Daag: A Poem of Love

During the period of the sixties to the nineties, two talented persons entertained the Hindi speaking Indian audience very much - one did it through his books and the other one did it through his movies. The former was Gulshan Nanda and the latter was Yash Chopra. Today I am reviewing a blockbuster movie which was their joint venture. Gulshan Nanda had written its story and its producer-director was Yash Chopra. It's Daag (1973). With this movie only Yash Chopra had started his own banner - Yash Raj Films which went on to become one of the most successful film production houses of India.

The story of Daag (stain) is said to be inspired partly by Thomas Hardy's novel - The Mayor of Casterbridge and partly by Gulshan Nanda's own novel - Maili Chaandni. It's the story of a man caught between two women due to the twists of destiny. Sunil (Rajesh Khanna) marries Sonia (Sharmila Tagore) and starts his happy wedded life with her. However while saving Sonia's honour, he accidentally kills Dheeraj (Prem Chopra). Later on, the police van carrying him meets a mishap and he is presumed to be dead. Sonia gives birth to and starts fostering his son. One day she happens to come across Sunil again and finds that he is living as Sudhir with a different identity, has a wife - Chaandni (Raakhee) and a daughter. She comes to know the truth from his mouth only which contains, among other things, the circumstances under which he had married Chaandni. Now Sunil known as Sudhir is caught between two women. The law catches him once again. He is exonerated in the end and the threesome starts life afresh on a happy note.

The movie when watched on screen is much more interesting than its summary written above. Studded with melodious songs penned by Saahir and composed by Laxmikant Pyarelaal, Yash Chopra has presented the story on celluloid in a highly admirable manner. The tagline of its title is - A poem of love. And while watching, the spectator gets a feeling of reading a touching poem of love only. Yash Chopra was different from writer Gulshan Nanda in the way that while Gulshan Nanda allowed traits like jealousy and hate also to creep into the personalities of the characters of his novels containing love-triangles, Yash Chopra abstained from doing it and kept the characters of his movies as pure and clean-hearted ones only, understanding others' feelings and compulsions too alongwith their own. Thus love-triangle of Maili Chaandni is quite different from the love-triangle of Daag (except the love-triangle, the stories too are different). Frankly speaking, both these creative people were quite skilled in their fields. Gulshan Nanda was proficient in narrating the most ordinary stories in the most interesting manner with realistic characters, plot twists and touching dialogues whereas Yash Chopra was proficient in making reel life love look real when presented on the silver screen. Due to his skill in creating interesting twists in his stories, Gulshan Nanda was successful in penning scripts for the Bollywood movies too. And Yash Chopra over the years started being called as the King of Romance in the cine-world.

Since I have read Maili Chaandni also, let me assert that the movie presents a much more interesting drama than the novel and its canvas is much bigger than that of the novel which narrates a wafer-thin story (though quite interestingly). The novel doesn't have a repeat value but the movie has. Gulshan Nanda has named the principal male character of the novel as Rajesh Khanna (perhaps he was penning the script for the movie as well as the novel for his readers side-by-side). Cinematographer has captured the scenic and snowy beauty of Shimla skillfully, making this movie a visual treat. Dialogues, background score, editing and other technical aspects are well in order. Songs like Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai, Nee Main Yaar Manaana Nee, Ab Chaahe Maa Roothe Ya Baba, Jab Bhi Jee Chaahe Nayi Duniya Basa Lete Hain Log etc. Are evergreen and listened to with much interest by the music lovers even today.

All the three principal actors - Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore and Raakhee have performed admirably. Supporting cast has supported them well. Daag was a huge commercial success when released which is no surprise considering the quality of the movie. Even when watched today, it doesn't look like a dated movie. It's a treat for those who like romantic stuff and stories containing love-triangles plus emotional drama.

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This is definitely among one of the earliest hit pictures accredited to Mr. Yash Chopra, who is still ringing the bells in Bollywood by his recent success of block buster Veer-Zara.

