Saamna

सामना (1974) – Giriraj Pictures – Black & White
Produced by: - Ramdas Phutane
Directed by: - Dr. Jabbar Patel
Story & Screenplay by: - Vijay Tendulkar
Music by: - Bhaskar Chandawarkar

Awards: - 3 National Awards, 7 Maharashtra State Awards, Three Filmfare Awards, Selected for Berlin Film Festival, 1975।

Reviewed here by: - Swapnil B. Walunj

The Story in short:-

Hindurao Dhonde- Patil (Nilu Phule) claims to have established a co-operative empire on the deserted lands of a village and has now become an uncrowned king of the region। With the help of his brother – Sarjerao (A local goon) – he has acquired a great muscle and created a terror in the area by running a parallel government। His only priorities now were to develop the region to the maximum possible extent and safeguarding his stronghold over the region. Anyone who challenged him in these areas was his enemy and he never gave it a second thought before eliminating him in all the possible ways. Maruti Kamble (Mohan Agashe) is one such enemy of kingdom that Hindurao has eliminated. And now this empire has no threat from anyone, and suddenly “Master” (Shriram Lagoo) arrives in this village.

Master (an undisclosed identity throughout the movie) is an aged Gandhian. He is on a move in life looking for the answers of many troubling questions। Always drunk, trying to forget the unfortunate death of his daughter in an accident, he is now leaving a life of a vagabond. Travelling indirectionally and fully unaware of the destiny, sticking to his existence and waiting for the death to come. And thus one day, he gets thrown out of a bus and lands in Hindurao’s empire.

Hindurao accidently meets Master and keeps this intellectual stranger as an employee on his farm with some plan in his mind. Initial friction between the two gradually develops as a very good friendship. As everything starts to become normal in Master’s life, he hears about Maruti Kamble. The constant gossip about Maruti Kamble’s whereabouts unsettles him. And due to the same curiosity he now faces Hindurao’s wrath. Persistent Master keeps on questioning Hindurao in spite of his warnings. And as Master starts knowing the reality, what starts between the two is a fierce battle – “Saamna”.

The Plot and Background:-

The backdrop of this movie is taken from the very familiar picture present in Western Maharashtra where the sugar barons have acquired lot of power in the name of development of the region through co-operative efforts। And how does such concentration of power gets social acceptance that further strengthens their hold in the region. This movie has been gifted with a very strong storyline, screenplay and dialogues of Late Shri Vijay Tendulkar. Unforgettable performances by Dr. Shriram Lagoo and Nilu Phule and Dr. Jabbar Patel’s unique style of direction took this movie to the greater heights. This movie has won a great praise from critics. Also it has won 3 National Awards, 7 Maharashtra State Awards, 3 Filmfare Awards and selected for Berlin Film Festival, 1975.

My take on Movie: -

For me, this movie is “A Clash of Titans” of Marathi cinema। One of their best performances given by both Nilu Phule and Dr Shriram Lagoo। Very simple but strong story line, superb direction has made this movie as a great epic. The two songs - “Kunachya Khandhyavar Kunache Ojhe” (the burden, which is meant to be carried by someone, is actually being carried by someone else) and “Hya Topikhali Dadlay kaay?” (What is hidden beneath this cap – A metaphor used to comment on the behaviour of politicians who wear Gandhitopi.) - leave a very long lasting impact on you by pinpointing the contrast present in the society. The players might have changed but the situation is still the same. A really hard to miss movie. One of the best movies I have ever watched.

- Swapnil B. Walunj (pgp07.swapnilw@spjimr.org)