Insaf Ka Tarazu (1980)

Writing my first review after such a long time feels weird which makes me proclaim 'away from me writer's block and be gone, be gone I say'. Insaf ka Tarazu is a movie i had planned to review on Zeenat Aman's birthday last month on November 19th, but as time did not allow, i thought it'd be the first movie i review now that I'm back in the swing of things.

Directed by the master of socially relevant bollywood films 'B.R. Chopra', Insaf ka Tarazu (The scales of Justice) is notable for being the first bollywood film that dealt head on with the subject of rape, it's also widely considered by many as one of Zeenat Aman's landmark performances. The film has been observed by many as a remake of the 1976 hollywood film 'Lipstick', which I'm yet to see, hence i shall not be able to comment on how much it rips it off, but this bollywood adaptation is a great watch, and is very much a bold film for its time

Our movie starts at a beauty competition where the audience decides who gets crowned the winner

(bollywooddeewana's note: How very forward thinking isn't it, voting for the winner is all the rage these days on Television shows)

Fashion model extraordinaire Bharti (Zeenat Aman) raises temperatures so much that a fan in the audience scores her a whopping 200 out of a possible 100. Bharti wins the competition and

the fan in question turns out to be wealthy industrialist Ramesh (Raj Babbar). As a reward for his enthusiasm he's called to crown Bharti, which he feels very honoured to do

Ramesh falls for Bharti and despite knowing she has a boyfriend of her own called Ashok (Deepak Parashar), he's hell bent on wooing her. Part of his attempts include hosting a special V.I.P birthday bash for her

Bharti goes along to the party with her boyfriend and sister, but Ramesh notices all his advances are being shunned by a rather childish Bharti in favour of her boyfriend Ashok

While Ramesh is nursing his broken heart/ego, Ashok and Bharti's relationship moves onto the next level when he takes her to his parents, Bharti's in laws approve of her and plans are made for them to get married

Ramesh still bent on wooing Bharti, calls her requesting to bring pictures from the party he threw for her, he's given the go ahead by Bharti. Ramesh goes that extra bit further and gifts her a present which Bharti in a rather childish and rude manner ignores in favour of her boyfriends call. Ramesh is furious and proceeds on raping Bharti

Bharti's sister Neeta (Padmini Kolhapure) walks in on them & thinks the sexual act between her sister and Ramesh is consensual

(bollywooddeewana's note:surely she should have seen the bruises & scars on her sister's face as well as the fact that she's tied up,or did little Neeta probably think her sister was indulging in some S&M fun, i'd fear to think so)

Violated and shattered, Bharti is determined to get justice

(bollywooddeewana's note:I must admit that i do rather like this painting revealing Bharti's inner state of mind)

despite the lawyer's (Simi Garewal) warning of the emotional turmoil and humiliation the court case will very likely bring, Bharti insists on taking the case to court

(bollywooddeewana's note: I actually find the film quite feminist in this regard as she (Bharti) stood up and made her voice heard rather that fear being ridiculed and as a result keep schtum)

True to the lawyer's word Bharti is subjected to all sorts of humiliating questions from her attire she was wearing before the rape to providing proof she was raped and many other mundane questions, she's eventually accused of luring Ramesh to bed & attempting to cover up the whole incident with the intention of remaining angelic in the eyes of her younger sister

Bharti loses the case mostly in part to the dubious lawyer Mr Chandra (Sreeram lagoo) whom Ramesh had bought out plus various pictures which showed them enjoying each other's company was enough to convince the judge Bharti was lying

Devastated and humiliated at losing the case Bharti's world comes crumbling down, What will happen to Bharti, will she ever be able to get justice? What will society make of her now? What will happen to her career as well as her relationship with Ashok? Watch Insaf Ka Tarazu (scales of justice) to find out

On the whole Insaf ka tarazu is a taut and gripping drama/thriller, it had me engrossed right from the get go and the film only begins to falter in my opinion in the quite tedious court scenes, and as usual my complaint with many a bollywood film that includes a court scene rears its ugly head here once more (see previous complaints here and here). Why is it that the court is always a place of jesting and other hijinks, for example raucous laughter is allowed to go on numerous times in the court without the judge shouting 'order'

But my complaints are far and in between as this film is a major winner for me, mostly in terms of its feminist stance in the form of Bharti not being afraid to seek justice at the cost of what might become of her reputation in society , that along side the injustices in the judicial system regarding rape which was echoed in the much later and rather over the top Zakhmi Aurat, makes this film a must watch, i definitely recommend it and i recommend reading the magazine scans at the end of this post too.

Looking back and judging by the rape and Judicial system in modern day India in the magazine scans at the end of this post, it seems a lot of the things i was angry about while watching this film happens in real life like Bharti's sister being asked to come and stand trial and then being shouted at by the lawyer. All these points and arguments which the article at the end of this post raised made me like this film all the more and made it even more relevant to our present times. As for the flat/rushed ending many imdb commenters seem to be unhappy with, alas the director had to bridge the gap between making a socially relevant film and making money at the same time, not a bad thing in my opinion.

