Saudagar (1973) User Reviews

Very Realistic, true to the Indian soil, a touching drama, on a rustic back drop !

[Queen_of_pentacles · 8/10 · 23 December 2006]

This my all time favorite movie, especially for the performances of Nutan, and Amitabh ! Nutan played all kinds of roles in her career, from playful, romantic, with Dev Ananad, Raj, but this is, perhaps an exceptional role, in her filmography, which she did with the superstar Amitabh, when he was not awarded that status ! Amitabh has lived the role of Moti, a rustic youth, making his living,by selling jaggery, after working hard to collect the extract from the palm trees ! but there is more to it, to his personality, as he has his eyes on the sexy, youthful damsel Phulbano, played by Padma khanna. Now this is not that simple as may seem, because, Phulbano's father wants a hefty sum as a token for agreeing to give her hand in marriage ! now the hero thinks of a plan, and seemingly succeeds, when he lures the poor widow of the village, not so old, but of course, no match to Bano ! she is an expert in making jaggery, and Moti exploits her talent to the fullest ! He makes enough money, on her hard, sincere work, and coolly divorces her, as it's easier in the Muslim religion, just by calling, Talaq, 3 times ! Poor, hapless woman ! she , any way, marries another mature person, with 2, 3 kids, and he takes care of her ! n Now comes the turn in the events, as we do believe, one has to pay for the wrong deeds, in this birth only ! Bano is only good looking, minus skills ! she makes burnt jaggery, Moti becomes a laughing stock, and eventually , has to catch the feet of his ex-wife, Nutan ! Though furious in the beginning, her goodness of the heart prevails, ad she does surrender, to teach Bano, how to master the art ! Similar to the realistic regional movies from Bengal, this movie was a refreshing change, both for Hindi cinema, as well as for Amitabh ! But sad , our immature audience wanted him as an angry young man, stereotype roles only, and the movie was side-tracked ! Worth watching for the great performances, and a very subtle, sensible direction !

Ruthless pragmatism vs Compassionate forgiveness

[WWmoviejunkie · 8/10 · 28 October 2018]

Another ethereal , elegant film from the '70's with nuanced performances .

Moti , a bachelor , leads an idyllic , rural life in a bucolic Bengali village in what appears to be the '70's .

He seasonally leases date palms from landowners & taps them for ' ras ' , employing an impoverished widow , Mahjubeen , to work her magic at turning the sap into ' gur ' ( a solidified highly-in-demand , end product ) that sells out in minutes at the farmers market , leaving the other traders of the palm-sugar cakes envious of Moti's business partnership with Mahjubeen .

A quiet , smiling Moti , takes his success for granted & tries to maximize his profits by bargaining with Mahjubeen , but she is unable to comply , citing her poverty & desperate circumstances.

Moti's chief preoccupation during this 'ras' season is to procure a wife - one who is as beautiful & as young as possible & for whom he has to pay the least ' mehr ' ( islamic custom of bride-price paid to the bride's parents ) But the village broker quotes increasing ' mehr 's ( Rs. 150/-to 250/- ) for decreasing ages ( 18 to 15 ) He jocularly implies that Moti is too choosy ( & cheap ) & has a taste for champagne on a beer budget .

All of Moti's Ebenezer Scrooge / Scrooge McDuck ways evaporate , the moment he lays eyes on his Roop-ki-rani , a plump maiden whom he follows across the river into a neighbouring village . If Moti's character wasn't written as him being a man of few words , I wonder if the director would've shown him gaping at her with an open mouth .

So smitten is he, by Phoolbano - that he doesn't discard the idea of pursuing her even when he encounters her taciturn father's jaw-dropping ' mehr ' of Rs. 500/- for her .

Pragmatic Moti immediately proposes to the impecunious Mahjubeen . The miserable , sad widow is taken aback at first - but accepts .

