Kranti
India , 1981
Directed by Manoj Kumar.
"Freedom was not a present from the British, presented on a silver platter on a warm august night. It was the culmination of a long and bloody struggle spread over centuries..." KRANTI means, "Revolution."
Titles at the beginning of the film thank the Indian Archeological Society, then mention the film is a tribute to revolutionaries who fought against the British from 1825-1875 but who were not mentioned in the history books. In other words, we're just making this stuff up, none of it really happened.
The film takes place in Northern India, in the early ninetieeth century, with the British negotiating a treaty with a local lord to use his port. A traitor at the court ensures the British get their way, and soon the king is assassinated. Our hero, Sanga (Dilip Kumar), is a simple peasant with a family, working the soil and obeying his lord, only to find that his lord has been assassinated by the Kings brother, and the crime is pinned on him. He escapes, losing children and his wife, believing them dead, and heads for the open water, to fight British ships whenever he is able. His name is forgotten and he becomes known only as Kranti.
His family survived, his son getting sent Moses-style down river to be picked up and made a Prince (Shashi Kapoor). Mom (Nirupa Roy) is sent to work as slave labor breaking rocks, as slaves are always shown doing for no purpose whatsover in these types of epic productions. Another man, Bharat (Manoj Kumar -- also the director, writer, and producer of the picture) fighting the British under the name Kranti comes to her rescue. So there is a land Kranti and a sea Kranti. The British (and the "traitors") conspire to get the two to misunderstand each other and fight, at which point they are captured. Upon their escape, the sea Kranti stays on land while the land Kranti is shipped out to sea.
The movie is jam-packed with action and drama. Of course, the prince is the one sent to subdue Kranti, without realizing they are father and son. Mother India is played to the hilt. The movie suggests that if only no one was a traitor to their country, the British would never have gotten in. However, since India and a "national" identity was pretty much created by the British, this idea only serves to pander to base elements who want someone to hate. The British are portrayed here as evil incarnate, shouting commands like, "Take all the men as slaves, shoot the women and children, they are useless." The slaves are made to crawl on their bellies with their backs whipped whenever the British show up. And of course, one of them tries to rape the heroine (Hema Malini).
In KRANTI's enthusiasm to portray British influence as evil, it props up and celebrates feudalism. The rebel Sanga only wanted to be granted the peace to till his farm, raise his family, and obey his lord. In another scene, Bharat finds converts to the revolutionary effort when he shows off some of the victims of the British, one of whom was a woman who "wished to die with her husband as is our tradition, but was prevented from doing so by the British" who subsequently gang rape her, but one wonders which violation the writers were more upset over.
There are a couple of good songs in Kranti. Hema Malini dances and lip-syncs to a few too many for my tastes, but one is a wet sari song that is engaging to watch. The real beauty of the film however is Parveen Babi, who plays a revolutionary sent to court to spy. She has one song, "Mara Thumpka," and it's the best of the movie, mainly because she is terrifically attractive and hangs from a chandelier at one point. But the best song is the revolutionary "Kranti Kranti," because I guarantee you will be singing it for the next week or so.
KRANTI is a grand spectacle (even sea battles!!) but burdened by a simpleminded and hateful view of colonial history and a touch overlong. Parveen Babi is removed from the scene far too early, and Hema Malini cannot prop up the romance end of the story adequately without her. The beginning of the film is rushed and confused, but it eventually finds its pace and settles down. The melodrama is too orchestrated to stir the emotions, and many moments that may have been meant seriously elicit a laugh. Despite these and many other flaws, in KRANTI, there is never a dull moment. So NJOY the movie. I hope you will like it!
Tags: Dilip Kumar Manoj Shashi Kapoor Hema Malini Shatrughan Sinha Parveen Babi Prem Chopra Pradeep Madan