I'd recommend this film as a must watch for all Zeenat Aman fans, i found her portrayal of Bharti passionate albeit a bit uber melodramatic and without sounding shallow she looked utterly gorgeous

Raj Babbar whatever you think of him doesn't really matter, as i think this is one if not the best role he ever played, he brought a certain creepiness to his Ramesh character so much so that you can't help but hate him, infact I've come across numerous people who hate him because of his role in this, but i say well done Raj for a great performance

Deepak Parashar another actor who gets schtick for being wooden , i actually found quite cute in this and he and Zeenat made a lovely pair

And lest i forget Padmini Kolhapure, she was nothing but great as Bharti's chirpy little sister this young actress who i believe was only a wee teenager at the time showed she was capable of handling melodrama whilst showing some restraint while doing so

Honourable mentions to Simi Garewal, Ifthekar and Sreeram Lagoo as well

Garam Dharam makes a special guest appearance

Lovely music from Ravindra Jain on this, i simply love this soundtrack and i've included links to all the videos with English subtitles, from the restrained title track 'insaf ka tarazu' to the playful 'yeh ho gayi' , my two favourites though are 'Hazaar khwaab haqeeqat' a wonderful love song by Mahendra Kapoor and Asha Bhosle

and 'log aurat ko' is definitely amongst my top three Asha Bhosle songs of all time

Paisa Vasool rating: 7/10

Magazine scans on rape the state of Rape and Justice in India

Click on image to enlage

Click to enlarge


Article courtesy Femina Magazine

Long Da Lishkara (1986)

Yes this blog is called bollywood deewana but today i shall be taking a quick peek at the Cinema of Punjab which is also known as 'Punjwood' for those of you who know your bollywood really well there are two recognisable faces in the form of Om Puri and Raj Babbar, this is my first Punjabi film and i have to say that i enjoyed it very much, a number of remixes of the Title track prompted me to check out the film

Raja (Raj Babbar) the son of wealthy royals returns to his mum (Nina Tiwana) in the Punjab after a period of 15 years spent in Canada

Check out his silver parka and Knee high boots

He meets Preeto (Harpreet Deol), the family maid and falls in love with her, also vying for Preeto's affections is local villager Maya (Om Puri), when he (Maya) finds out about Raja's affection for Preeto, he's furious and swears to split them

Meanwhile Raja goes in search of his old friend Channa (Gurdass Mann) only to find out he has become a Sage. Channa had become a Sage after the death of his lover who had died due to their different class backgrounds, Raja is shocked such attitudes still take place

Unknown to Raja is the fact that he's about to face the same heartbreak when his mother disapproves of his relationship with the family maid Preeto as she's from a lower class background

He tries standing up to her but he's emotionally blackmailed by his mum who asks him to choose between her and Preeto and then goes on to narrate how a lower class maid whom his dad had been involved with had led to his death

As a result Raja & Preeto stop dating much to the excitement of Maya who's also in love with her

Unknown to Raja's mum is the fact that Preeto is the daughter of the raped maid which had led to her husband's death

A depressed Preeto is told by her Aunt Gulabo (Nirmal Rishi) that Raja's father was the main reason behind her mother's death, before her death she had promised her mother that Preeto would avenge her death by becoming the Mistress of the mansion

She urges Preeto not to be depressed and avenge her mother's death by becoming the Mistress of the Mansion

Will Preeto manage to become the Mistress of the Mansion? Will she & Raja be reunited or will she be married to Maya? Watch Long da Lishkara to find out

Overall a sweet romantic melodrama with a dash of 80's revenge style saga thrown in, i was a bit unsure of what to expect, but i really enjoyed this, its very much like the the atypical bollywood romances of the 80's trying to overthrow old customs & traditions for the sake of true love

and of course since it was shot in the Punjab we're treated to lovely green fields and colourful outfits and dancing in these green fields

Performance wise i loved all the characters and even though they were quite one dimensional and their acting felt a bit like theatre acting, they were very likable. I especially liked Preeto (Harpreet Deol) and her aunt Gulabo (Nirmal Rishi)

and of course the dear Raj Babbbar, i know I'm probably one of a handful people who love Raj Babbar on the blogosphere, and I'm fine with that, i love him and his wooden style acting he seems to get criticised for

I can actually see bits of Prateik in him

Fab music from Jagjit & Chitra Singh, there's the lively upbeat 'Sare Pind Vich' beautiful love song 'Ishq hai Logoo' a punjabi classic song 'Challa' a lovely 'Giddha medley' and then my favourite of the whole lot and the very reason i checked out the movie is the wonderful 'Long da Lishkara' picturised on Lovely Punjabi Ladies in colourful outfits in picturesque Punjabi fields

Paisa Vasool Rating: 6/10

Zakhmi Aurat (1988)

