Ek Naya Rishta

Ek Naya Rishta is one of the most daring, bold, and unexpected films of its times. Vinod Pande is perhaps the most underrated filmmaker of commercial Hindi cinema of the 1980s. It was a sad decade for the mainstream Hindi film industry, where films hardly reflected the social state of the times. Serious subjects were mostly tackled by art films which started gaining popularity because of the lack of meaningful mainstream products but couldn't hold too much interest in cinemas because the masses still needed entertainment. Among those directors who knew how to combine both the art, the commentary, and the glamour, was Pande, whose projects can be rightly termed as true middle-of-the-road cinema. Ek Naya Rishta deals with a range of subjects not ever dealt with in mainstream Hindi films. These include fear of commitment among urban youth, the search for independence and opportunities in the big city, the underlying filth that's hidden in these big cities, which are laden with promiscuity, sometimes under the guise of art and culture, corruption and abuse of women in prostitution or surrogacy, and loneliness. And all these themes are dealt with so realistically, with great care and a nice touch of humour, in this beautiful romantic drama.

The film first presents the story of Rajiv, a young wealthy man who likes getting involved in different affairs with women but refuses to marry despite his father's many efforts to convince him. After his father's death, however, the will reads saying that Rajiv could only inherit the fortune on the condition that within 18 months he fathers his own biological son. Devastated at first, Rajiv soon comes up with a plan to find a woman who would agree to bear his child for money without having to marry her. Cut to the other side of the country, a young small-town woman named Aarti is leaving her house to try and make it big as an artist in the Bombay, trusting her boyfriend Vikram as her future manager. A few months later, Aarti leaves Vikram, with subsequent flashbacks revealing how she travelled to the big city only to be manipulated into prostitution, followed by her circumstantial foray into seemingly elite circles where beneath the polished surface, young girls are abused by people of power. When Aarti tries to get her life back together and looks for a job as a secretary, she catches the sight of Rajiv. Initially repulsed by his indecent proposal to mother his child for money, a letter from her mother about their financial state makes her reluctantly take up his offer. This is where the dark story takes its long-awaited turn and gradually takes the shape of a charming romance.

Ek Naya Rishta is indeed a very original and interesting story, and Pande makes the best of it. He directs it with heart and gives the film a sort of everyday realism through the characters, the dialogue, the setting, and the overall proceedings. The narrative style is dark and serene and very different from what one usually sees in mainstream Hindi films, and the overall feel is authentic. The film never resorts to cheap melodrama, and even the most difficult, dramatic portions are handled with restraint and delicacy. Some of the scenes showing Rajiv's house filled with greedy relatives wanting to take over the house provide nice comic relief, while Aarti's moments with herself, where she contemplates about her life, past and future (note the scene at the beach), are done brilliantly. Pande actually manages to convey so much of her story through some brief scenes alone, often presented as unexpected plot twists in flashbacks, or insinuated through some of Aarti's conversations with her friend, providing hints of what is going on without revealing too much of what happened - a very rare respect for the viewers' intelligence. Similarly, the depth of the relationships is really surprising - just one single scene captures the relationship between Aarti and her mother and brother in less than a minute.

One striking sequence for me is in a hotel, seemingly used as a very fine social club for leisure, dance and dating, where behind an intellectual and cultured facade, functions nothing less than a regular, modern-day brothel: a soft-spoken and articulate madam meets young men and introduces to them young college girls who are elegant, smart and well-spoken. These girls have no qualms about selling their bodies because they wouldn't probably call it that way or identify as prostitutes, possibly comforted by this very fake civilised aura and high-society intrigue. That's where the leading lady Aarti appears too, but the so-called surrogacy part is her limit. It is when she finally accepts the offer that the story turns into a romantic love story, and it is really a very welcome turn at that. This part of the story is equally brilliant, where a gradual transformation brings the characters together, with the realism of the situation kept at all times.

As for Rekha... wow, Rekha. She is, simply put, haunting and fascinating. The shot where Rekha is sitting pensive at the bar, lost in a private moment of quiet introspection, gently smoking a slim black cigarette, her barely sipped drink resting on the counter, her hair combed to the side of her extraordinary face, her surroundings ignored - is a memorable sight to behold. This brief scene alone captures a screen presence few actors have. It's not just her staggering visage which is effectively framed by the soft glow of the bar's dim lighting. It's the emotional depth and the abundance of style and sophistication conveyed through her poised demeanor and captivating disposition which could easily put the greatest stars of the golden age of cinema to shame. Rekha has never been more attractive and sensuous than she is in this film, which was shot when she was at the height of her beauty. But more than anything, Ek Naya Rishta offers this charismatic star one of the defining roles of her career, a role which proves her mettle as a true actress who possesses the deepest understanding of a woman's soul.

Incidentally, the same year saw the release of one of her most celebrated roles in खून भरी मांग (1988), also named Aarti. But while the latter was a good film with a great star turn for the leading lady, it is this film which gives her the stronger part: a real, complex character, which requires her to work a lot with her inner self, and, indeed, she does the best of it. Rekha is ravishing here: moody, conflicted, complicated - a woman deceived by a man but never quite given up, a woman reduced to prostitution, disgusted by the ways of the big city but holding true responsibility for her family, and always in sync with her values even if she's had to act against them due to circumstances. Incredibly convincing all the way through, Rekha conveys so much at times through her presence alone, which is strong and forceful as usual, and at times through her expressive eyes, letting the viewers sense what she is going through and making them relate to her in every turn. This mature performance is a true portrait of strength and compassion, and one of her ultimate best.

Speaking of Rekha's performance and the film's fantastic narrative, one must note the sequence which efficiently sums up her character's story in the song "Ahsaas Hai Sauda Hai", which plays in the background as flashbacks from Aarti's journey in the big city unfold. Unexpectedly, Rekha sings the song herself, and she does it beautifully, which, along with the great acting in the flashbacks, as well as the astonishing poignancy of her expressions through the song as she is seen thinking of her past, show her at the top of her artistic form. This was probably among the most inspired phases of her career as an artist. I was happy that many of these sad proceedings were followed by a revival in her life. One cannot mention one song without mentioning the others, because all of them captured Aarti's mood but more because the film's soundtrack was composed by none other than the great Khayyam, a true musical genius and a legend in the music industry. Just listen to "Kiran Kiran", beautifully rendered by Lata Mangeshkar, and note how it harmonically presents through both melody and picture the transition in Aart's life - wonderful. An earlier song, "Mere Mehboob" sung by Asha Bhosle, is also beautiful.

Among the rest of the cast, Raj Kiran, who was a very strong character actor who supported Shabana Azmi in अर्थ (1982) and did really well in Pande's musical gem Star (1982), is really competent here in a leading role. As a matter of fact, despite Rekha's star billing, the first half is almost entirely his story, and it seemed to be going this way until she showed up and stole the show. Om Shivpuri is brilliant in a brief appearance as his father, Mazhar Khan is also very good, while many of the other members of the cast, including Rajiv's family members, Aarti's family and friends, specifically Helena Luke (Mithun Chakraborty's ex-wife, for those interested) do well in their bit parts. Ek Naya Rishta is a rare film, which is engaging, involving, highly entertaining and highly underrated all at the same time. It's high time more people discovered this hidden gem.