Gunga Jumna (1961) :
Brief Review -
Easily, the greatest rooted mass blockbuster after Mother India and Naya Daur. What do you need to make a rooted mass blockbuster that can appeal to every section of the masses? 1) Good story. Gunga Jumna has one of the best. 2) Actors. Gunga Jumna has the best-Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. 3) Rooted issues with dramatic elements. Gunga Jumna has probably the best dramatic plot after Mother India and Naya Daur. This rooted village drama (sometimes masala) has always been a major reason for the big blockbusters. The top four must be Sholay, Mother India, Gunga Jumna, and Naya Daur. What sets Gunga Jumna apart from those 3 films is the language. The use of Bhojpuri language makes it better because then it feels like one of our films. In the other three films, you see a regular Hindi language, which appeals to a larger section of the audience, including city audiences. Gunga Jumna went against it and managed to create its own benchmark. The same goes for the songs, because then they feel more grounded. If a viewer in Mumbai is enjoying Bhojpuri lyrics because he sees good music and Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala dancing to it, then I think your film has broken the barrier of local language. With its influential formula of a good man turning into a bad man and his own blood having to go against it just because he was the one who taught him so, this has been one of the most loved and dramatic conflicts ever in Indian cinema. If you can hype Salim-Javed's post-70s blockbusters for the same reason, then please remind yourself that most of it came from the likes of Mother India, Naya Daur, and Gunga Jumna. The storyline is powerful, and the screenplay keeps you hooked for 3 hours. That's insane. What's more, you get fantastic music, brilliant performances, and superb direction to enjoy one of the greatest rooted mass blockbusters ever made in Bollywood history.
RATING - 8/10*
By - #samthebestest.
