Shaheed

This is a Hindi language film starring Dilip Kumar and Kamini Kaushal.

The film has very little to do with the title. It's more a love story and circumstances that let lovers to separate. The movie has little value adding the childhood friendship as it becomes inconceivable that they totally go out of touch or one of them turns totally villainous. Overall it's well made but at one point three songs are placed one after the other at five-minute interval which makes it very boring. Likewise, the script is contrived to get both the hero and the heroine to die to evoke sentiment.

The parts about non violent vs violent struggle are appreciative. So also about how Indians were the very representatives of the British and the most cruel offenders against fellow Indian freedom fighters.

This was Chandra Mohan's last role but much of the character is caricatured. His reason for changing sides in the end is not convincing. But the court scene in the climax with him shows the intensity of his performance!

Kamini Kaushal is most impressive in this film. She's known to audiences more for playing elderly roles which makes one forget these lead roles that she played so competently. Watch it for her sensitive performance.

Shaheed is a romance film directed by Late Ramesh Saigal. The film stars late Dilip Kumar, Kamini Kaushal, late Chandra Mohan, and late Leela Chitnis.

A young freedom fighter faces opposition from his father and a police officer, who is vying for his girlfriend's hand.

This film is primarily a romantic film in the backdrop of patriotic theme as barring very few patriotic scenes the film mostly have romantic scenes.

The plot of the film is decent and the execution is also decent. Acting by the legendry actor Dilip Kumar was great and he gets a great support from Kamini Kaushal, Leela Chitnis. Chandra Mohan was also very impressive and he was very effective and impressive in climax. The songs of the film are good. Climax of the film could've been better.

Can be watched once.

Shaheed (1948) : Brief Review -

A tragic romance and patriotic drama amidst the freedom fight era. The film begins in the 1920s as we see three kids, Ram, Sheila, and Vinod. Ram wants to be Nehru, Sheila wants to be Kamla Nehru, and Vinod wants to become a police officer in the British Force. Ram and Sheila are always together; they beat Vinod, who happens to be a bad guy from the beginning. Grown up, Ram has become a freedom fighter and Sheila has become a doctor. The film is about their romance and the sacrifices they have to make for the country and for their loved ones. Vinod is a police officer in a British camp, and he is chasing Ram to hang him. Sheila is forced to marry Vinod to save her brother and Ram, but Ram mistakes her sacrifice for betrayal. The conflicts get solved later, but by that time, Ram has become too big, and Sheila has nothing left to live. Shaheed openly speaks about the differences between Gandhivaad and extremists, violence and non-violence, patriotism and treachery. I couldn't overlook the big flaw of Ram becoming a violent leader after following Nehru Ji's ideology. This was exactly opposite to what his views were about the freedom fight. He was more into the Bhagat Singh zone than Gandhi or Nehru. Maybe the writer and the director wanted to play safe and not hot the feelings of Indians who were enjoying the newly brought freedom. Dilip Kumar plays Ram, an honest patriot who would do anything for his country, and his portrayal is so good. But I'd like to give a big shout out to Kamini Kaushal, who played Sheil, a doctor who made more sacrifices than many freedom fighters in the film. Chandra Mohan's last major role was superb. A sudden change in a father was illogical, but pretty okay for the 40s. The music could have been better, as the film lacks a patriotic chartbuster. The opening song was good, though. Ramesh Saigal was a true patriot, I believe, because he made such films (Shaheed, Samadhi) that were needed at that time.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.