Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965) – A Reassessment

I’m not a movie critic but watching the 60s Bollywood blockbuster Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965) (When Flowers Bloom), has turned me into one temporarily. I used to always think that the period of 1960s-70s was really cool in Indian cinema and the long musical movies always kept me engaged. Jab Phool Khile was successful in thwarting my notions that India was progressive back then. This movie was so successful that the makers of Raja Hindustani (1996) didn’t change the core of the plot while remaking it.

Like all the stories back then, the oarsman, who owns a boathouse in Kashmir, falls in love with a rich, America returned educated girl. The girl, played by Nanda comes to Kashmir on a holiday and does everything that an individual on a holiday does. She even chides the oarsman on multiple occasions for not knowing how to behave around women. As suddenly as she arrives, she departs too. The oarsman (the charming Shashi Kapoor) is so smitten by her and wants her to fall in love with him so badly that he rather see his little sister go hungry through a cold winter than rent out his houseboat to anyone else. By the way, his infatuation leads him to changing the name of the houseboat from a proper ‘Gulistan’ to a creepy ‘Memsahib’. Come next spring, the lady returns for a holiday with a fiancé, and the oarsman turns into a depressing fellow you’re embarrassed to watch. The fiancé is a douchebag too who thinks the lady must do exactly as he bids and even slaps her. In a rage the oarsman thrashes the fiancé and confesses his love to the lady. He is so extreme that he has planned their whole life, including changing her name to something he prefers. The holiday ends with the lady giving no answer.

At this point of the movie, I thought “good, keep the creep away girl”. But no, she forsakes common sense and realizes she is in love with the oarsman too. (WHAT?!?) Her father being a wise guy, advises against being in a relationship with a man who does not match her frequency. But Bollywood shows this worried father as a scheming villain who is out to destroy the happiness of his only child. The oarsman finally arrives in the big city and begins to learn to fit into the culture of the lady and her family. He is taught English, how to dress, dance and eat. You must be thinking all okay? No, this is a Bollywood movie, how can all be okay?

Next, there is a ball, where the lady is wearing a rather conservative gown and is dancing with her beloved. As balls, go other men wish to partner with her and being a modern girl with an independent mind, she dances the night away. The oarsman is disturbed to see his girl dancing with other men and sings a very suicidal song, which worries the girl. They get into a fight where the guy questions her culture, “nagapan”, dancing with “paraye mard” and all…! The girl being in her right mind reminds him that if he wants to be with her he needs to accept her the way she is as she will not change. Also, that he was the one who wanted to learn and accept her culture. This is where they break-up, the guy leaving the ball to take a train to Kashmir and the girl returning to the ball to dance and drink the blues away. Hurrah!

Now it is revealed that the evil dad and fiancé all along plotted to make the oarsman run away by showing him he is not good enough for her. I thought “you go dad – dump the douche fiancé all the same”. The lady overhears their conversation and runs to the railways station to find the oarsman. Now there is drama, she finds him at the door of a coach and the train begins to move. For pretty much the whole time, the lady is holding on to the door of the train and running on the platform apologizing to the oarsman for her “nagapan”, dancing with “gair mard” and drinking wine. And all this time the oarsman just looks at her like the heartless guttersnipe that he is and is okay with her coming under the train and dying. He helps her up only when the platform ends and we’re supposed to believe this is a happy ending. Here is the end scene for all of you to watch and judge.

While I watched this movie, I uttered words I cannot type. I felt things I cannot describe. It was mostly anger and a bit of amusement. Last thought that occurred to me was, what has Bollywood been teaching young men and women from the beginning of time? It has been teaching girls to be apologetic about who they are. It has been teaching boys that manipulation and abuse make them honorable men. Many may argue that movies represent life, if they did then the girl would have continued dancing the night away and the guy would have returned to Kashmir and finally looked after his little sister. I always thought why our “sanskari” elders thought dressing in western clothing was distasteful and where did this idea come from. Now we can all thank classic Bollywood movies for demonstrating that a revealing sari is traditional but a skirt is something a vamp wears. Obviously, no parent will want their daughter to be considered a vamp and a woman of questionable character, hence let’s stick to the revealing sari.

Can’t wait to watch Pink today to get a different taste of life vs. movies.