A Sweet Bouquet

The movie is about Deepa (Vidya Sinha) and her dilemma about her love life. She loves boisterous Sanjay (Amol Palekar in his first Hindi film),who is not exactly a gold-star boyfriend. Hes never punctual,very forgetful and is only interested in his office politics. His biggest concern is to be promoted over his colleague,Ranganathan (mentioned in the film but never shown). Deepa and Sanjay meet at bus stops,go for movies,walk around India Gate and hang out at the coffee house. Achchaiyan aur tum mein, she chides him,but he makes her laugh. He makes her feel special,especially when he brings rajnigandha flowers for her.

It gets complicated when Deepa visits Mumbai for a job interview and meets her college boyfriend Naveen (Dinesh Thakur). The film follows Deepas internal struggle to make peace with her past and realise her hearts truth.

Based on Manu Bhandaris story,Yahi Sach Hai,Rajnigandhas special quality is its true to life feel. Nothing overtly loud or dramatic happens in the film. There are just two songs,which are not lip-synced. Chatterjee keeps the tone so natural that it hardly feels like a movie. The conversations are so real that it feels as if you are in the same room with the characters,sharing their lives. Take for instance the lovely scene between Deepa and her friend Ira (Rajita Thakur). While reminiscing about her relationship with Naveen,Deepa says,Satra saal mein kiya hua pyaar bhi koi pyaar hota hai? Bachpana hota hai. To this,her much married friend,Ira replies,Yaar tune 17 saal mein kuch kiya toh. Yahan toh main aaj tak kissi ke pyaar mein nahin padi,bas shaadi hui hai.

Chatterjee looks back at his film with fondness. I liked Manus story and then wrote the entire screenplay. A few years ago,I read the script again and asked myself in bewilderment,ki yeh maine likha tha? It had to be real because every girl had to identify with Deepa, he says.

Sinha,who initiated a fashion trend with her cotton saris,recounts dressing up as Deepa. They were Daya Ram saris,from Ahmedabad mills. I went to a shop at Dadar circle and picked a couple. Basuda liked them and the producer told me to shop for myself. He gave me money and I went and bought lots of cotton and malmal saris in vibrant colours, she says.

After winning the Miss Gold Spot title in 1968,Sihna modelled for brands like Colgate,till this role fell into her lap. One day,the doorbell rang in my house. Basuda introduced himself and said,I saw your photo in an ad. Im making a film called Rajnigandha and the girl Im looking for is you. Will you do my film? she says.

Basuda taught Sinha many things. But she vividly remembers one incident. There was a scene in a restaurant where Rajita and Dinesh are talking. I didnt have a dialogue,so I just sat there. Basuda got angry and asked me why I wasnt reacting. I told him nobody asked me to react. He said an actor always reacts even when he doesnt have a speaking line. I was very hurt with the scolding and locked myself in the bathroom and bawled my eyes out. Then Basuda knocked on the door and asked me to come out and have cold coffee. After this,I have always reacted in every scene in all my films, she says.

The effortless flow of Rajnigandha,its simplicity and gentle humour add to its memorable quotient. When Deepa tells Sanjay about her recurring nightmares of standing alone on a deserted train platform,Sanjay recounts his own recurring nightmare. Mujhe sapna aata hai ki main bilkul nanga office mein pahuch gaya hoon CEO ke saamne,ya phir Connaught Place mein bus pakadne ke liye bhaag raha hoon,bilkul nanga.

Also memorable are Deepas internal dialogues when she meets Naveen. Its a lovely peek into a womans heart who lives in denial and is incapable of expressing what she feels. Her musings range from Naveens hippie jaise baal to abhi tak Naveen ne shaadi kyun nahin ki. The most telling of the lot is when she thinks to herself,Main tumhe pyaar karti hoon. Point to note: She says tumhe and not tum se. Sanjay gets only one internal dialogue but the most definitive is something to the effect of,Tumhara yeh sparsh yahi sach hai. Woh sab jhoot tha,galat tha. Yahi sach hai.

harneet.singhexpressindia.com