Kashmir ki kali (1964)

कश्मीर की कली

When discussing Kashmir ki kali ("Blossom of Kashmir"), it's essential to get this out of the way:  The plot is unimportant.  The twists are absurd, the coincidences unlikely; the storyline swirls in the film's second half into over-the-top madness. But Kashmir ki kali is a complete delight nevertheless, thoroughly fun and stupendously entertaining.   

After Rajeev Lal (Shammi Kapoor) inherits the reins of his family's massive industrial empire, his mother decides that it is time for his marriage.  Rajeev, uninterested in surrendering his bachelorhood, flees to the family's lakeside bungalow in Kashmir.  There he meets a local flower-seller, Champa (Sharmila Tagore), and instantly falls in love.  He woos her aggressively, but to avoid intimidating her he hides his identity, telling her that he is Rajeev Lal's driver.  Champa warms to him quickly.   But their romance is thwarted by a scheming lumberman, Mohan (Pran), who wants Champa for himself.  He blackmails Champa's father (Nasir Hussain) by threatening to disclose dirty secrets of Champa's parentage.  But there are surprises in store for everyone before the rivalry is resolved.

The pleasures of Kashmir ki kali are entirely star-driven.  I'm not completely on the Shammi Kapoor train - he's too pudgy and spastic to really have much appeal for me.  Here, though, he is quite loveable, chasing Sharmila with an intensity that is entirely sweet, not creepy-stalkerish as filmi romance can sometimes be.  His comedy antics as he avoids engagements by feigning drunkenness - or even madness when expedient - are genuinely - sometimes hysterically - funny.  His gyrations seem spastic but they are clearly not uncontrolled - he is talented at physical comedy, and uses it to great effect in set pieces and songs alike. 

And if Shammi is amusingly charming, Sharmila - here in her first Hindi film - is adorable beyond compare.  Though her Champa is an ingenue, she's spirited and game for adventure.  Some of the most delightful scenes come when she submits to Rajeev's antics, as in the fabulous balle-balle song in which they give Mohan the slip by spontaneously joining a dance troupe at the local fair.  I've been nursing a growing crush on Sharmila Tagore and this film was just the thing to goose it along; she's good enough to eat as Champa, wearing traditional Kashmiri costumes and smiling with delight and wonder at the whirling dervish of romance that has burst into her life.

Indeed, the songs are far and away the best thing about Kashmir ki kali, the delightful songs come fast and thick in the O.P. Nayyar soundtrack, and each picturization is more colorful and energetic than the last.  Even if I never watch this film straight through a second time, I know I I'll be watching the songs again and again.  Many of them, like Rajeev's anthem "Kisi na kisi se" and his manic declaration of impatient love "Tarif karun kya uski," in addition to the appeal of the Shammi and Sharmila, also showcase the unparalleled beauty  of the film's uncredited star - the gorgeous Kashmiri landscape itself.  It is the songs and their picturizations, more than anything else, that makes Kashmir ki kali a sparkling gem.  (See Sanket's concurrent post at Bollywood Music Club for more.)

Comments

[Daddy's Girl]

Well.. I am still stuck on the "pudgy and spastic" part, Carla (hilarious)... just kidding, I've read the entire review, and this film sounds like something I'd really enjoy... didn't know it was Sharmila's debut - I really liked Shammi in "Junglee", which also happened to be the wonderful Saira Banu's debut film. I will have to look out for this one.

[Maajhi]

Daddy's Girl, if you like Saira Banu, check out Mera Saaya with Sanjeev Kumar. And if you like such mysteries, check out Teesri Manzil, Mahal and Bees Saal Baad - all worth watching.

Carla, good review as usual. I'm still wondering about "whirling dervish of romance" :). The song btw is 'tarif karoon kya Uski ..' (In what manner can I praise He who made you! (He is beyond praise)), not 'tarif kya karoon'. I like that song a lot too, the music especially is quite good.

[Daddy's Girl]

Thanks very much for the recommendations Maajhi, I will definitely look out for them... I have seen a 'Mera Saaya', and it was a mystery movie, but with Sadhana and Sunil Dutt - I'm guessing that was the remake of the Sanjeev Kumar/Saira Banu picture.

[carla]

Maajhi, thanks for catching my typo in the song name - it's fixed now.

On the subject of Shammi Kapoor, he will never be my favorite, but unlike some other stars he is actually growing on me with increasing exposure. I watched the first third of *Teesri Manzil* lately and had that feeling confirmed; I'm starting to get it. Will watch the rest of *Teesri Manzil* eventually so you can look for it here.

