Theater: Sharmilee (1971)

Movies | DestinyKuri | February 11, 2010 at 12:24 pm

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Sharmilee is a 1971 Hindi movie produced by Subodh Mukherjee and directed by Samir Ganguly. The film stars Shashi Kapoor, Rakhee, Ranjeet, Anwar and Asit Sen. The films very popular music is by S. D. Burman. Rakhee played a double role in this film, and it’s success helped make her one of the decades top leading lady in Hindi films.

In Sameer Ganguly’s “Sharmilee” (1971) the actress Raakhee plays what is commonly referred to in Hindi ‘Bollywood’ films as a ‘dual role’. Kanchan and Kamini are twin sisters whose personalities are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Kanchan is painfully shy, loves nature, and always wears a saree. Kamini on the other hand is an extrovert ‘Western’ fashion plate who loves to play tricks on people and is studying for her Master’s.

The film revolves around the two sisters and their love for the same man (played by a very young Shashi Kapoor).This structure of the morality tale is the thin story of “Sharmilee”. What is at the true heart of the film though (and all of the films like it during the period) is the dual emotions of Indian society at once fascinated and excited with all things modern ‘Western’ on one side and on the other side, the moral dread and fear for the impact the ‘West’ could have on the traditional fabric, stability, and culture of a country in the midst of transition.

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Tags: Rakhee, Shashi Kapoor