Saaransh

This is the story of former Headmaster B.V Pradhan and his wife, Parvati, an elderly Bombay couple who are still mourning the death of their only son, who was murdered in a mugging incident in New York. Their grief is immense, and each one of them deals with this tragedy differently. While the husband finds no hope in life and cannot see himself dealing with this situation, the wife does not lose faith in God and is convinced that her son will be reborn soon as suggested by a respected pandit. The couple, quite short of money, decide to rent their late son's room to a paying guest named Sujata, a budding actress who is having an affair with Vilas, the son of an influential politician. Life changes afterwards for the old couple. When Sujata finds out she is pregnant, Parvati considers it as the answer to her prayers, thinking that the child Sujata carries is the reincarnation of her son. But Vilas refuses to take responsibility, while the headmaster and Parvati decide to support Sujata no matter what. When Vilas' father gets to know about this, their life turns into one big nightmare. That's when the film turns from a drama into a semi-thriller.

Saaransh is an interesting watch, and is definitely one of Mahesh Bhatt's finest works. It is poignant, involving and moving. The script is very genuinely written, and the execution is quite well done, albeit a bit exaggerated at times. Bhatt presents Bombay as a very dark city of corruption, danger and violence, where life can be really miserable for the elderly and the poor. Old people are shown to be given no respect, and the police is presented as corrupted and careless. But this very depiction actually helped to highlight the courage of this old couple to face them all and stand for what they believe. The film worked more as a drama rather than a thriller. The suspense did work, but the film's main theme, which is the pain of losing your child was much more powerful. One could really feel their pain and understand the headmaster's despair and attempts at suicide, as well as Parvati's fervent and self-convincing beliefs. The film is full of touching moments, all of which are very easy to relate to. That's all due to the well-written dialogues, the simple sets, the limited number of songs which too play only over montage sequences, and of course the lack of overdone melodrama.

The portrayal of BV and Parvati's relationship is heartwarming. They are there for each other, and that's what gives them the strength to struggle and go on despite the pain. These two remarkable elderly characters are played by Anupam Kher and Rohini Hattangadi, who ironically had not even reached their thirties at the time. People unaware of their real age could easily think their real age is as presented in the movie, and this explains why they were often typecast in such roles in mainstream Hindi cinema afterwards. This is actually Anupam Kher's first film, and his performance easily ranks amongst his best. He is phenomenal in this role, getting everything about his character absolutely spot on, whether it's his expressions, his body language or his emotional outbursts. Hattangadi is marvelous as Parvati, the optimistic, decisive and supportive wife, who finds solace in her beliefs and prefers living in her own bubble rather than accept reality as it is. Sony Razdan is too well cast and does an excellent job as Sujata.

Saaransh is a great emotional drama. The film's ending is, as in most of Bhatt's films of those times, fantastic. It makes one understand that life is to be cherished, even in the most dire of circumstances.

What worked:

• let's not forget the acting by the lead character Anupam Kher and Rohini. Their characters are given life by their beautiful and convincing portrayal of the lead.
• screenplay; it's a very powerful and satisfying watch. It's a strong movie, the characters are lively and the narrative gives a great conclusion.

What did not work:

• some be some of the scenes regarding the chase and torture of the family could have been cut down slightly to get a crisp and subtle message.

Final verdict: recommended

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 mugging incident in New York.

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.

Ironically, Anupam plays a stubborn old man in the movie which was his first. Saaransh established him as a great actor.

'Saaransh' was India's official entry for the 1985 Oscar awards but was not nominated.

Well,I saw this movie late last night,and I must say I wouldn't have seen a better movie.Mahesh Bhatt had set a standard for him in the 80s to be the I-don't-care-a-damn-about-the-commercial-success director.And he practiced what he preached unlike many others.This movie is a perfect example.Not only was Saraansh India's official entry to the Academy Awards that year,but it also marked the beginning of one of India's most able actors till date-Anupam Kher.He's as good as it can get in this flick.The movie's realistic portrayal of the Indian society deserves a standing applause and the performances were just the icing on the cake.Rohini Hattangidy shines as she always has.Mahesh Bhatt has proved time and time again that this country would always miss his trademark movies for decades to come now.

I thought "Saaransh" was a terrific movie, but as I watched it I also worried about other viewers. After all, it's one of the more depressing films I've ever seen and if you are already seriously depressed, it could push you over the edge! So, if you want a feel-good movie, keep looking! However, if you don't mind that the film is numbingly depressing at times, then you should definitely give it a look.

A word also about this film and other Indian films from this era. While the Bollywood formula today is very well established today, this is not what you'll necessarily see in older Indian movies. Giant choreographed song and dance numbers aren't in this one and the musical interludes (there are a couple) sound very canned. I've seen this before in films from the 70s and 80s and don't mind it--just don't expect a romance or the same vibe you get from more recent films.

The film begins with Professor Pradhan having trouble sleeping yet again. This is because his son was murdered three months earlier and he still is struggling with the depression. His wife, on the other hand, is more optimistic and buries herself in religion. But, as he is an atheist, he feels alone and miserable. Eventually he sees the only way out is suicide.

Fortunately, something snaps him out of his depression. The couple recently took in a border and now he sees the woman need their help. It seems that she's pregnant and her fiancée is a weak man with a horribly evil father. In fact, the father is prepared to do ANYTHING to stop the baby from being born--and because he's a government official, he seems ready, willing AND able. Poor Mr. and Mrs. Pradhan don't stand a chance against him and his power--yet, inexplicably, they stand firm--defying the powers that be.

As far as the ending goes, I won't go into it here--it would spoil the film. Just be prepared--it IS depressing. So, this combined with the son's death, the father's suicide attempts and the violence that the politician unleashes upon them, it is a lot to take in one film. But, it also provided a wonderful opportunity to see a truly remarkable performance. Anupam Kher played the professor and appeared to be about 70 years old more or less. However, he was only 29 at the time!! You can't tell he's wearing makeup and coloring his hair--and he ACTS like a depressed elderly man. In fact, he is the reason to watch the film--a really special performance that you need to see to appreciate. It's also interesting to see just how cynical an Indian film can be about government corruption--a theme I've actually seen in quite a few Indian films.

By the way, although I strongly recommend the film, I should point out that the captions were terrible. They were significantly delayed and occasionally sentences weren't even captioned. It's a real shame.