On the subject of Saira Banu, I've seen her only in *Padosan* and she made little impression on me there. There are so many ways in which I've just scratched the surface of things, really.

[Sanket]

Great review Carla - I am glad we agree that the best things about this movie were the songs & scenery, specifically the gorgeous locale of Kashmir. While not the biggest Shammi Kapoor fan - I did read something back in the day about the way he just used his whole body as a male, um, you-know-what and it just cracked me up. I liked his later work which was more subdued much better.

On the subject of Mahal - it is definitely a must see, a movie well ahead of it's time starring a 16 year old (!) Madhubala and Ashok Kumar. Historically speaking it is important for not just being the launching pad for Madhubala's stardom but for Lata as well with the song 'Aayenga Aayenga'. Maybe another joint post in the making? ;)

[Maajhi]

Daddy's Girl: I've probably gotten the actors wrong in Mera Saaya.

Sanket: the word in the song is "aayega" not "aayenga", the latter being Bombay street-urchin talk.

[Maajhi]

BTW, I agree with Sanket that Mahal is worth watching - and not just for drooling over Madhubala for a few hours ;-).

[Maajhi]

Carla, btw, Kashmir is is pronounced/written as कश्मीर in Hindi. काश्मीर is also acceptable, but no vowel sound between श and म. So the movie name is कश्मीर की कली.

[carla]

Maajhi, thanks for that correction. I don't know how I mangled that spelling so badly - I thought I looked it up! Not carefully, I guess.

[Sanket]

Maajhi - I could watch Madhubala recite the phonebook and not be bored :) I know I butchered the spelling of the song but English is just not a good medium to spell Hindi words. Hindi (and other Indian languages) is a very phonetic language meaning (at least to me) that you never have to guess how something is pronounced when you see it written out. My name or Carla's name for that matter could have a number of different ways of pronouncing it in English but if we spelled it in Hindi there would be only one.

I have friends who get extremely offended when their name is misspelled (i.e. Manish for Maneesh or Samir for Sameer) but when I tell them that there is only one correct way to REALLY spell their name they seem to understand...

[Maajhi]

The entire soundtrack is worth owning really and provides decent exposure to Kashmiri musical instruments, but Ishaaron ishaaron mein and taareef karoon kya are my favorites.

[maxqnz]

Great review of a cute film, Carla. तारीफ़ करूँ क्या उसकी is one of my all time favourite songs, and I use the line often, once in an email to my boss after she had done me a big favour.

For Sanket, I have to partially disagree with this: "My name or Carla's name for that matter could have a number of different ways of pronouncing it in English but if we spelled it in Hindi there would be only one."

Accents vary widely in both English and Indic languages. If I transliterate an English word into Hindi, I will do so using the devanagari characters that match how I hear the word in English. This will often be different to how other native English speakers hear it. My middle name, for example is James. In NZ English, this would be जैम्ज़, but I've seldom seen it transliterated that way. The fault lies not with the wonderfully accurate phonetic representations possible in devnagari but with the wide variety of accents that mean people say and hear words differently. If you asked me to transliterate "fish and chips" I would write "फ़िश एन्द छिप्स", but any Australian would tell you that we Kiwis actually say "फ़ुश एन्द छुप्स". It is even so with consonants. Carla's in Boston, one of the few non-rhotic sections of the States, so she's probably heard her name said the way it is here, which would be transliterated "काला". So, even in Hindi, there may not always be only one way of spelling or saying a name. If that were so, there would be no regional accents, instead of the many that do exist.

[Akshay Shah]

On a roll here FG! KASHMIR KI KALI is just priceless, and the movie in many ways stands for everything Shammi Kapoor and his "brand" of cinema stood for. Pure masala! I still listen to TAREEF KARUN YA USKI...JISNE TUMHE BANAYA, Yeh chanda sa roshan chehraa, zulfon ka rang sunehra, yeh jheel se neeli aankhen, koi raaz hai in mei gehra...just too beautiful.

BTW I would love to see a TEESRI MANZIL movie review from you? Quiet easily one of my favorite Shammi Kapoor films ever.

A.Shah

[carla]

Akshay, *Teesri Manzil* is coming soon. I haven't watched the whole film yet - that's the delay - I started it last week and was enjoying it more than I expected to, so I decided to hold off until I had a chance to watch it with closer attention.

[kobra11_sl]

filma

[Ausaja]

i am a vintage bollywood memorabilia collector and a columnist. I find your blog very interesting. Congrats and do write to me or call whenever u r in Mumbai. My number is 9820294153. Regards
Ausaja

[teahhathe]

Whats up? New around here and figured that I should post and say hi.