Her mild , aging , brother - in - law who occassionally visits , is pleased at the change in her circumstances & blesses them both , in contrast to her busy-body gossipy neighbours . One of the village belles who flirted outrageously with the bachelor Moti is so outraged with his choice of a widow over her own charming self , that she perjures herself blatantly with false assertions of him ogling her in the past . However , neither Moti nor Mahjubeen are aware of these tempests in teapots .

After moving to her new home , Mahjubeen slowly steps out of the chrysalis of her frozen, lonely existence & is quickly catapulted into a crescendo of joy as she transforms herself into a bride , gladly embracing domesticity & companionship , gratefully . Hope dawns on her desolate life .

Moti continues tapping date palms & Mahjubeen's talent continues to leave Moti's competition in the dust.

Unknown to Mahjubeen, Moti pays a visit to Phoolbano's father to present the ' mehr ' . The old man is unimpressed & between puffs of his little hookah , grunts his disapproval , telling Moti that he heard he has already taken a wife.

His languid demeanour unruffled , Moti chillingly remarks in an off-hand way that Mahjubeen is a miniscule issue in the grander scheme of his plans & would be ' blown away by the western wind ' at the end of the ' ras ' season . Phoolbano's father acquiesces by extending his hookah to Moti & his casual cruelty .

At the end of the ' ras ' season , Moti does come by his home with a ' Qazi ' & rather coolly issues Mahjubeen a divorce . Along with the 'ras ' season , the sun sets on Mahjubeen's brief season of hope .

Part of Moti's calm blitzkrieg is to foully accuse the devoted Mahjubeen of adultery with her own aging brother-in-law. She leaves repulsed & enraged , suddenly aware of how she was exploited & why .

Mahjubeen returns to her indigent state , worse off than before , since she's heartbroken & been ruthlessly hoodwinked out of an entire ' ras ' season of earnings , which she forewent happily as Moti's wife .

Completely unruffled & without a trace of regret , Moti brings in his new bride , launching himself into his second rustic honeymoon & the two embark on a financially comfortable start to their marriage ( thanks to Mahjubeen's corvee labour ) . Their rosy life & spending spree continues & the next ' ras ' season rolls in .

Moti carries on tapping as he does every year & brings in the ' ras ' for Phoolbano to prepare . When his product doesn't do well at the market that year , he quickly catches on that the former success that he took for granted , was because of Mahjubeen .

A wounded Mahjubeen remarries Mahji , a gentle widower who has little children & leaves for her new home . The joy she felt at marrying an unworthy man like Moti would've been better reserved for a better man like Mahji . She adjusts to her new life of tranquility . However , seeing her new dignified, husband having a quiet time with his hookah in the evening , reminds her of Moti , momentarily re-opening Mahjubeen's old wounds . She soldiers on .

In the mean time , Moti has had a disastrous season , financially . Now it's his turn to be destitute , switching places with where he'd left Mahjubeen , in his carelessly , brutal selfishness that may have appeared pragmatic to him earlier .

He's left reticent & thunderstruck at his catastrophic losses . After a long time spent contemplating his life ( or penury ? ) , sitting deep in thought , he finally gets up & like a man who's made up his mind , he unhurriedly & bravely ( is it bravery or just plain thick-skin ? ) walks to Majhi's house , followed covertly by Phoolbano .

Moti has an obstinate streak - it's unclear wether he's truly contrite or is a tenacious , shameless survivor who will fake contrition to re-establish old business ties with Mahjubeen . Either way , with his dejected , downcast eyes , he looks like a dog that's prepared to be kicked .

Mahjubeen is incensed to see Moti in her courtyard after Mahji magnanimously receives him kindly & looks pained at Mahjubeen's sharp tongue while Moti squats masochistically in front of Mahji , expressionlessly enduring the unflattering tongue-lashing issuing from within the house .

Mahjubeen's acid rain gets arrested when she locks eyes with the creeping , pathetic figure of the woman for whom Moti tormented & discarded her .

Mahjubeen's compassion eclipses her righteous rage at the injustice , penury , rejection , & heartbreak inflicted on a harmless innocent like her & she goes forth & embraces Phoolbano , illustrating how beautifully different her merciful heart is , from Moti's .

