The forgettable decade of 80s in Hindi cinema, is ironically also remembered for some rare thoughtful gems which represented the New Age or Parallel Cinema Wave, as it is called. These were the films which though remained too simple in technical terms but were surely ‘ahead of their times’ depicting the ‘actual questionable world around’ in the most realistic manner, which at times even used to displease the authorities.
Re-discovering one of those precious gems, this is about a rather lesser known attempt called ASAMBHAV, stressing upon a scary thought which sooner or later enters every human being’s ambitious mind, facing the most certain and truthful fact of life, i.e. death. Here many friends may not have even heard about this praiseworthy effort at all, as in those years most of these new wave projects did not get a theatrical release and later were only shown at Doordarshan as their weekly films. Now where a few projects of those times are still famous due to many obvious reasons such as their known directors, actors or songs, ASAMBHAV remains one of the completely lost or ignored ones which couldn’t find its deserving appreciation due to some unknown reasons.
Yes, the film doesn’t have a polished direction, a solid execution or any huge performances to rave about. But still it has the capability to show us the mirror with a blunt truth about Death, which most of the film-makers or viewers can’t even dare dreaming of. Hence at this moment, with no information of any sort that whether it was an inspired film from the west or not, it really feels great to write and discuss about ASAMBHAV, which has a significant message to give but was never given any weightage or importance, it rightly deserved.
It’s the story of an old retired man, who meets the Yamdoot (the messenger of death) one night, informing him that his time on earth is over. Hearing the final verdict, the old man cannot believe it, becomes tensed and starts thinking. And after a small discussion with the Yamdoot, he somehow manages to convince him to grant him the grace period of three years before he finally leaves this world. The wish is granted on the terms that Yamdoot will take one of his beloveds instead, to which the old man readily agrees (and this is the first sick indication towards the mean human psyche when it comes to Death.)
Next day one of his dear friends dies and now the old man becomes serious that the last night’s meeting with the Doot was not a dream. Soon the three years get over and again the final day is here when the Yamdoot will be coming to take him away from this wonderful, lovable world as per the agreement. But now the old man has new plans & strategies for the messenger of Death, which in turn teaches him the very first lesson of existence that one can never change his fate ever and can never be satisfied for even 100 years of life granted by the Almighty. Our ambitions, our wishes do not have any visible end and it’s a vicious circle of longings which goes on and on without any stoppage as designed by that Supreme Power, quite cleverly.
The film ends on an introspective note but without revealing its final conclusion, I would like to say that its really a pity that in our part of the world we are so unwilling or uninterested to treat films as an essential part of our learning, unlike literature. And that’s the reason why thought provoking films like ASAMBHAV keep hiding in the dark corner of a closet and nobody is really interested to talk about them in details.
However for me, even these two lines of a song in the film are sufficient enough to teach us a valuable lesson to be remembered till our last day in this world. And it says,
“Kat Gayi Umr Meri To Mujhe Pata Yeh Chala……,
Zindagi Sirf Kati Hai Isey Jiya Hi Kahan!”
(When the whole life passed in front of me just like that, I realized that I have just passed it in a sleeping state and never lived my granted years by the Almighty)
Certainly deserves to be seen as a must.
Directed by Jagdish Banerjee
Starring: Rameshwari, Saeed Jaffery, Rohini Hattangady, Manmohan Krishna & more.
Music by Binoy Hasib Lyrics by Vishwanath Sachdev and Shyam Anuragi.
Tags :
Asambhav (1984), Movies To See Before You Die Drama, Unknown gems from Hindi Cinema, Must Watch Movies List by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, Rare Hindi Films, Rare Unknown Hindi Films from the 80s, Not To Missed Movies List by Bobby Sing, Worth Watching Classics from Indian Cinema, Saeed Jaffery Classics.
