Hindi cinema's forgettable decade of the '80s is ironically also remembered for some rare thoughtful gems which represented the New Age or Parallel Cinema Wave, as it is widely called. These were the films that, though too simple in technical terms, were surely ‘ahead of their times’ depicting the ‘actual questionable world around’ in the most realistic manner, which at times even used to displease the authorities.
Re-discovering one of those precious gems, this is about a rather lesser-known attempt called ‘Asambhav’ (1985), stressing upon a scary thought which sooner or later enters every human’s ambitious mind facing the most certain and truthful fact of life, i.e., death. Here many might not have even heard of this praiseworthy effort at all, as in those years most of these new-wave projects did not get a theatrical release and later were only shown on Doordarshan as weekly films. Hence, where only a few could become famous due to their renowned directors, ‘Asambhav’ remained one of those completely lost or ignored projects that couldn’t have found its deserving appreciation in the mid-80s.
Yes, the film doesn’t have a polished direction, a solid execution or any great supporting performances to rave about. But it does have a rare, relevant subject showing us the mirror with a blunt truth about death, which most of the mainstream film-makers today can’t even dare dreaming of.
It’s the story of an old retired man who meets the messenger of death one night knowing his time on earth is over and requests for a grace period of three more years before he finally leaves the world. The wish is granted on the terms that the messenger will take one of his beloveds instead, to which the old man readily agrees (indicating towards the mean human psyche when it comes to one’s own Death). As per the deal one of old man’s dear friend dies the very next day proving the meeting to be very true and then the granted three years get over soon too with the messenger of death returning to take the old man along as per his own wish. But now the greedy man has some new plans & strategies to tackle the decisive situation.
The film ends on an introspective note (not being disclosed here) but these two lines of its well written song truly represent the ‘life-teaching’ theme quite thoughtfully.
“Kat Gayi Umar Meri To Mujhe Pata Yeh Chala,
Zindagi Sirf Kati Hai Isey Jiya Hi Kahan!”
As a tribute, 'Asambhav' certainly deserves a respectable mention post the recent demise of its lead actor Saeed Jaffery, who was as always brilliant in the film talking with his own messenger of Death asking for some more time.
Directed: Jagdish Banerjee
Starring: Saeed Jaffery, Rameshwari, Rohini Hattangady, Manmohan Krishna.
Music: Binoy Hasib
Lyrics: Vishwanath Sachdev and ShyamAnuragi.
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