Shashi Kapoor’s Jab Jab Phool Khile was an extremely judgemental film. Here’s why

At one point, a probable suitor named Kishore comes into the mix. He has been sent to Kashmir to accompany Rita on her solo travels by her parents. This particular angle of the story seemed quite forward-thinking for its time but what we actually see on screen is quite sanitised. Rita believes herself to be an independent woman and is baffled at the concept of a man controlling a woman’s life. So when Raja confesses his love for her, and also says that he won’t let her talk to any city folk once she marries him, you assume that Rita would notice the red flag. But no, that’s where you are wrong! Instead, Rita falls deeply in love with him and is happy to be the gaon ki gori who would walk his sheep in the valley.

Jab Jab Phool Khile mainly operates on the stereotypes of rich vs poor people, the trope that could make for a mediocrely funny YouTube video today, but not an entire feature film. Even after you are told that Rita loves Raja, you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop because all this while she makes him go through various makeovers, hoping that he will become the man that ‘fits’ in her society. Raja, on the other hand, is in a culture shock when he sees women drinking, dancing with strangers and is completely stupified when Rita suggests that he could dance with someone else as well.

Nanda in a still from Jab Jab Phool Khile.

Watching it in 2022, you can see how they come from different worlds and are probably not a great match, given their ideologies. The storytellers here are very insistent on telling you that rich people have no moral compass, and will just do whatever they please. The film is so judgemental towards its characters, and keeps reminding you that anyone who has money is a horrible person. Before falling in love with Raja, Rita yells at her lady’s maid because she sees her in one of her dresses, saying she would rather throw the dress away than wear it again. Thereby implying that not even the heroine of the film is a good person.

It has almost been 26 years since Raja Hindustani came out and we can only hope that no one is planning to remake this film again because there is more to film characters than their economic background, and we can’t be subjected to another film that is exactly the same as Jab Jab Phool Khile and Raja Hindustani.