Today is a tribute to a complete actor but low profile Gentleman who never got due recognition in Bollywood inspite of being part of many successful films
Vinod Mehra whose death Anniversary falls today. ( 30.10.1990).
Recently I did a post on his only Production and Semi-directed Guri Dev.
Today I'm Revisiting his Classic Film Ghar..
Vikas Chandra( Vinod Mehra)and Aarti (Rekha ) marry each other after the boy's rich father opposes the match. He is put off by the fact that Aarti is an orphan, and not wealthy at all. But, Vikas will not relent. For, Aarti is a wonderful person. Ebullient and attractive, she loves Vikas dearly. So, as expected, Vikas is shown the door by his father when the couple tie the knot. Stripped of his ancestral belongings and rights, Vikas and Aarti now struggle to find a decent place to settle down (it is Mumbai ( Bombay) after all!). And, after much running from pillar to post, they get hold of a good house. Aarti takes up the cudgels of decorating the house and soon the couple is seen enjoying conjugal bliss. Aarti is the homemaker and Vikas earns a decent sum to feed both of them and cough up enough money to pay the bills. All is well till one doomed night...
One Evening Vikas and Aarti go to catch a night show of Loafer. The show breaks past midnight. They decide to walk home in the absence of proper transport. A pack of leery louts riding a cab attack the couple on the way. They assault Vikas and abduct Aarti. Next morning when Vikas gains consciouness, he somehow staggers to a police station. Tension mounts till Vikas gets the news of Aarti lying unconscious in the hospital. She has been assaulted and gangraped, a trauma that has numbed her to silence...
Their happy existence is rudely shattered. Life changes for ever. Their privacy is gone. As is their joy. The man feels hounded and guilty. The woman is numb with shock and defiled.
The challenge now is to put their lives in order all over again. Both are still tranced and the way they cope up during this difficult transition forms the core of Ghar.
What is incredible about the film is the enormous sensitivity displayed by Vinod Mehra and Rekha in enacting a grim subject like this. Their love for each other is so touching that it pains you to see them go through this ordeal. Yet, it is this very edifice of love that triumphs and lays the base for a new beginning.
Those amazing eyes! Those large, luminous eyes of Rekha revealing a lot, concealing a little more (The song Aapki Aankhon Main is apt). That wonderful smile of Vinod Mehra dissolving into eternity. That unparalleled chemistry between the two. They made ordinary moments appear extraordinary. And did even better with the special ones. Add to that some remarkably soothing tunes of R.D. Burman, an under-celebrated master then. And very, very Gulzar-like lyrics from the peerless Gulzar and you have a film that breathes, no lives, through its lead pair and its songs. the hugely popular “Aaj kal paun zameen par nahin padte mere”, “Aapki aankhon mein kuchch” , “Tere bina jiya jaye na” and "Phir Wahi Raat hain" are remembered as classics even today.
In many ways, the film is Rekha’s arrival card. Until then she was used for a couple of songs and dances as the hero’s sweetheart. Manik was the first to give her a role that gave her ample opportunity to prove her acting credentials. She does not let go of the opportunity. The common man might easily recall “Umrao Jaan” and “Muqaddar ka Sikandar” among Rekha’s early notable ventures. But truly it was “Ghar” that laid the foundation. Of course, Vinod Mehra is suitably charming as a lover boy and pretty mature as the helpless husband. Not to forget Dinesh Thakur and Prema Narayan with their moments of vim and shine.
Ghar in 1978 was up against three top Bachchan starrers – Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Trishul and Don –but found a place for itself in history. It won an award for best story.
It was said about Vinod Mehra that he knew how to live every character. He played the hero, hero's friend, policeman, lawyer or even the occasional Villian or grey shades (Like in Takkar and Khuddhar)
However Vinod Mehra never did quite crack the big league in Hindi cinema as he was part of an era which had a plethora of saleable stars right from Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna to Shashi Kapoor and Dharmendra. Yet, his sensitive portrayals in Lal Patthar, Amar Prem, Anuraag, Anurodh , Bemisal, Jurmana and, of course, Ghar will always be remembered. Vinod Mehra died when he was just 45, a sad end for someone who did not quite have a Megastar status but whose talent was never in doubt.
Ghar is streaming on Disney Hotstar and also has a copy by Ultra Video on YouTube.
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