Its story is a reworking of the legend of Shravan Kumar from ‘Ramayana’. Produced under Khanna’s own banner Aashirwad Pictures, the film had chartbusting music by Laxmikant Pyarelal and Anand Bakshi, including the popular ‘Gore Rang Pe Itna’ and ‘Ye Public Hai’. And all this while escaping a police officer (Khanna’s ‘lucky mascot’ Sujit Kumar).Īlso read: Namak Haraam, the film in which Amitabh Bachchan trumped then superstar Rajesh Khanna On this path, he finds the romantic companionship of an orphan village girl, Bijli (Mumtaz), who is also self-made and street smart. He also ends up in a school teaching kids. His parents turn out to be blind, waiting for their son to turn up.įrom here on, Mangal has a long way to trudge before earning redemption. There, on his hunt for, what else but roti, he reaches a house that later turns out to be Shravan’s. Mangal escapes to a village in the mountains. In the next 10 minutes, he ends up committing another murder - that of a young man named Shravan - inside a train compartment. Just before he is to be hanged, Mangal is rescued by his criminal benefactor in a helicopter action sequence that is to be seen to be believed. The opening credits roll and we hear (not see) a detailed argument in court over the importance of, again, ‘roti’ to a poor man. If you think all this doesn’t make sense, the rest of it won’t either.Īlso read: Do Bigha Zamin, the Bimal Roy classic that Bollywood should look at now more than everĭue to circumstances that are too convoluted to describe, including a midnight street duel over, well, ‘roti’, Mangal is sent to jail on murder charge. His relationship with ‘roti’ is complicated though. She dies, leaving behind a son who turns to crime.īut Mangal is a criminal with a difference - unlike other bad guys, he is addicted not to alcohol or other intoxications, but ‘roti’. Born in abject poverty, the young boy loses his mother when he is unable to bring his mother ek roti - yes, literally one ‘roti’ could’ve saved her. No one perfected that commercial film formula better than Desai. In the 1970s, heroes had a certain set trajectory in every film, rising from the depths of poverty to make something of their life - what came to be understood as ‘formula’. True to Desai’s storytelling style - sans any kind of subtlety and absurdities at a whole different level - Roti is literally about, well, ‘roti’ (Indian bread). In 1974, Desai made his second smash hit with superstar Rajesh Khanna in Roti.
Desai’s 25 th death anniversary was observed this week. In his 33-year-long career, he made 21 films and most ended up as remarkable successes. I do recommend the film, though, especially if you are a Manmohan Desai fan.Of all the things that are unique to Hindi cinema, Manmohan Desai’s trademark confections are one. I wish there had been more care taken with the script: fewer plot holes and a more cohesive story. But the mix of masala craziness and overwhelming sadness didn't always work for me. The songs by Laxmikant Pyarelal are wonderful, and the supporting cast is impressive too. Mumtaz is delicious as the fierce beedi-smoking Bijlee, and Rajesh Khanna is superb as ill-fated Mangal. Fate is a hard task-master here, and Rajesh Khanna gives an excellent performance as its victim, driven by his basic needs but haunted by his wrong-doing. This film felt larger in scale and ambition to me than any of his others. But it's also filled with the ridiculous: mind-boggling coincidences, over-the-top drama, and one plot twist after another. There are parts where ideas are presented so powerfully it takes your breath away.
It has all the usual hallmarks of his stories: poverty, heavy-handed symbolism, religious motifs, good versus evil, sin and redemption. How do I begin to describe this film? It's very definitely Manmohan Desai's work.