Understanding the male psychology@ Saudagar – 1973 film.

[g_aparna · 7/10 · 6 October 2015]

Based on Bengali story, Ras by Narendranath Mitra…lol – Bengali who else!!? Moti is a businessman (man basically).

He happens to see a voluptuous damsel (Phoolbano) and wants to marry her. Her father asks for dowry (Meher) which he has to collect.

He hits upon a plan. He marries his business associate, Mejubhen (who made gur – molasses) for him to sell in the market. She is an aged (older to him) thin & shrivelled widow. Because he married her – he did not have to pay her plus he was sorted for couple of months – with cooked food and clean clothes & house ready for him. He does not show any interest in eff-ing her though – for she was not attractive enough (this should have been enough hint about his ulterior motives btw….but the grey cells of the entire women clan apparently is on leave…vacationing in some distant island with an imaginary lover)! The poor lady had no clue as to what was his trip actually! He eventually collects enough money – kicked her butt (divorced her) & married Phoolbano! After all the bodily pleasures, the season of selling comes & Moti asks Phoolbano to prepare gur. She was more into 'sleeping & having fun' and making gur was something that she was not very fond of. She gets busy in beautifying herself and manages to spoil the gur recipe!(famous song 'sajna hai mujhe' – after which she gets a tight slap from the same sajna! – lol).

He eventually takes her – shamelessly – to Mejubhen so that she could teach her to make gur. Film ends here! Conclusion :

Male (some…majority actually) psychology is pretty clear here! They give more importance to 'skin' – beauty is just skin-deep for them. Period.

Women also understand this syndrome that males suffer from…and thus they are more into spending time in the beauty parlours and trying desperately to look young, taut and firm…lest the male they are tied to through marriage & rituals will kick their butt and go. They are thus giving lesser time to household requirements but diving for Botox and silicon sack treatments…or are just plain indifferent to the emotional needs of males – tit for tat after all huh!

(PS. Males (some) start having emotional needs only after reaching an age where they are unable to perform voraciously on bed…not before that)

Any kind of proposal should definitely be followed by a total background check before agreeing to marry any bloke with ulterior motives (men should also do a thorough background check – episodes of Saavdhaan India showing females torturing men – just unbelievable …eerie)….how long would humans remain dumb is the matter to ponder upon now!

A forgotten jewel

[Peter_Young · 10/10 · 29 September 2011]

Sudhendu Roy's Saudagar is a magnificent rural drama. Set in a small village, the film is about Moti, a young merchant of jaggery, a popular molasses cake distilled from the sap of date palms. During summer, Moti buys some trees, extracts the sap from them, and brings the juice to Mahjubhi, a widowed woman who uses it to prepare exemplary jaggery cakes. He sells them in the market, where their product is the best-sold, and they share the income. Soon, Moti meets and falls for a young village belle named Phoolbanu, but he cannot marry her as the dowry price her father stipulates is too high. After many thoughts, he hits upon a clever scheme of marrying Mahjubhi so that he can save enough money from their business without sharing the take with her.

Surprised at first, within just one day, Mahjubhi finally decides to accept his offer and, with his hard-work and her skills and unconditional support, Moti manages to save enough money just as he planned. Much to the complete shock of an otherwise happy Mahjubhi, one day, out of the blue, Moti divorces her, accusing her of infidelity. Hurt and furious, Mahjhubi understands that she was just exploited, and she immediately leaves the house with her head held high, which lets Moti complete his mission by marrying Phoolbanu. Time flies by for the happy couple but then the jaggery season comes. This is the first time Moti has to deal without Mahjubhi and her unique mastery, and what he doesn't know is that Phoolbanu knows nothing about preparing jaggery, which destroys his business reputation.

