Silsila

Directed by: Yash Chopra

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Rekha, Sanjeev Kumar, Shashi Kapoor

Released: 1981

Shekar (Shashi Kapoor) is an army officer. Brave and disciplined while in uniform, unruly and almost childish out of it. He loves to spend his days with his head resting in the lap of Shobha (Jaya Bachchan), the girl he loves, planning their future together. And in the evening he likes to drink and be merry. Meanwhile his brother Amit (Amitabh Bachchan), a play-writer, actor and poet falls under a spell of Chandni (Rekha), a fresh and beautiful girl whom he saw dancing at his friend´s wedding. Sending her flowers and cassetes with his own voice, expressing all the gentle feelings she has woken up in his heart, he slowly wins her over. Just like his brother Amit now plans to get married. But then like a bolt out of the blue comes devastating news: Shekar has perished while on army mission. And it also turns out Shobha is pregnant with his child.

Amit decides to sacrifice his love for the sake of his brother´s fiancé and marries her, sending a message to Chandni that she better forget him. But even though he has the best will to make Shobha happy, neither him nor her are capable of being so. After they are involved in a car accident Shobha looses her unborn child and not both she and Amit are really desperate, because they find themselves trapped in a marriage without love and reason. While in hospital Amit meets Chandni again. She got married to a nice, honest doctor (Sanjeev Kumar), but does not really care for his feelings for her. On the contrary – the old love between her and Amit is rekindled and after a while they both succumb to their desires. However together with their passionate and secret affair comes carelessness and neither Shobha, who has learned to love her husband, neither Chandni´s spouse are blind. . .

Amitabh and Jaya. Falling asleep just seeing them.

I must admit that had it not been for the controversy related to this film I probably wouldn´t be even interested in watching it. Silsila, translated as „Affair“, came to the theaters at the time when the rumours and gossips were on about the alleged secret relationship between Amitbh Bachchan and Rekha. But not even this tidbit managed to lure enough audience and the film flopped. But this is Yash Chopra film and box office collections are not important for those, and just like Lamhe that flopped ten years later, Silsila is today among the revered classics.

The greatest strenght of the film is really powerful starcast. All the actors put a really honest work into their performances. Amitabh Bachchan, who has the meatiest role, is completely natural. Jaya an Rekha both compliment him. Sadly, even though Rekha is unarguable better actress, she does not have much to do except for looking sad and beautiful. Still her presence is strongly felt in every scene, and she does not even have to speak. Her dark gaze is enough to do the magic. I have never been a Jaya fan, she still yet has to convince me, but yes, she was good here, though not lovable despite being „the good one“. Interestingly enough there is much more on-screen chemistry going on between Big B and Rekha then Big B and Jaya.

Amitabh and Rekha - hell yeah!

The script deserves a credit for presenting well the points of view of all the characters and making one feel the pain they all go through. Silsila telling a story about extra-marital affair could have easily become a hysterical, sobbing and whining cliché with evil mistress and poor wife, but it did not. The story is told very sensitively and in the end you feel sorry for all the characters, which is quite rare. The most interesting message is that as long as something is forbidden, it may seem sweet and desirable, but as soon as it is permitted, it looses the charm and problems, not perceived before, emerge from the shadows.

My greatest problem with Silsila was incredibly slow pace of the film. It really gets boring at times. Not even several exciting-ish moments (will they catch them together/ will they not ) do not help and I kept staring at the timeline wishing it was finished already. And when the message at the end appeared – I wanted to die. „Love is faith and faith is forever“. Really? Like seriously? What the..... Songs are good and beautifully picturized, all bearing the uncanny Yash Chopra signature. Throw some plus points in for Amitabh Bachchan reciting poetry truly beautifully. When you´re in a mood for not-that-typical romance without much excitement, you can watch Silsila, even though you will, like me, probably only look for some secret signs happening between Big B and splendid Rekha.

REKHA

The actual name of a young dashing and hot girl which entered into the bollywood some 40 years back, Rekha is Bhanurekha Ganesan, which rarely any one knows. rekha was born on 10 October 1954 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India and is a leading Indian actress who appeared in Bollywood films.

Rekha has had various unsuccessful relationships with fellow Bollywood stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Mehra and in 1990 she married Delhi-based businessman Mukesh Aggarwal, who committed suicide in 1991. She was rumored to have been married to actor Vinod Mehra in 1973, but in a 2004 television interview with Simi Garewal she denied being married to him referring to him as a "well-wisher". Rekha currently lives alone with her secretary Farzana in her Bandra home in Mumbai.

Noted for her versatility as an actress, Rekha was particularly recognised for playing female-oriented characters, such as that of the school-girl in Khubsoorat and the decisive avenger in Khoon Bhari Maang, both of which earned her the Filmfare Best Actress Award. Her portrayal of a classical courtesan in Umrao Jaan won her the National Film Award for Best Actress. She was also known to be a sexy symbol through out 1970's and there after. Known for both Indian mainstream and art cinema, known in India as parallel cinema, she has achieved commercial success, as well as critical praise for numerous of her performances throughout the years. Though at the ages of her life she has reinvented herself and sustained in the Bollywood and maintained her status.

