Decoding Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)

July 7, 2018

I cannot remember watching a movie recently, where the story is centered around the female protagonist, who does not make an appearance until 45 minutes into the movie. Despite not being there in almost a third of the film’s runtime, it is commendable how Meena Kumari gave her career defining performance in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Based on a Bengali novel of the same name by Bimal Mitra and directed by Abrar Alvi, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam is a poignant tale of a woman’s longing for her aristocratic husband’s attention.

Produced by Guru Dutt, the movie is about Chhoti Bahu (played by Meena Kumari), an unlucky young woman married to the younger son of a Zamindaar, Chhote Babu (played by Rehman). The movie is an agonizing tale of a woman’s craving for her husband’s time, who spends his time away from home at ‘Kothis’ – drinking and making merry. Chhoti Bahu’s husband and his family see her demands for his time as unreasonable and deem it to be her move to control her husband. In one painful scene where she pleads her husband to stay with her, he admonishes her saying, “Zamindaari mein Gehne banwao aur gehne tudvao, aur kya chahiye?”. Her pain takes the form of her melancholic songs, which float in the air and haunt a simpleton, Atulya Chakraborty AKA ‘Bhootnath’ (played by Guru Dutt), an occupant in the staff quarters of her palace. In a subplot, we are told that Bhootnath works at a Sindoor factory, owned by a Brahmo Samaj member, whose daughter, Jaba (played by Waheeda Rehman), takes a liking to him. But the movie is not about Bhootnath and Jaba’s love-hate relationship. Even though it touches upon the issues of class divide and unemployment, it is not about the trials and tribulations of Bhootnath either. Instead, it focusses on what begins as Bhootnath’s liaison with the wife of a feudal lord, that soon turns into an inexplicable platonic relationship between them.

Almost 45 minutes into the film, we are given a glimpse of the face behind the mysterious voice that haunts the palace in the nights. A resplendent and grandly dressed woman, Chhoti Bahu, asks her domestic help to let Bhootnath secretly into her room. Her intimidating beauty makes Bhootnath wonder why a rich woman would smuggle an insignificant subject of her palace into her room, late at night. But his apprehensions are shattered when Chhoti Bahu earnestly asks him to get her a box of Sindoor from his workplace, having heard of its ‘magical powers’ to unite wives with their husbands. Soon, Chhoti Bahu’s pain attracts Bhootnath to her and his compassion turns it into a clandestine affair, making him a Ghulam of her pain and angst. Playing a simple Joe, Guru Dutt, mostly uses his eyes to convey his innocence, just like he did in Pyaasa. He plays a submissive, small-town man to perfection. His innocence contrasts with the effervescent and street-smart Jaba, played by Waheeda Rahman. She gets to play both a happy-go-lucky young girl and a girl broken by the sudden demise of her father. But none of them match the persona of Chhoti Bahu, created beautifully by Meena Kumari. She takes to alcohol to give her husband company and make him stay at home. Using the right doses of melodrama and her grace, she creates a painful and somber tone, completely engulfing the viewers. The song Naa Jao Saiyaan, a beautiful composition by Hemant Kumar in Geeta Dutt’s honied voice, sums up her suffering and gives us the essence of her longing for her husband.

Watching it 56 years after its release can be a test of your patience. It is slow and takes time to build, but, slowly consumes you. Incidentally, I happened to watch this Guru Dutt production just two days before his birth anniversary. Fun fact – Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam was India’s official entry to the Oscars in 1962, but it was not accepted as a nominee. Apparently, the academy wrote to the producer, Guru Dutt, stating an alcoholic woman was against their culture! Oh boy, the ‘cultures’ have changed and how!?