Movie Review - Namkeen (1982)

The challenge with creating strongly anti-hero films in Hindi cinema is that directors often compromise and preserve the traditional heroic image due to commercial pressures. However, Gulzar stands out as a director willing to take risks. This is especially evident in "Namkeen," which may be his most successful and bold film to date.

In "Namkeen," based on a story by Samresh Babu, Gulzar pushes boundaries like never before. The theme is direct and refreshingly bold. The film shifts dramatically from a simple story about a family that collectively falls in love with a temporary tenant to a darker, more intense drama that abruptly pulls back.

"Namkeen" could be seen as a vibrant 1980s sequel to the Raj Kapoor-Waheeda Rehman film "Teesri Kasam," where Kapoor tries unsuccessfully to rescue a dancing girl from the hardships of her profession.

In "Namkeen," Rehman plays an ex-dancer and mother of three daughters, determined to keep them away from the stage. Meanwhile, her husband, an impresario who travels with a theater group, is eager to push their daughters into the world of performance.

Jyotiamma maintains a strict household, controlling her daughters: Nimki (Sharmila Tagore), the mute Mithu (Shabana Azmi), and the flirtatious Chinki (Kiran Vairale). Everything changes when Gerulal (Sanjeev Kumar), a truck driver, arrives in their Himachal village for a construction project and becomes a lodger in Jyotiamma's dilapidated home.

Love slowly develops, but it’s frustratingly unclear who Geru actually loves. The flirtatious glances, playful banter, and romantic moments involve everyone in the family, including the mother.

In the end, Geru chooses not to pursue any of them and instead disappears at the end of his trucking contract, breaking his promise to return quickly. He doesn’t see the family for over three years. His callousness hits him hard when he discovers Chinki performing with a traveling theater group.

The ending of "Namkeen" is quite bleak. When Sanjeev Kumar's Geru returns to the village, he finds it in decay and corruption, with a strong smell of death permeating the ruins.

When Gerulal returns Nimki meets him and tells him the story of the last three years. How Mithu went mad and eventually killed herself by jumping off a cliff, Chinki deserted the sinking ship after her mother died. Nimki is what remained in the house waiting for Chinki to return. But gerulal convinces her that Chinki has joined her father’s nautanki group and is safe. He takes her with him as his wife and the story ends.

What stands out in "Namkeen" is Gulzar's remarkable realism, which impresses more than the bold plot. The settings are completely authentic, the casting is perfect, and the attention to detail is meticulous. The sets are carefully crafted, featuring elements like electric lights and cobwebs from the crumbling ceiling.

The truck driver, the anxious mother, the daughters, and even the bystanders are all well-developed characters who shift into dramatic theatricality without losing their realistic feel. This is where Gulzar excels. There's no gimmicks or flashy camera work; instead, the film creates a mood through dark, authentic lantern-lit scenes and a simple filming style. This makes it undeniably one of Gulzar's best films.