In 1974, Shyam Benegal came out with his first feature film
in Hindi, Ankur. The film marked the debut of two budding new actors, Anant Nag
and Shabana Azmi, and they have continued to do some groundbreaking work in the
Indian film Industry since then. It is also referred to one of the very few art
films in the Indian film Industry, or as Parallel Cinema, because it was part
of the bunch of films that expressed the real aspect of society unlike the
other films of Bollywood during that time that was all about the glitz and
glamour.
The film tells the story of Surya (Anant Nag), the son of a
wealthy landlord, who is forcibly married after passing his secondary examination
and given the responsibility of looking after his father’s land in the village.
There he meets Lakshmi, who works as a servant in the household. Lakshmi is
married to Kisthayya a deaf and dumb alcoholic. Both of them are part of the
lower dalit caste, and Lakshmi’s only desire in life is to have a child. Her
fate changes when she meets Surya. Surya is not like others and he treats her
very normally and allows her to cook for him also. In due course of time,
Lakshmi’s husband runs away and after which she begins to stay in the big
house. Surya begins an intimate relationship with Lakshmi. He also gets her
pregnant in the process and in that period, Surya’s legitimate wife arrives in
the household.
He abandons her and tells her he will have no hand in
raising the child. Finally Lakshmi’s husband returns and he finds out she is
pregnant. He is joyous, thinking the child is his. He rushes to ask Surya for
work, but Surya assumes that he is here to kill him and he calls out people to
beat Kisthayya. The film ends with Lakshmi cursing Surya, for the swine of the
man he is.
In the whole movie, Shyam Benegal has made use of metaphors
and analogies very well. Even the title, Ankur, which translates to seedling,
refers to the seedling that was growing in Laxmi’s womb. Even in the first
scene, Laxmi looks at the fruit seedling being offered to the Goddess and
wishes for a child, hence the analogy between the seedling and the child.
The film is also a reflection of the changes in attitude in
people. For this Shyam Benegal has used a boy in the movie, who appears at two
different scenes. This boy reports to Surya that there is a heft in the field
and in the last scene of the movie, he is shown throwing a stone at Surya’s
house, depicting his change in attitude towards Surya.
The film won critical praise from abroad also, because of
its accurate representation of the social issues that existed in the society
during that time. It brings to light social evils such as dowry and also caste
discrimination. The movie is still a reflection of the issues that exist in
Rural India. This movie brought about a new trend in Indian cinema and it is a
classic, because it is an extremely realistic movie. If you haven’t watched
Ankur yet, please do!!
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