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Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

An Exercise In Nonsense

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Arguably emminent director Yash Chopra's worst self-indulgence ever. The only halfway interesting thing about this suffocating over rich piece of Indian junk food is the costumery and Amitabh's super stylish wardrobe -- notable are some of the flashy, dazzling, primary colored saris worn by Rekha in nearly every scene in which she appears -- (just stills of these would be a more rewarding than sitting through the whole film) -- Amitabh's carefully tonsured headdress --er -- hairdo.... and his white suits with flaired trousers, a homage to -- in fact a throwback to --mod American and English male fashions of the sixties (already out of date by 1981) -- The song picturizations on Amitabh and Rekha are not just bad --they are Sickening -- traipsing through fields full of Dutch tulips -- argh --embarassing -- Mister "Big B" is just not cut out for Romantic roles of this kind -- (a wide range as an actor he does have, but Romance is the one thing he does like a robot going through the motions) -- the whole thing looks like a prequel to Shahrukh Khan 15 years later! -- However ... the near-miss lip-sync kisses, and one kiss actually planted on Rekha's lips in long shot, are daring for the time --very daring, one might say ... But Amitjjii, flailing about on top of her and slobbering all over Rekhaji --just doesn't work for me --especially not on the heels of just having viewed SHOLAY -- Purely ridiculous, embarrassing -- Maybe if he slapped her around a little ...or maybe if there was a little more comic relief by Aswaniji ... The theme of the jaunty heroic jet pilot killed in action (previously the likes of Rajesh Khanna and Raj Kapoor -- in this case Shashi Kapoor.) has been worked so to death that it practically constitutes a sub-genre of Indan films on its own ... but there were some nice jet fighter landings and takeoff scenes -- somebody ought to make a compilation of just such dashing Indian fly-boy scenes!While eagerly looking forward to SILSILA because of the star cast, the star director, and all that has been written about the alleged kinky real-life triangle amongst Amitabh and Rekhaa/Jaya -- I started getting under-awed from the very first song/dance tulipy picturization opening the film and soon found myself saying --"What IS this? --This is absolutely NAUSEATING ... not to mention ridiculous -- one soap opera set piece after another following upon one comic strip coincidence after another.. (and just then ... while Rheka is at the wheel driving they happen to hit a kid crossing the street, and the cop at the station turns out to be Jaya's brother-in-law...Kulbhushan Kharbanda! -- c'mon, give us a break...) -- but I did dutifully watch it all the way to the family-values-must-prevail required ending, out of sheer determination ... with gritted teeth. The only halfway decent performance in the ENTIRE flick was Sanjeev Kumar as the look- the-other-way devoted surgeon husband of Mme. Rekha -- This flick while gorgeously mounted (as are all Yash-chop films) has just about every tired cliché in the book and caters SLAVISHLY to every salacious preconception the Indian public had about the stars at the time -- UGH-ugh, and Ugh! Three thumbs down. Only to be included in a "Worst of Bollywood" (and Worst of Bachchan) retrospective -- Incidentally -- this was made the same year (1981) as Rheka's sublime UMRAO JAAN -- and that's one to put in one's pipe and smoke it!

The only reason I saw this again was for Sanjeev Kumar's performance. It is one of the best movie on the subject out of Bollywood, way ahead of its time back in 1981. Writing is excellent and music is also exceptional. One of the few movies I know of where Amitabh sings to songs written by his father. Amitabh, Sashi, and Rekha are good in their roles. Jaya also excels as Sobha. But Sanjeev Kumar steals the show, although he barely has 15-20 mins of on-screen time in the movie. He is very effective in expressing his character in a very subtle way (as always). I don't understand how others can compare KANK with this movie, yes, there are characters who engage in extra marital affairs, but that is about it. The circumstances and the story lines are completely different to be able to make apple-to-apple comparisons between the two.

People call Lamhe Yash Chopra's biggest risk but in my opinion Silsila was his biggest risk. That is because with Silsila he tried to make us feel sorry for adulterers Amitabh and Rekha. He succeeds in achieving that, we as the audience are made to feel that they are not bad people and it is more of a case of unfortunate circumstances. That is one problem I had with KANK, they way it was written I failed to garner any sympathy for Shah Rukh and Rani and that is a major flaw.Amitabh and Rekha are lovers but Amitabh marries his deceased brother's wife who is carrying his child leaving lover Rekha heartbroken. They actually try to forget about each other but fate has other plans for them and they are soon reunited.The music, as per usual in a Yash Chopra production is exceptional and perhaps the music he has had in any of his movies. My favourites are either Dekha ek khwab or the holi classic Rang Barse. Speaking of Rang Barse I love the acting of Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachan in that song. When the song starts they are happy with Amitabh's and Rekha dancing together but towards the end they start to get insecure, such great acting. Now onto the acting, Amitabh,Jaya Bachan,Rekha and even Sanjeev Kumar were all exceptional.When released it flopped but made its money back through reruns. Apparently people were unhappy about the fact that after Amitabh spends all the movie thinking about Rekha when they do run away together he ends up going back to his wife. That in my opinion was Yash Chopra's only fault and yet I still enjoy throughly despite the ending. After this movie was released rumours started to circulate that Amitbah and Rekha did have an affair during the filming of Silsila. I can't say whether it's true or not, its just some interesting trivia. In my opinion Silsila is the best Bollywood movie based on adultery and is miles better than Karan Johar's KANK.

This movie was just about everything I hoped it would be, except for the stupid tacked-on ending. Rekha and Amitabh are up there with Shah Rukh and Kajol as a great couple of Hindi cinema, and I loved seeing them together. (Jaya...not so much.) I just thought, like many here, that for a movie portraying adultery with such sensitivity and compassion--and adultery with true love on its side--the ending seemed totally contradictory and kind of like a bashful retraction. Even though it wasn't well explained, or at all explained, I at least understand the concept of him returning to his wife out of guilt and a sense of duty (I especially liked the line about him having to stay a god once he's decided to act like one), but the FAITH IS LOVE part at the end really seemed unnecessary. You can't tell me that after all of that, the relationship between Amitabh and Jaya was more lasting than the one between Amitabh and Rekha--not to mention more powerful or more sincere. I mean, seriously.