Besides, the direction and intriguing/exciting story, Rajesh Khanna has rendered his charismatic romantic touch with Shamila Tagore which is beautifully filmed by Mr. Chopra. It is indeed, one of the last hit films of the Rajesh Khanna Years, who was already experiencing the onslaught of the Angry Young Celluloid Intruder namely Amitabh.

It has a good bit of songs footing as well nice direction to call it a super hit.

Daag (1973) : Brief Review -

Yash Chopra attempts a complex love story on a weird question: Can a man actually live with two wives? Daag happens to be a poetic complexity featuring a struggling love story that goes through inevitable conflicts but ends up with a little dragged climax. The crappiest scene in the film has to be when Sunil's mother-in-law calls the police; she puts the telephone down, and the very next second we hear a police Jeep siren. Which police officer arrives in one second? How can a writer or director go ahead with such a bullshiit scene? Anyway, Daag goes ahead and grabs you with its narrative instantly, only to lose that grip in the ending. Let's look at the positives first. The film is about Sunil and Sonia, who get married, and while trying to save his wife from molestation, Sunil accidentally kills the culprit. He is sentenced by the court but escapes during an accident. Here, Sonia takes leave of her house because she is pregnant with Sunil's child. Years later, she finds Sunil married to another woman with a new name, Sudhir. Can they get together? This idea is really interesting since all the events look reliable. However, we have a few flaws in the last half an hour. Chandni, who is in love with Sunil/Sudhir, suddenly agrees to live together with Sonia and Sunil. Which woman would do that? The courtroom drama didn't really make much sense to me. If the court can take Chandni's testimony, why didn't they take Sonia's testimony in the first place? I mean, if a woman said that she was being raped and the killing happened in self-defence, do you think any court would ask for anything more? The Mayor of Casterbridge itself has those flaws, so I can't really blame Daag. Rest, it's a gripping drama with some really good scenes, performances, and 3 super hit songs: Ab Chahe Ma Roothe Yaa Baba, Ni Main Yaar Manana Ni, and Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai.

RATING - 6/10*

By - #samthebestest.

This is Yash Chopra's first production under Yash Raj Banner, and I must say he was excellent as a director, a fresh and unconventional story, sharp editing and excellent direction made this film a true joy ride for cine lovers. Yes, this film is typical romance drama of 70's but with a twist, but if you love Hindi classics then this one is a gift for your watchlist. Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore and Rakhee ji have played their characters wonderfully, other actors also lend a good support, Cameo by Prem Chopra is plot twisting and amazing, Kay Gee the cinematographer of the film does excellent job, he masterfully captures the beautiful locations and the darkness of the film, additionally the colour palette of the film also makes it a visual treat.

Daag: A Poem of Love is a melodramatic and twisted tale. The film is about Sunil and Sonia, a young couple who get separated when Sunil is sentenced to life prison for killing Dhiraj, a wealthy young man who tried to molest Sonia. Soon after, Sunil is declared dead in a car accident on his way to the prison. A pregnant Sonia finds herself all alone and decides to leave the city and start a new life with her child. She finds a job as a school teacher where she befriends a young woman named Chandni. When Sonia's past is revealed, she loses her job and finds refuge in Chandni's house. There she finds out that Sunil is actually alive, living under a different identity as Chandni's husband Sudhir. Daag is nowhere among the best works of the great Yash Chopra, though it is fairly enjoyable. The film starts well and the romantic sequences are beautifully shot, but it becomes predictable, at times overdone and the action sequences are very poorly handled. The concept of a man who is considered dead and is actually alive is really done to death. The film does manage to entertain at places despite the formulaic script but the proceedings are melodramatic and hard to believe. Rajesh Khanna is okay in this role. He does not impress much but his role is nothing exceptional. Sharmila Tagore does the best of her rather bland character. Khanna and Tagore do have a good chemistry but nowhere as great as in Aradhana. Beautiful Raakhee steals the show with her graceful presence and restrained acting. The music is good but not very memorable. Daag is in my view an okay one-time watch, but not more than that.