Yes, Saudagar is one wonderful and brilliant tale, which is based on 'Ras', a short story by Bengali writer Narendranath Mitra. According to me, Sudhendu Roy's adaptation is simply flawless. He directs this feature with honesty and style and uses symbolism to tell this simple yet highly absorbing story. Set in a village, it is extremely realistic. While there is a popular perception that such films have a tendency to be slow and tedious, Saudagar flows like water and is thoroughly fascinating and riveting. Having seen Roy's previous venture (the forgotten gem Uphaar, which was his directorial debut), I can say that Saudagar is similar in that it is very authentic, and is more of an offbeat film, only that there are songs, and yet, there isn't a single dull moment in it. Even the songs are used to the best effect and enhance the narrative.

The writing is brilliant, with some amazing and poetic dialogues enriching the depth of the story, the characters, and the overall movie experience altogether. Dilip Ranjan's cinematography is fantastic, with the camera always moving close to the characters, focusing on their expressions, their eyes, and perfectly capturing their state of mind. The emotional impact is therefore extremely strong as the viewer experiences the story and is consistently involved in the proceedings. Roy wonderfully captures the spirit of the village and its cultural lifestyle, aided by fantastic sets, props, costumes and extras. Not less important, he gives the viewer an interesting glimpse into jaggery making, which is presented as a complex work of art, which, in turn, only adds credibility to Phoolbanu's failure to do it as well as Mahjhubi.

Amitabh Bachchan proves why he achieved such a high stature already then. In a simple, negative and grayish character of a man who tries to fulfill his desires at the cost of a poor woman's feelings, he is stupendous. At times, there seems to be nothing easier than to hate him. That said, apart from showing us Moti's determination to complete his nefarious plan, through some tiny nuances, we can see his guilt feelings and later sparks of deep regret for having both made someone's life miserable and, more importantly, missed out on a caring companion. This is to date one of his very best performances. Padma Khanna is very pretty and, while acting-wise she is nothing to write home about, she has a certain appeal that works and is overall a good choice for the part. Her role requires sex-appeal, and she oozes it.

But, it is essentially Nutan's film. A one-of-a-kind actress, her talent transcends time and I can see very few actresses of today playing Mahjubhi with so much authenticity. It's amazing how much she can convey through her presence alone, skillfully using her body language and ever so expressive eyes. Here, a breathtakingly beautiful Nutan complements the script and vice versa. She is first a lonely, struggling widow, then a second-time happily-married wife, then a wronged woman who, in spite of pain and anger, moves on. And she is compelling and moving all the way through. Hers is one of the finest performances of Hindi cinema, a portrayal of heartbreaking anguish and inspiring strength. She is strong yet vulnerable, feisty yet gentle, resentful yet totally compassionate. In every turn, she is mind-blowing.

Saudagar's main message is successfully conveyed: one can never acquire happiness by making someone else unhappy. This is the main moral taught in the story but then there are many others. The ending is absolutely brilliant. I loved the minimalism and the fact that Roy did not insult the audience's intelligence by presenting us the following proceedings, leaving a bit more for the imagination instead. The dialogue uttered by Bachchan is symbolic of the situation. Mind you, this is a human story, there are no heroes and villains, and the ending is proof to that. To sum it up, excellently narrated and beautifully shot, Saudagar is without a doubt one of the finest Hindi movies of its times, one of the finest ever made, and certainly one highly underrated piece. A jewel in the rough, indeed.

An off-beat Amitabh movie

[hipriti · 10/10 · 30 October 2003]

It is a general notion that Amitabh has acted in typical "Masala" movies only. But there is more to him than meets the eye. Here, he has taken on serious cinema.

This is one of his early films. He has given as terrific performance, which went unnoticed in the star-dust of his hit films. He did not return to serious cinema again. This side of him has not been exploited to the fullest. He has immense talent. That's why he continues to surprise us even after ruling the industry for more than 3 decades.

However, if he gives another shot to such films, he can leave an indelible mark. His best is yet to come.

