Dhund (Fog)
Director: B.R. Chopra
Music: Ravi; Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi
Year: 1973
Running Time: 2 hours 4 minutes
A man's car breaks down in the night fog and
he walks into a secluded house to get help where he discovers a dead body
(Danny Denzongpa) and the luscious Zeenat Aman in a corner with a gun in
her hand and a plea of guilt on her lips. Like any man would do in the
circumstances, he (Navin Nischol) helps her concoct a story that throws
the police suspicions off of her and on to an imaginary man in a dark overcoat.
So begins this rather enjoyable murder mystery that slowly winds its convoluted
way to the truth. Suspense movies of this sort are a rarity in Bollywood
– a few that come to mind are Caravan, Teesri Manzil and Gumnaam – all
quite good. Dhund doesn’t quite match up to those, as it isn’t as crisp
as it should be and certainly doesn't exactly keep you on the edge of your
seat, but it actually does a better job of keeping you guessing till the
end. In fact, at the conclusion the film asks the audience not to tell
anyone how it all ends and I will certainly not do so!
One might wonder why Navin is so willing to help
Zeenat cover her tracks, but one look at Zeenat in her blue bare midriff
sari makes it all very understandable. Zeenat can do no wrong as far as
I am concerned and she occupies the screen with an alluring dusky sensuality
that just sizzles and glows. Zeenat hit the Indian screens in the early
seventies and took them by storm – a highly unconventional Bollywood heroine
with her Westernized dress and attitudes and her willingness to exude a
heated if still understated sexuality. Till she came along Heroines were
generally very traditional – good girls who obeyed their parents and kept
sex in a drawer only to be opened after marriage. Zeenat shattered this
with her second film Hare Rama Hare Krishna in which she plays a free spirit
into free love and cheap available hashish. Her father was a well-known
writer and she spent her education overseas – thus gaining an accented
Hindi speaking style – she came back to model and became Ms. Asia. From
here she entered film but after her debut (Hulchul) bombed she almost left
the industry to move to Germany, but Dev Anand convinced her to do HRHK
and this made her a huge star.
The police begin their investigation based on
the false clues that Navin and Zeenat have given – there are many suspects
as flashbacks detail that the dead man (Danny Denzongpa) was Zeenat’s husband
– an embittered cripple that enjoyed mentally torturing everyone around
him – a step-mother, his wife, a servant and a lunatic son from a previous
marriage – and he has the annoying habit of shooting at practically anything
that moves with an ever present pistol - and so the suspects are plentiful.
Of course if this wasn't enough, his use of dead animals as the mainstay
of his interior decor would be enough to condemn this fellow to a gunshot
in the stomach.
Underneath all this lies the unspoken intimation
that the husband was also not able to perform sexually and Zeenat looks
to be a woman in need of a lot of love. Using the false leads, the police
finally land their suspicions on a young lawyer and aspiring politician
(Sanjay Khan) who had become close to Zeenat and appears to have both motive
and opportunity. Both Zeenat and Navin watch the net close in on Sanjay
– coolly attired in horn rimmed glasses and a series of spiffy suits -
including a Nehru jacket – and wonder what they should do.
There are really only three songs in the film
– another is sung over the opening and closing credits – but all three
are quite good. Two of them are item numbers – one performed by a courtesan
in the town brothel, the other a terrific female dancing duo act in a nightclub
that shows some intricate footwork and co-ordination. In particular I love
one part of their act when the two of them trade these lyrics in staccato
fashion:
Yes, I’m chained
But, I’ve eyes like darts
Yes, I’m svelte
But, my colours are fiery
Yes, there are embers in my eyes
But, my breath is as hot as lightening
Yes, the kohl in my eyes looks like a taut
bow
But, it’s to shoot arrows at foes
And every step I dance
Is a punishment for my enemy
Unfortunately, Zeenat is in only one of the
songs – a lovely ballad that she sings while playing the piano. Zeenat
was not one of the great dancers from that period – certainly better at
modern songs than traditional songs – but she usually looks very glamorous
in her dance numbers and really looks as if she has “embers in her eyes”
as she sashays her hips to the rhythm of the music.
Sanjay Khan by the way is the younger brother
of Feroz Khan. Though he had a solid career, he never had the success that
his older brother did in film but has become a very successful producer
in television and is the father in law of Hrithik Roshan. His son Zayed
is attempting to break into film presently. Sanjay is also responsible
for introducing Bob Christo into Indian films and even today Christo manages
one of Sanjay’s resorts!
My rating for this film: 7.0