Rekha started appearing as a child actor in the Telugu films and made her debut as heroine in the successful Kannada film Goadalli CID 999 with Dr. Rajkumar in 1969. The same year, she
presented herself in her first Hindi film, Anjana Safar (later retitled Do Shikari). For her kissing scene in the film, the film was not released due to censorship problems for a long time. Her first performance-oriented role came in 1976 when she played an ambitious woman in Do Anjaane, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan. The film became a hit as well as a critical success, and she was widely noticed for her performance.

The turning point in her career happened in 1978, when she portrayed the role of a rape victim in the movie Ghar, alongside Vinod Mehra. The film was considered her first notable milestone, as she got critical acclaim for her performance, and received her first nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards. In the same year she garnered her career with a evergreen film named Muqaddar Ka Sikander, in which she co-starred once again with Amitabh Bachchan. It was the biggest hit of the year and also the decade's hit. The hit couple of Bollywood, Rekha and Bachchan went on to star collectively most of which were hits. She had not only a successful on-screen pair with him, but a real-life relationship, which was widely reported in the media, as well as sharply criticised, as he was a married man. This relationship was ended and concluded in 1981, when they starred in Yash Chopra's drama Silsila. The film was the most scandalous of their films together, as it was based on their real-life relationship; Rekha played Bachchan's love interest, while Bachchan's real-life wife, Jaya Bhaduri, played his wife. This was their last film together, and they never have collaborated again.

She alos starred in the Urdu film Umrao Jaan which depicts the story of a young girl, Amiran, who is kidnapped and sold in a brothel, and follows her life story there as Umrao. Her portrayal of a sensitive courtesan has been considered one of her career best performances, and she received the National Film Award for Best Actress for it. Apart from parallel cinema, Rekha took on other increasingly serious, even adventurous roles; she was among the early actresses to play lead roles in heroine-oriented films, delivering films such as Khubsoorat, Khoon Bhari Maang and Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye. She won Filmfare trophies for her roles in Khubsoorat (1980) and Khoon Bhari Maang (1988). The notable roles in the films of Rekha includes the foreign film Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, directed by Mira Nair was known for its controversial topic and many felt it would damage Rekha's career, as Rekha played a Kama Sutra teacher in the film. The other was commercially successful Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) which earned her several awards, including the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and the Star Screen Award for Best Villain for her role of a gangster woman.

In recent years of 2000's, she has appeared in relatively few movies, usually as a mother or a widow rather than a glamour queen. She was praised for several of her perofrmances like in
Lajja, Zubeidaa, Dil Hai Tumhaara, Parineeta, and she played Hrithik Roshan's mother in Rakesh Roshan's Koi... Mil Gaya, a performance which won her the Bollywood Movie Award - Best Supporting Actress. The film was the biggest hit of that year. She was also seen in the sequel to Koi... Mil Gaya, Krrish, again one of the most successful films of the year.

Rekha has acted in over 180 Hindi films, in both Indian mainstream and art cinema, known as parallel cinema:

Sawan Bhadon (1970), Raampur Ka Lakshman (1972), Gora Aur Kala (1972), Dharma (1973), Kahani Kismat Ki (1973), Namak Haraam (1973), Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974), Dharam Karam (1975), Dharmatma (1975), Do Anjaane (1976), Santan (1976), Kabeela (1976), Alaap (1977), Khoon Pasina (1977), Aap Ki Khatir (1977), Immaan Dharam (1977), Ganga Ki Saugandh (1978), Ghar (1978), Muqaddar Ka Sikander (1978), Prem Bandhan (1979), Kartavya (1979), Suhaag (1979), Mr. Natwarlal (1979), Jaani Dushman (1979), Aanchal (1980), Judaai (1980), Kali Ghata (1980), Jal Mahal (1980), Khubsoorat (1980), Agreement (1980), Kalyug ... Supriya (1980), Silsila (1981), Umrao Jaan (1981), Baseraa (1981) Ek Hi Bhool (1981), Vijeta (1982), Jeevan Dhaara (1982), Nishaan (1983), Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye (1983), Agar Tum Na Hote (1983), Bindiya Chamkegi (1984), Utsav (1984), Faasle (1985), Musafir (1986), Locket (1986), Pyar Ki Jeet (1987), Soorma Bhopali (1988), Khoon Bhari Maang (1988), Ijaazat (1988), Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988), Bhrashtachar (1989), Phool Bane Angaray (1991), Madam X (1994), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), Kama Sutra: A Tale Of Love (1996), Bulandi (2000), Zubeidaa (2001), Lajja (2001), Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002), Bhoot (2003), Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Parineeta (2005), Krrish (2006), Yatra (2007), Om Shanti Om (2007).