The plot in brief

[anitavazirani · 10/10 · 18 September 2008]

The plot in brief: A village in southern India. Amitabh is in the business of selling gud, a kind of sugar product distilled from the sap of date palms (sometimes called jaggery in English). Amitabh extracts the sap from the trees and gives it to Nutan, a village widow, who boils it down for him. He sells the gud she makes and gives her a portion of the take. They are an extremely successful pair; he is very industrious and she is very skilled.

On an excursion to a nearby village, Amitabh is smitten with a young girl, Padma Khanna, and wants to marry her. But the price her father wants (as money to set aside as insurance in case of divorce) is too steep for him - Rs. 500. So Amitabh hits upon the idea of marrying Nutan - so he can work her harder without giving her half his profits - saving up the Rs. 500, and then tossing her aside for the Padma Khanna.

I won't say much about what happens next unless someone wants me to (I can put it in a spoiler tag). I think any fan of classic films and of Amitabh should see this movie - it's very unusual and very excellent.

Amitabh's character just engages in one reprehensible act after another. I spent much of the film with my mouth hanging open, thinking, "he's not really going to do that to her, is he?" He was so young, and so not yet a superstar - his performance is grounded, real, and unfettered by the requirements of the persona he developed later in life. It's hard to imagine him playing a character like this during the peak of his stardom - he's a dashing hero for sure, and all the village girls swoon over him, but he is a terrible selfish person who makes a series of just awful choices.

Nutan I had never seen before - and now I want to see more. She is very beautiful, in a sad-eyed kind of way that I found so appealing. Here she is supposed to be the over-the-hill widow who is no match for the voluptuous young village girl played by Padma Khanna, but actually her mature, solemn beauty is much more attractive than Padma's vanity and curves. Her performance, too, is excellent; her role requires the most range, as she has moments of hard resolution, joyful domestic bliss, and explosive rage, and she achieves all of it. (I also learned, via Bollywood501, that Nutan is Tanuja's sister - hence Kajol's aunt. I love Tanuja; Nutan is very different from Tanuja's soft, round cuteness.) Padma Khanna is the weak link, not much of a performance, but little is required of her beyond flouncing, preening, and pouting. I'm not sure who she is; she seems to have been in plenty of movies in the 1970s but not many I had heard of, for what that's worth. I am also interested by how dark she is, for the movies - it made her very believable as a seductive village nymphlet.

Here are a few more screenies: Amitabh in a loincloth - check out the legs! Some clever cinematography in some of the songs: Padma Khanna's introduction highlights her voluptuous sex appeal by showing her trying to catch droplets of sap on her tongue; it's very suggestive, almost pornographic, at least to my dirty mind: Nutan is simply lovely - in one song, she wears a palm frond in her hair, which is very pretty, but from some angles it makes her resemble the Statue of Liberty: I'd love to hear from anyone who's seen this, especially to discuss the fairly ambiguous ending, that allows the viewer to speculate on the ultimate fate of the characters and on the price of Amitabh's redemption (or indeed upon whether he is redeemed at all).

Amitabh at his best.

[aamirdar1969 · 20 March 2003]

Very few people have seen this movie but i can assure you that one find it a memorable movie. The story is simple with strong performances of Amitabh and Nutan. The movie has a simple message that do not rely on material possession rather believe in relationships.

Hidden Gem

[Sr_preet · 9/10 · 9 May 2022]

There's no doubt this movie is a master piece. From the early years of amitabh bachan, the simplicity with which the story moves forward is just too good.

And the actors are just perfect their respective roles, nutan really was mahjubi.

piece of literature

[jawwad_ms · 10/10 · 14 March 2009]

wow , what a great movie . every time when i see any movie , i want some good human weekness to come out . And see big b is doing such type of work . when every 1 want hero without any week point , big b did it . great direction great characterization . i love it . when i was enjoying this movie 1 thing i notice every 1 so much involved in story telling . time when that movie come out , that time it is not time for serious movies . because time for money making movie . big b acting super , songs are good . emotion are realistic . and the most important part is women character is so much strong . movie end with a great message beauty is not every thing .

saudagar

[hawkg · 2/10 · 15 April 2005]

There are two reasons that makes this movie to a very good or even best. one the movie is different from most of the Indian movies. second the best performance of big b.he has extra qualities and its not the first movie which has a very simple story that he rises it up with his great acting. all the actors performed good and the dialogs are also good but the songs not much. the movie has a very good and sharp point to us, that we have to love and care what we have sometimes its priceless and in the time that we feel nothing thats the time thats good for us try to change and it'l go wrong. and as his old movies great fan i wish he did or will do more movies like it. i recommend this movie to anyone who loves Indian quality movies.

