review: A mute and minimalist drama far ahead of its times, Anupama tells the story of Uma (Sharmila Tagore) whose father (played with brilliant authority by Tarun Bose) detests his daughter ever since his beloved wife died during childbirth. The transference of his grief into the daughter’s guilt is majestically achieved through the subtle screenplay and sparse dialogues. Dharmendra as an author who brings the repressed girl’s angst out is also unforgettable. The stress on the spoken word and its opposition to the silence of stifled emotions comes across in the contrasting characters played by Sharmila Tagore and Shashikala. What gave Anupama its bedrock of emotional strength was the troubled father- daughter relationship.

Devar (1966)

Cast: Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Deven Varma, Shashikala

Director: Mohan Segal

Music: Roshan

Lyrics: Anand Bakshi

Capsule Review: The compelling quadrangular melodrama about a mismatched couple contained deep elements of Bengali literature. Stress within the domestic ambience was created when the noble Dharmendra ends up marrying the shrewish Shashikala while his brother contrives to marry the virtuous and beautiful Sharmila Tagore. The film is remarkable for projecting the ironic twists of fate in an unconventional format with the lead pair bound to the ‘wrong’ spouses till the very end. When the truth is revealed (Dharmendra and Sharmila were childhood sweethearts) it’s too late to turn back.