Saaransh
Encyclopedia
Saaransh is a 1984 Bollywood
film starring Anupam Kher
, Rohini Hattangadi
and Soni Razdan. The film marked the screen debut of Anupam Kher. It was nominated for India
's official entry for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
. This movie was distributed by Rajshri Productions
.
incident in New York. Devastated to learn that their only child, a son, has been killed by muggers in New York City, former Headmaster B.V. Pradhan and his wife, Parvati, grieve. With their son dead, there is no income coming in, so they rent out a room, in their Shivaji Park (Bombay) apartment to a budding Bollywood actress, Sujata Suman, who has been having an illicit affair with the only son (Vilas as Madan Jain) of a politician named Gajanan Chitre. Vilas lacks the guts to tell his father that he is in love and would like to marry Sujata, and hence puts off any marriage plans. They do get intimate and as a result Sujata gets pregnant. When Pradhan finds out, he offers to take Sujata to meet Gajanan with the hope that he will permit her to become his daughter-in-law. But Gajanan not only refuses, he also threatens them, he warns them of dire consequences if Sujata does not abort the child, and moves away to another town. Pradhan refuses to let Sujata out of his house, and then begins the stalking and harassment by Gajanen's men. Pradhan goes to file a police complaint, but is told that the police cannot even touch Gajanan's men. Sujata has no choice but to continue to seek shelter with Pradhan and his wife. Sujata does not know that Pradhan and Parvati have a secret agenda of their own in keeping her within their sight
A poignant moment in the movie is one in which Pradhan, the school teacher (played by Anupam Kher) is haggling with the customs officials to recover the ashes of his son. Anupam Kher was only 28 years old but he played the role of a retired stubborn old man in this movie with aplomb thereby establishing himself as a great actor
's "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema" described Saaransh as Mahesh Bhatt's "finest film — moving, mellow, and mature — as the viewer feels the pain and despair of an elderly couple..." The film's lead pair, Anupam Kher
and Rohini Hattangadi
were praised for their portrayals, described by The Tribune
as "immortal performances".
Saaransh won three Filmfare Awards
: Best Actor (Anupam Kher), Best Story (Mahesh Bhatt), and Best Art Direction (Madhukar Shinde). It was nominated for four other awards, including Best Movie, Best Director (Bhatt), Best Actress (Rohini Hattangadi) and Best Supporting Actress (Soni Razdan). The film won one National Film Award for Best Lyrics
.
The film was India's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, though it did not make it to the final run. Among other awards, Bhatt received a special prize at the Moscow International Film Festival
, and was a nominee for the Golden Prize.
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film starring Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 400 films and 100 plays. Though mainly appearing in Bollywood films, he has had roles in some films from other nations as well...
, Rohini Hattangadi
Rohini Hattangadi
Rohini Hattangadi is an Indian actress of film, theatre and television. She has won two Filmfare Awards, one National Film Award, and is the only Indian actress to win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Kasturba Gandhi in Gandhi...
and Soni Razdan. The film marked the screen debut of Anupam Kher. It was nominated for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's official entry for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. This movie was distributed by Rajshri Productions
Rajshri Productions
Rajshri Productions Pvt. Ltd. is a Hindi film production company. Rajshri partially works as a film distributor also. On 15 August 1947, Tarachand Barjatya established Rajshri Pictures Ltd., the film distribution division of Rajshri....
.
Plot
Saaransh is a story of an old couple living in Bombay, coming to terms with the death of their only son who is killed in a muggingMugging
Mugging or mugger may refer to:* A type of street robbery**Steaming , a variation of this type of robbery*Model Mugging, a self-defense training technique.* The Mugger Crocodile, a species native to India, Pakistan, Iran, and Nepal....
incident in New York. Devastated to learn that their only child, a son, has been killed by muggers in New York City, former Headmaster B.V. Pradhan and his wife, Parvati, grieve. With their son dead, there is no income coming in, so they rent out a room, in their Shivaji Park (Bombay) apartment to a budding Bollywood actress, Sujata Suman, who has been having an illicit affair with the only son (Vilas as Madan Jain) of a politician named Gajanan Chitre. Vilas lacks the guts to tell his father that he is in love and would like to marry Sujata, and hence puts off any marriage plans. They do get intimate and as a result Sujata gets pregnant. When Pradhan finds out, he offers to take Sujata to meet Gajanan with the hope that he will permit her to become his daughter-in-law. But Gajanan not only refuses, he also threatens them, he warns them of dire consequences if Sujata does not abort the child, and moves away to another town. Pradhan refuses to let Sujata out of his house, and then begins the stalking and harassment by Gajanen's men. Pradhan goes to file a police complaint, but is told that the police cannot even touch Gajanan's men. Sujata has no choice but to continue to seek shelter with Pradhan and his wife. Sujata does not know that Pradhan and Parvati have a secret agenda of their own in keeping her within their sight
A poignant moment in the movie is one in which Pradhan, the school teacher (played by Anupam Kher) is haggling with the customs officials to recover the ashes of his son. Anupam Kher was only 28 years old but he played the role of a retired stubborn old man in this movie with aplomb thereby establishing himself as a great actor
Reception
Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
's "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema" described Saaransh as Mahesh Bhatt's "finest film — moving, mellow, and mature — as the viewer feels the pain and despair of an elderly couple..." The film's lead pair, Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 400 films and 100 plays. Though mainly appearing in Bollywood films, he has had roles in some films from other nations as well...
and Rohini Hattangadi
Rohini Hattangadi
Rohini Hattangadi is an Indian actress of film, theatre and television. She has won two Filmfare Awards, one National Film Award, and is the only Indian actress to win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Kasturba Gandhi in Gandhi...
were praised for their portrayals, described by The Tribune
The Tribune
The Tribune is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from Chandigarh, New Delhi, Jalandhar, Dehradun and Bathinda. It was founded on 2 February 1881, in Lahore , by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising five eminent persons as...
as "immortal performances".
Saaransh won three Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
: Best Actor (Anupam Kher), Best Story (Mahesh Bhatt), and Best Art Direction (Madhukar Shinde). It was nominated for four other awards, including Best Movie, Best Director (Bhatt), Best Actress (Rohini Hattangadi) and Best Supporting Actress (Soni Razdan). The film won one National Film Award for Best Lyrics
National Film Award for Best Lyrics
The National Film Award for Best Lyrics winners:Vairamuthu won the award for maximum number of times . Javed Akhtar is the only lyricist to win the award for three consecutive years .-References:...
.
The film was India's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, though it did not make it to the final run. Among other awards, Bhatt received a special prize at the Moscow International Film Festival
Moscow International Film Festival
Moscow International Film Festival , is the film festival first held in Moscow in 1959. From its inception to 1995 it was held every second year in July, alternating with the Karlovy Vary festival. The festival has been held annually since 1995....
, and was a nominee for the Golden Prize.