Aag

Aag -- Fire

MAIN CAST:
Raj Kapoor -- Kewal
Kamini Kaushal -- Miss Nirmala
Premnath -- Rajan
Nargis -- Nimmi

BRIEF PLOT OVERVIEW:
Kewal's life is defined by disappointments. He was forced in to law school by his demanding father and failed to live up to his family's expectations, to name a few. But his biggest heartbreak was the loss of his childhood friend Nimmi, and he spends his entire adult life searching for something to fill the gap Nimmi left.

FILM -- 5/5
Aag is a relatively simple film that could've come off as creepy (think Lolita), but is delightful instead, a character-driven film that is artfully crafted around complex characters. The script is well-written, and while the dialogue sometimes borders on the Shakespearean, it is nevertheless believable. There are a few minor editing errors and the lighting is sometimes so strong it white-washes the characters' faces, but other than that, the camera work is wonderful. Symbolism is carefully woven in to the film via effects like the titular fire. Aag is a great beginner's movie for those who have never watched a pre-1960s Bollywood film, because it's just over 2 hours long and moves rather quickly, unlike many other films from yesteryear.

CHARACTERS -- 5/5
Raj Kapoor has rare moments of overacting, mostly when he plays the younger Kewal, but he still delivers a wonderful performance. A surprisingly handsome, charming man, Kapoor is great at speaking with his eyes, and his face is incredibly expressive. Nargis is the true star of the film; she's passionate, pretty, and just plain perfect. One of my favorite film stars, the underrated Nigar Sultana, makes a memorable appearance, and Kamini Kaushal fits her meek character well enough. Premnath plays Rajan, the man who makes Raj's theatrical dreams come true, with ease. I'm not sure who played Kewal's parents, but they were good, too, especially his father.

SOUNDTRACK -- 5/5
Older films tend to have long, wonderful soundtracks, and Aag is no exception. The first song is sung by two villagers, describing the teenage Kewal's passion for his beloved, and Kewal matches its hopefulness with the melancholy of "Zinda Hoon Is Tarah Ke" shortly thereafter. The popular upbeat tune "Raat Ko Ji Chamke Tare" is one of my absolute favorite oldies songs! I liked "Kahe Koyal Shor Machaye Re" a little less, probably because I felt Shamshad Begum's vocals were less than stellar and the song lacked a strong melody, but the background instrumentation is still rather nice. "Na Aankhon Mein" is much more like it: a beautiful song of longing draped over a steady beat like a blanket. My brother heard the instrumental song and said it made him want to "shake his tail feather," but the choreography Nargis does is pretty awful, composed of slouching hand sweeps**. The picturization of the traditional tune from Kewal's play is much better! The final song, "Dil Toot Gaya," is a real gem on par with Mughal-E-Azam's "Mohabbat Ki Jhooti" and another favorite of mine.

OVERALL -- 5/5
I didn't expect to like Aag all that much, and I really only bought it because it was one of the few surviving films that featured Nigar Sultana. Hence, I was pleasantly surprised when Aag turned out to be a great movie! It held my attention from start to finish, and its high technical quality and the incredible performances add to its replay value. One of the best things about this film is that it takes the "childhood love" trope and utilizes it to its fullest, preventing any sort of perversity in Kawal's character by focusing more on the lack of passion in his life represented by a specific girl rather than making that specific girl his sole fixation. Like many older films, you can buy Aag pretty cheap off of most Bollywood stores, and I highly recommend doing so.

TOTAL SCORE -- 20/20 (perfect)





** Not gonna lie: immediately after the song, Kewal grabs her hair and yanks her head back a little, and it turned me on a bit. Rawr!





A COUPLE OF SIDE NOTES:

Take note of the little boy who plays the 10-year-old Kewal. It's a young Shashi Kapoor!

About halfway through the film, Kewal describes the kind of girl he wants to play his heroine. While I know they would've used the same dialogue regardless of who played the actress, I thought it was a beautiful description: "A girl as innocent as a drop of dew. A girl as vibrant as a mountain stream. If she cries, the ocean also screams. If she smiles, she will make the world smile. Such a girl in whose eyes is wine, whose voice has song, and whose walk has magic."

And I know I generally try to avoid posting videos or screenshots at the end of my reviews, but I really loved "Raat Ki Jo," so there you have it!