Amitang also acted in Main Azad Hon

[zestpk · 19 April 2009]

Someone said that Amitabh did not return to serious cinema again. This is not true. In 1984, Amitabh acted in a film name " Main Azad Hoon". Main Azaad Hon ("I am Azaad"), one of a very few Javed Akhtar films that Shabana Azmi appeared in, is an interesting rumination on how an ordinary - and anonymous - man can be moved to tremendous sacrifice by the plight of his fellow human beings. Javed Akhtar once said that Hollywood films are short stories while Hindi films are novels. But the characterizations and scope of Main Azaad Hon are, in some ways, more like the former. Interesting observation, given that the basic plot structure of Main Azaad Hoon is borrowed from Frank Capra's 1941 film Meet John Doe. Thankfully they haven't simply lifted the original script but have tried to work in an Indian context.

Nutan and Amitabh did great work

[urvashisingh-55483 · 10/10 · 13 September 2021]

It is one of the most simple movie I have watched which has covered so many topics which is even a matter of discussion today as well. A man who loves a girl whose father demands money to marry her off, he then deceit a widow who has no right to think about herself when she is single and has to marry to wear colors else can wear only white. Then works day and night to help her husband but her husband gives her divorce just by saying 3 times because he is a man and she has no say in it. Then he marries love of his life, treats her like queen but only till she proves that she doesn't know how to make jaggery ( his only source of income) and then frustrated because of no money beats her off till he is not satisfied. Then comes her dad who is now reluctant to take his daughter with him tries to convince her husband and goes. The guy don't respect and love her anymore as she is of no use because as per him she should be good at all work because she is woman and remind you he never discussed this plan with her. Then he asks her to leave she follows him as he goes back to his ex wife who is now married to a widower, only to ask her to make jaggery again. And she says yes. I didn't like the ending though. But this movie shows male chauvinism which makes it worth watching and thinking about us as society where we stand now even after 50 years to this movie. But acting point of view I have became fan of Nootan and Amitabh Bacchan has done great. It was a different from it's time but a good one :)

Excellent ! Betrayal & Desire destroying lives constrained by poverty.

[andykkg · 10/10 · 7 March 2020]

Hindi movies rarely have subtle and powerful acting depicting complex human weaknesses like desire leading to destruction of lives. A simple tale told powerfully. Watch it with compassion for the characters; understanding the limitations of the culture (Mehr money for Marriage starting the problem and Easy Divorce compounding it); and Desire in one area destroying lives in another..

"Yeh aag nahi Bujhi" as the last line nails it home. Very subtle acting; Powerful Screenplay .. Must Watch.

Must-watch film. Rustic and well made

[rtoac1 · 9/10 · 12 December 2019]

This is a Hindi film from the year 1973 led by Amitabh Bachchan and Nutan.

An excellent gem left even more memorable because of a just ending that seems only fair only to add an open-ended suspense in the eyes of Amitabh making it feel that things are going to go full circle!

The movie is about an self-centred guy who marries a woman business partner only to save money and marry another one he desires. Truly unforgivable as it ends up so (almost..)

It's good that this movie is still remembered among one those off-beat movies where Amitabh's depth of talent could really shine. Unlike the numerous forgettable larger-than-life hero characters that he played, especially in the 80's and 90's when it really started to get jaded.

Back to the movie though, it really exposes Nutan's talent to those who haven't watched her black-and-white films.

The songs have also stood the test of time!



I rated it 9/10 in IMDB