Every week Nicotina brings us an unforgettable female character from the movies. A woman you just can’t miss. This week, Nicotina suggests you meet Shanta from Phagun (1973), written and directed by Rajinder Singh Bedi.
A friend recently reminded me about Waheeda Rehman in Phagun (1973) written and directed by Rajinder Singh Bedi. And the thing I remembered immediately was this suggestion of a growing attachment of the mother-in-law/protagonist Shanta, played by Waheeda Rehman, to her son-in-law Suman, played by Vijay Arora.
It’s not Waheeda’s best performance, not even a patch on her Hira Bai from Teesri Kasam (1967). But the illicit nature of this love is one of those rare narratives that seems to strain the performers themselves and produces a strange tension. It’s as if Waheeda Rehman, the star, is herself a little anxious about playing this role as much as Shanta, her character in the film, is anxious about the strange affection that she develops for her son-in-law. Dharmendra as the husband who abandons her because she insults him for ruining a gorgeous pink nauvari (a good reason to get angry, if you ask me) and Jaya Bachchan as the daughter add their insipid performances to the film.