A classic for this weekend

Now-a-days Indian filmmakers are using technology to make sleek movies. However, some of the best movies were made when there was no such technology available to directors. Classics from those days are real cinema, believes Mukesh Bhatt who has produced movies like Woh Lamhe and Gangster. Perhaps, this is the reason he recommends Asit Sen's classic Mamta (1966) starring Suchitra Sen in a double role, Ashok Kumar and Dharmendra.

I think Mamta is the greatest love story ever told on Indian celluloid. Sen films are known for strong emotions. He was competent enough not to use technological gimmicks in his films. He believed in his film's story and used available technology and blended it so well so that nothing in the movie looked odd.

Mamta is a love story starring Suchitra Sen, in a double role of mother and daughter who don't know that they are related to each other. Though it will be unfair to pick on a single scene from the film. But there is a top angle shot where the daughter is serving tea. The mother sees the reflection of her daughter and the prospective son-in-law on the glass table. The clarity in the scene and the way emotions are captured still linger.

The love story in the movie is so pure and not something we see today. Specially, in age of hip shaking heroines dancing to all kinds of songs! I don't think one has to shake one's body to express love. This brings me to the melodious composition by Majrooh Sultanpuri. My favourite song in the movie is Chupa lo yeh pyaar mera.

The movie is truly a collectors' item. I have almost all the classics directed by Sen in my library which includes movies like Khamoshi, Safar and Mamta. I have already seen the movie more than 20 times and still can't get enough of it. I don't think it is a movie which can't be replicated or remade today. So this weekend re-live the past and enjoy this classic.