Did You Know? - Of ‘Bhaiya' And Raksha Bandhan
“Bhaiya Mere, Rakhi ke Bandhan Ko Nibhana…” The siblings’ love and its annual celebration on Raksha Bandhan were the staples of Bollywood in the last century.
“Bhaiya Mere, Rakhi ke Bandhan Ko Nibhana…” The siblings’ love and its annual celebration on Raksha Bandhan were the staples of Bollywood in the last century. Although it did not do too well, last year’s Akshay Kumar-starrer, Raksha Bandhan, was a reminder of those times.
Did you know that Baby Nanda, Baby Naaz, Baby Fareeda, Nazima, Shubha Khote, Farida Jalal and Mumtaz, before they graduated to play heroines, were Bollywood’s quintessential sisters of those times?
Sisters were an integral part of the family drama. Remember Amitabh Bachchan consoling Farida Jalal, the wheel-chair bound kid sister "Main nahin dekh Sakta tujhe rotey huwe..."
The way it was celebrated then, it was unique when compared to any other cinema in the world. Very few movies celebrate this crucial bond in a man's and woman’s life. It has killed a unique relationship for fear of being seen as patriarchal or chauvinist in this era.
Most sisters in Hindi movies are characters who need protection from their brother (who is also the hero). In some movies, when she is raped and then murdered or kills herself, the brother avenges her death. Things are changing and a lot of movies in recent times celebrate the bonds of sisterhood.
Sister in Hindi movies has become one of the most neglected subjects in Bollywood. But the brother, mostly the kid brother, is the source of joy and humour.
In the recently released ‘Tarla’, Hardik Thakkar plays the bright, plump brother to lead actor Huma Qureshi. Siblings can be irritating and interfering but it’s hard to imagine not relying on them for their pocket money, their clothes and of course their advice.
In Iqbal, Shweta Prasad is the younger sister, she expertly holds up the mantle of being Shreyas Talpade’s confidante, cheerleader, and supporter.
In Fiza, Karisma Kapoor plays the sacrificing elder sister to Hrithik Roshan who circumstances turn into a terrorist. She shoots him dead since he wants to escape being caught alive by the law.
‘My Brother… Nikhil’ has Juhi Chawla, the elder sister who fights for her brother’s rights. ‘Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na’ has Genelia D’Souza and Prateik Babbar display the kind of camaraderie that brothers and sisters share. The two are completely opposite in nature and yet understand each other better than anyone else.
In ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’, Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh as the Mehra siblings defy and set right their erring parents who are only worried about business, profit and "khandan ki izzat."
‘Bride and Prejudice’, an adaption of the novel Pride and Prejudice, showed the closeness that sisters share, something that Bollywood has not explored enough.
In Sushant Singh Rajput-Rajkumar Rao starrer ‘Kai Po Che’, Sushant shares a camaraderie with Amrita Puri that is a sub-plot but is integral to the story.
The story of ‘No One Killed Jessica’ would not have been resolved but for the love that siblings share.
Similarly, Josh has two glamorous stars, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai playing siblings, not lovers. SRK plays the extremely protective elder brother, while she is the kid sister giving her brother tips on dating and indulging in his fun pranks.
Like ‘Tarla’, the kid brother has only a minor role in Queen. Chintu plays the protective brother to Rani didi, played by Kangana Ranaut, till she goes out into the world on her own and eventually teaches a lesson to her wavering fiancé.
‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ is all about the sprinter. But Divya Dutta plays the loving, sacrificing elder sister and through her pain and sorrow, motivates him to give up crime and join the army. She is his source of motivation.
Undoubtedly, the most famous and touching brother-sister relationship is in Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Dev Anand’s journey to locate his kid sister, played by Zeenat Aman ends in a tragedy with the drug-drowned sister dying before him. The song “Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka” is the testimony of eternal brother-sister love, in any age.
