Yash Chopra was the king of romance. Two heroines, ‘good people’ almost always wading through trying circumstances, soulful music and iconic dialogues. His 1973 film, Daag: A Poem Of Love had all these, and a soliloquy—‘Main to kuch bhi nahin’ delivered to perfection by Rajesh Khanna.
Chopra was inspired by Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge and Gulshan Nanda’s novel Maili Chandni. There was a lot riding on it. Daag was his first venture as an independent producer, after breaking away from BR Chopra. Yash Raj Films was set up and the rest is cinematic history.
Daag would go on to establish Chopra as a filmmaker who would not just explore the fun, frothy elements of romance but also touch upon subjects like infidelity, and in this case, bigamy. With a star cast including Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore and Rakhee, the movie was a bold choice for a debut.
By the time Chopra decided to break off from his father, he had earned plenty of goodwill in the industry. Filmmaker V Shantaram offered him a room in his studio to work out of. Rakhee offered him money, and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi was ready to take his fees only after the film became a hit. The risk paid off.
Daag was a blockbuster. It won the hearts of viewers, seven Filmfare nominations and two wins.
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A love triangle with a twist
The movie sets the stage for a love triangle. But instead of recriminations and angst, it ends on an unexpectedly happy note. Khanna’s character, Sunil builds a relationship with the woman he’s married, Sonia (Tagore) and the woman he had to fake a marriage with, Chandni (Rakhee).
That Chopra pulled this off and got viewers to embrace this in the 1970s shows how deft a storyteller he was. What aided him were the movie’s songs and the craze of Khanna as a superstar, who could make his audience side with him completely. The film was declared a superhit the very first day, even though the distributor Gulshan Rai had booked lesser theatres, unsure of the film’s ending.
In keeping with the trend of the time, there is plenty of drama and tragedy. Khanna accidentally kills his boss’ son, Dheeraj Kapoor (Prem Chopra) when he tries to rape Sonia during their honeymoon. He’s sentenced to death but escapes unscathed when the van he’s being transported in meets with an accident. But he can’t return to his old life, and begins anew in a small town where he meets Chandni and her father. Sunil enters a marriage of convenience with the pregnant Chandni, saving her from ignominy and also getting a new identity in the process.
Nobody in this triangle is evil in the traditional Bollywood sense. They are people trapped in what appears to be an unviable position. The solution comes from Sonia, when in one dramatic courtroom, she invites Chandni to a part of their lives. “Let’s go home,” she tells her. Another touching moment in the film was when Chandni asks Sonia to stay with her because of the strong friendship they have built in these trying times.
Many well meaning friends in the film industry urged Chopra to change the ending. But he never pushes the boundaries to the point of unease for his viewers. Instead of outrage, he gets the audience to sympathise and cheer for all the characters.
Chopra would later go on to deal with infidelity in Silsila (1981) but there too he does not push the envelope. The ‘wayward’ man goes back to his wife, who embraces him with open arms. The ending proclaims—‘Love is faith, and faith is forever’. Though he explored murky waters, Chopra was mostly conservative, and upheld the family unit in the end.
In Daag, clothes do as much of the talking as the dialogue. In true Yash Chopra style, the sartorial choices for the characters are impeccable. In an earlier scene, both Rakhee and Tagore are dressed in white. While Tagore’s white saree implies her widowhood, Rakhee’s saree has delicate flowers painted on them. In some of the scenes where they slowly form a bond, the shades of their sarees are similar.
The trope of having two heroines is recurrent in Yash Chopra films from Silsila (1981) and Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), right up to Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012).
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A poem of love
The music of the film works in complete harmony with the plot, beginning with the romantic Hum Aur Tum establishing the romance, and Ab Chahe Ma Roothe Yaa Baba where the two leads rebel against Sonia’s uncle and aunt to get married. When Sonia is working as a teacher, she sings Hawa Kaise Chali, to cheer the children, and when Sonia and Sunil reunite, there is Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai.
While songs were an integral part of Chopra’s musicals, with stunning visuals of the scenery always adding to the visual appeal, Daag’s songs stand out for their lyrics and composition. Sahir Ludhianvi created gems that have stood the test of time
Laxmikant-Pyarelal worked extensively with Chopra. This collaboration is an integral reason for romance being associated with the filmmaker. The subtitle of the film, ‘a poem of love’ is held up almost entirely by the music composer duo. Add to it Khanna’s ability to croon to romantic songs on screen that could make even a cynic fall in love. When he lipsyncs to Kishore Kumar’s soulful voice in Mere Dil Mein, one can understand why Sonia had been pining for him. Kumar’s voice adds another dimension, creating the mood for the two lovers to finally unite.
The songs were long, with Chahe Ma Roothe crossing the five minute mark. But the peppy dance number is so well mounted, with the voices of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar adding to the playful rebellion of the two characters, that the time never factors in.
The film won two Filmfare trophies that year, Best Director for Yash Chopra and Best Supporting Actress for Raakhee, along with nominations for Best Actor for Rajesh Khanna, Best Music for Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Best Male Playback Singer for Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya for Kishore Kumar.
Khanna and Kumar might have missed out on the awards, but their hit pairing, which spanned 245 songs, makes the film memorable as a musical classic.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
Nicel written article but as usual with some incorrect information.
Firstly, BR Chopra is not the father but the brother of Yash Chopra.
Secondly, Yash Chopra didn’t worked extensively with Laxmikant Pyarelal. “Daag” is the only movie where they worked together.