Saravanan Natarajan writes:
வறுமை முழுவதும் தீர்ந்த பின்னே...மறுபடி ஒரு நாள் நான் வருவேன்..
உனக்காக நான் (1976/ Sujatha Cine Arts) had Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesh, Lakshmi, veNNira aadai Nirmala and Nagesh playing the lead roles. Dialogues were by A.L. Narayanan. The film was directed by C.V.Rajendran.
It was a remake of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Namak Haraam (1973/ RSJ Productions), a great movie with a finely etched storyline further enhanced by riveting performances. However, உனக்காக நான் could not repeat the success story, it was in fact the first time Balaji was facing failure with his collaborations with Sivaji. With no offence meant, perhaps younger actors playing the lead roles could have made it more appealing?
Hrishikesh Mukherjee's story (drawing some inspiration from the 1964 English movie Becket, which itself was adapted from the play Becket or the Honour of God by Jean Anouilh ) was a wonderful admixture of two sure to win ingredients: friends turned foes and capitalism versus socialism.
Amitabh played the rich industrialist Vikram and Rajesh Khanna played his bosom pal Somu. The two lit up the screen with their heartwarming portrayal of the two friends who see their friendship breaking up due to clashing ideologies, leading to Somu's gory end and Vikram taking the blame for his father's dastardly act. Gulzar's dialogues and R.D.Burman's music added to the film's appeal.
உனக்காக நான் had Sivaji in the role of the rich Raja and Gemini Ganesh in the role of his loyal friend Ramu.
* * * *
Namak Haram had some scintillating songs composed by RDB - 'Diye jalte hain' and 'Nadiya se dariya' hogged the air waves all over the country at the time and retain their appeal to this day. However, the song that had held my heart in its tenacious thrall all these years is a wistful Kishore Kumar rendering Gulzar’s poignant, poetic lines tinged with philosophy - ‘Main shayar badnaam’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PleWU2pdK-I
This sequence is probably the turning point in the story. It is when reluctantly rendering these lines penned by a dying poet Alam (Raza Murad) that Somu wakens to the miseries of the poor labourers. And thus develop gradually the initial fissures in his friendship with Vikram. In உனக்காக நான், Nagesh played the idealistic poet with leftist leanings, and took on the daunting task of ensuring some fine moments in this exercise in ennui.
* * * * *
'Ramu…..I love you- Raja……I love you'- avid radio listeners of the 70s would surely be familiar with this ode to friendship by TMS & Yesudas, for it found frequent airtime then. The other songs in the film were 'No..No..No..I won’t say no' (SPB & Vani Jairam), காடு கண்டா வெறகு வெட்டுறது (S.C. Krishnan, Manorama & chorus) and நீ என்னை சந்தித்ததுண்டோ (L.R.Eswari & Joseph Krishna).
However, here again, it is இறைவன் உலகத்தை படைத்தானாம், the equivalent of ‘Main shayar badnaam’, rendered by a ruminative Yesudas, with its profound lyrics set into an unhurried, lingering tune by MSV, that found its way effortlessly to the softest corner of my heart.
In my college years, I have had a bitter struggle with Economics (among other subjects!) And one of the most complicated concepts was Vilfredo Pareto's fat-tailed graph for distribution of wealth. I understood it only after testing severely the patience of the lecturer. And I also realized anew the genius of Kannadasan, for he has encapsulated in these beautiful lines what generations of learned economists have theorized in elaborate, pompous terms. For that matter, references to class distinction and appeals for a more orderly distribution of wealth have found place in literature of all languages. Munshi Premchand's Godaan and Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth are works that readily come to mind- works that cut across time and geographical barriers in depicting the pathetic deprivations of the poor as juxtaposed with the incredible luxuries of the rich. But Kannadasan is in a league of his own as he nonchalantly waves sheer poetry into the lyrics...
பொன்னகை அணிந்த மாளிகைகள்-
புன்னகை மறந்த மண்குடிசை
பசிவர அங்கே மாத்திரைகள்-
பட்டினியால் இங்கு யாத்திரைகள்...
The haves/ have-nots divide has been so thought-provokingly portrayed by the bard and a brooding Yesudas is just the person to bring to life the moving, melancholic lines.
The embittered question that Kannadasan poses remains unanswered however; it would probably always remain so....
இருவேறுலகம் இது என்றால்-
இறைவன் என்பவன் எவர்க்காக..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_EQYsvrL1I
Discussion at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1342788802419509/
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