Junoon (1978)

Shyam Benegal is a director who's said to have brought a new phase in hindi cinema in the mid 70s, and given it a new dimension altogether. Unfortunately, I had as yet only seen his films from the latter part of his career like Suraj ka Saatwan Ghoda, Mammo, Zubeidaa & Welcome to Sajjanpur, the latter 3 of which were not realy appreciated by critics.


Also, I remembering reading in FILMFARE long ago that It won many awards at Filmfare in 1979. So When I decided to watch Junoon, I surely was expecting a fine piece of cinema.
And I got that exactly!

Junoon is a riveting tale of love, conflict and vindication set in India of 1857 which was then ruled by the British. A few Mughals led by Sarfaraz (Naseeruddin Shah) attack the Britishs residing there, killing many and forcing the rest to flee away. Three of them are Mariam (Jennifer Kendall), her daughter Ruth (Nafisa Ali) and grand-ma. They find a shelter but soon are found out by Sarfaraz's brother-in-law Javed (Shashi Kapoor).

Interestingy, Javed fancies Ruth and hence gives them shelter against the tide of hatred for British. But the problem is - He is a Married man, and a Muslim to that.

How Mariam and her family survives the crisis and at what cost forms the crux of the story.

Benegal effectively blended the turbuent period setting and the convulated love story between two people from different stratas. Initially, the slow pace did put me off to some extent. But as the story progressed, It became more gripping by every scene. And before the last segment, I realised the conceit behind the film title.

The ambience is so disturbing, that nothing seems to be in one's control. Amidst such chaos takes birth an infatuation that is as uncontrollable. Ruth's nightmares very well reflect the scary surrounding She's forced to adapt in refuge. And at heart, Junoon speaks of human emotions and explores relationships with compelling underlines.

And above all, Junoon certainly has one of the most interesting ensemble casts I've ever seen.
The cameos in the film bear testimony to the blind faith Actors had in Benegal. Naseeruddin Shah appears in an impressive though a minor role, while if you don't pay attention, You may just as well overlook the very talented Deepti naval.

But the biggest delight was to see Shashi Kapoor and Shabana Azmi together in roles that did justice to their talent. Even Shabana had a lesser screen time, but she makes a huge impact with her portrayal of insecure but possessive Firdaus. For those who've adored Shashi Kapoor in his flamboyant roles, They gotta see this to realise what He is capable of.

However, the most impacting performance from the lot comes from Shashi Kapoor's wife Jennifer. She hits just the right notes as the suffering mother. Sushma Seth deserves a mention too!

The camera work is effective. There's a riveting moment where Cameraman Govind Nihlani (who'd later go on to make cults himself like Ardh satya, Aakrosh, Drohkaal etc.) used red in as gritty way as possible. It adds to the feel of the movie.

This was one of the earliest Shyam Benegal movies, and that passion and eagerness to exhibit his story-telling prowess reflects in every scene. Now ofcourse He's mallowed down after so much of accomplishment and moved to lighter subjects and lesser complex ones.
So if anyone wants to educate himself about the early Parallel cinema and Benegal's ambitious film-making, Junoon would make for a convincing watch!

P.S. - For those who thought Lagaan was the first and only movie where Rajesh Vivek (who later enquired SRK about Internet in Swades) cursed the British rule, He appears here in a similar avtaar in two scenes (only in a more disturbing shade) and leaves an imprint. Have a look...