Dastan

DASTAN (1950) could have been a truly haunting classic had its director Abdur Rashid Kardar approached it with the fatalistic style of his brother-in-law Mehboob Khan; fyi, Kardar's wife, Hindi film actress Bahar Akhtar, was the elder sister of Mehboob Khan's 2nd wife Sardar Akhtar (the original "Mother India" in Mehboob's AURAT-1940). This film is a Hindi remake of the 1948 Hollywood film ENCHANTMENT starring David Niven, Teresa Wright, and Jayne Meadows. Comparing the two films, DASTAN is actually the slightly better of the two films. However, DASTAN was designated to spotlight the legendary Hindi film heroine Suraiya; she sang her own songs ! In spite of this almost prodigious talent for a screen heroine, Suraiya is overshadowed by the overwhelmingly stunning screen presence of Veena (a Hindi film star in her own right). Veena (born Tajour Sultana in Quetta, Balochistan) was the most beautiful actress in the history of Hindi cinema, second to none. Veena was a screen siren like no other in that her bewitching looks combined with her powerful voice and modulated style of delivering dialogues made her leading men come across as boys. And this film is no exception...Even with big name heroes of that era: Raj Kapoor, Suresh (real name Nasim Ahmad), and Al Nasir (Veena's real life husband). A real oddity of casting has Al Nasir playing his wife's "brother" in this film; in Indian culture especially of that era, this would have raised some eyebrows. When Suraiya's character 'Indira' has her climactic scene in which she stands up to Veena's 'Rani', Veena owns the scene just by the glare in her eyes. Veena was too powerful a screen presence for any of her co-stars throughout her 40 plus year acting career. This film is highly recommended in it's own right, but a must see to behold the Hindi screen siren Veena. DASTAN was the 3rd highest grossing film of 1950 earning over Rs. 65 Lakhs, just behind SAMADHI (Rs. 75 Lakhs) and BABUL (Rs. 70 Lakhs); in the year 1950, 65-75 Lakh rupees would be like Rs. 650-750 Crores in 2015. Photographs of Veena available via the internet do NOT do her justice. Viewers would have to see her films in good quality prints to grasp Veena's beauty. DASTAN is one of them...While AFSANA (1951) co-starring Ashok Kumar & Pran, NAJMA (1943) co-starring Ashok Kumar & Yakub, and HUMAYUN (1945) co-starring Ashok Kumar & Nargis are notably some others; in this latter film, Veena's character portrayal summed up her entire screen persona: She was hard enough to kill you and soft enough to disarm you...

Dastan is one of Suraiya's films where she is not a begum or a princess but a humble orphan girl living with a wealthy family. Here in this film she played suitor to three possible persons and one of them is no other than Raj Kapoor. The movie is well directed by A.R. Kardar with some melodious music by Naushad assisted by Golam Muhammed. Suraiya displayed great acting skill as well as she sang a couple of very nice songs. This was the period when Suraiya was at her peak of her career and made a few hits acting opposite some of the big names. The dialogue was well written and Veena as the strict disciplinarian acted very well. Raj Kapoor's antics were a bit excessive but still was enjoyable. I graded it as a seven out of ten.

For me, the most interesting thing about this movie was that the lead actress, Suraiya, is also credited as a playback singer. This is the first time in my (admittedly limited) viewing of Bollywood films that I've encountered a star doing her or his own singing. However, checking her other film credits, she did so fairly often. She did hardly any dancing in this film, though, and sang a couple of numbers seated at a piano. I also seemed to detect a Latin influence in the music, particularly in the rhythms. (I'm reminded of an even more pronounced influence of Latin music, i.e. the nightclub scene in Shree 420.) All three of her suitors in this film are good guys, but I won't spoil the ending by divulging who does or doesn't get the girl. However both my viewing companion and myself were disappointed by the ending of the film -- which is not to say it was inappropriate for the time and melodramatic moral tone of the film. The least sympathetic character in the film is the domineering older sister, and I was hoping that Raj would have a final showdown with her, years later when he returned. Despite the serious situations in the film, the young Raj Kapoor manages to fit in some of his trademark high spirits. I would have to say this was not one of his finer films.