I am back again with one of my favourite genres in 80's bollywood, that of the femme fatale who avenges the wrong done to her by evil men, Bollywood never really gave its leading actresses strong roles, hence why i find films where women have strong roles very exciting. Zakhmi Aurat (Wounded Woman) has made its way onto my favourites list, i applaud this film for its feminist message/issues. This film is also famous for its John Bobbit type events, infact i'm tempted to believe Lorena Bobbitt must have watched this film and was perhaps inspired by it

Kiran Dutt (Dimple Kapadia) is a no nonsense professional police officer, she's also deeply in love with her fiancee Suraj (Raj Babbar)

Dimple looking super smart in her Cop Uniform


while out jogging one day, she rescues Shanti a woman who's about to be raped, Kiran is keen on getting justice for Shanti and takes the case to court. In court the defense Lawyer Mahendra Nath plays devils advocate asking Shanti if she was a virgin before the rape and other stupid questions, and even when Kiran testifies saying she was a witness, the rapist was let go, Kiran is utterly disappointed


One day while Kiran is making arrangements to meet her future inlaws, her house is raided by a gang of four men who rape her


The news come as a shock to the Police force as Kiran is a well respected officer, plans are made to catch the gang as soon as possible

Kiran on the other hand is traumatised and Suraj stands by her as a rock of support, his mother however is none too pleased and contends he can't marry her anymore, but Suraj stands up to her and fights for the love of his life, his mother isn't too pleased


The men are found and tried to court where Kiran is accused of instigating the rape & in fact raping them, her lawyer contends this is untrue/inmpossible since she's a woman and too a woman against four men

the roguish gang looking super dapper


at which point Lawyer Mahendra Nath who had been bribed presents the judge with a newspaper proving this can actually happen, the men are released and all charges against them are dropped, Kiran as any one would be is hugely disappointed


She decides to leave the police force but Suraj urges her to stay on and fight for the sisterhood. She soon starts receiving letter of support from women & rape victims around the country and a sisterhood of women against injustice is formed


One of the C.E.O's of the sisterhood is Dr. Asha ( Rama Vij) whose child had been raped, another is Salma (Aruna Irani) whose sister had been raped, together along with various victims Dr. Asha poses the questions you can see below


They come up with the idea of castrating the rapists ( I was rolling on the floor with laughter at this point, and shouting & clapping "you go ladies")


How will they do this you ask


Kiran will go through the police files finding out the rapists, the women will then lure the men with their beauty and sexual powers along with spiked alcoholic drinks that would put them fast asleep back to Dr. Asha's surgery where they will be castrated


Watch as the women begin their castration fest and grab headlines, sending shiver down the spines of men all around India

our ladies create media sensations

Aruna luring an unuspecting victim into the den of castration

The Zakhmi Aurat team at work

Will they ever be caught, who will bear the reponsibilities, will kiran be able to exact revenge on those who raped her? For these and many more reasons watch Zakhmi Aurat

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, it brought out the feminist in me, i was clapping and cheering for the sisterhood, yes it was somewhat far fetched (although not too far fetched, there are some real life cases ala John & Lorena Bobbit, Sada Abe, Lam & Tse case) but its engaging and you get emotionally involved with the characters, it retains its seriousness and isn't spoiled by any tedious comic side plots, of course some masalaic formulas are added but that i believe, was to lend the film commercial viability, and of course there are some plot holes here and there but this film is a real winner for me mostly for its feminist stance

Feminist issues the film highlights/pushes for is the respectability and purity of women, it also highlights loop holes in the law and how it mostly often favours men (calls are made for changes to be made), the politics of rape (the word of the man against that of the woman) another interesting issue the film touched on, was the report of rape cases, should families or victims report or keep quiet about rape cases, if they do/don't what effect will this have on their honour, will they be willing to save their honour rather than get justice?


Another great point we get to see his how the Penis is central to a man's sense of identity/self, once castrated the men find it hard to make sense of their masculinity and usually ended up committing suicide


Great Performance from Dimple Kapadia this was a one woman show, she was so passionate and convicting in her performance, she truely got into the skin of the character, word has it that this movie caused her embarrassment, I say there's nothing to be embarrassed about Dimple, a film that speaks and fights for the cause of women is nothing to be ashamed of. I'm a lifelong lover of Dimple Kapadia after seeing her in this, She also kicks ass in a major way, see a compilation clip of her best ass kicking moments in Zakhmi Aurat



I also loved Raj Babbar as the supporting boyfriend, his role could have easily become the atypical filmi boyfriend gone bitter not wanting to marry his girlfriend after her ordeal, but he stands by her all the way

Bappi Lahiri has provided some good concotions, i love the theme song 'Zakhmi Aurat' the seductive 'Pal pal jale' where a wife tries seducing her castrated husband, the hilariously fun 'Toba Toba Allah Toba' where we see Aruna Irani luring a man into the castration den. My favourite however has to be 'Pyar mila subkuch mila' for its pure 80's bollywood romantic sounds and mood



Total Score: 7/10 ( Feminist Masala at its best)
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