A 1974 drama starring Jaya Bachchan & Vijay Anand. It is a precursor of all those rich girl & poor boy sagas.It is a remake of a 1963 Bengali film Saat Pake Bandha starring Suchitra Sen. It was based on a story by Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay. Kora Kagaz means Blank Paper is directed by Anil Ganguly. The music by Kalyanji Anandji. Kishor Da sang the famous “Mera Jeevan Kora Kagaz, kora hi reh gaya….”
Professor Sukesh Dutt ( Vijay Anand) & Archana Gupta (Jaya Bhaduri) meet while travelling by BEST bus in Mumbai. Archana’s father likes him . Sukesh & Archana get attracted & get married. Archana’s mother is not happy with his modest income . She brings in things & interferes with their life. Sukesh is offended. All this adds up & they decide to separate.She goes to live with her parents & he relocates. Archana’s family ask her to forget him & remarry,but yet has feelings for Sukesh. She goes to a far off place to work as a teacher & find solace.By chance they meet in a waiting room,resolve their differences & live happily.
Ramesh Deo Seema Deo as Archana’s uncle & aunt have a small role. AK Hangal as Prin. Gupta has a significant role.We see Vijay Anand very rarely in front of the camera,this is one such occasion.He is better known as Dev Anand’s brother. Also called Goldie Anand.He is known for his films like ‘Guide’ & ‘Johny mera naam’. He worked for Navketan films, an in-house production.
The song ,’Mera Jeevan kora kagaz’ topped Binaca Geet mala in 1974.’Mera Padhne mein nahi lage dil…by Lata Mangeshkar is a beauty.’Ruthe ruthe piya manau kaise….’ by Lata Mangeshkar is another good song.When Jaya is trying to pacify him,he remains the same at the end of the song.He does not budge.He remains naraz.National film award for Anil Ganguly & best female playback for Lata Mangeshkar for ‘Ruthe ruthe piya…’Filmfare awards for best actress Jaya Bachchan, best music director for Kalyanji Anandji.
In the Bengali version they meet in the end & go their own way.In the pantry someone is putting up the cups & he lifts two & places them far away from each other. In ‘Izajaat’ they meet in the waiting room & part. The Hindi audience may not have liked that end to this film,may be. This taking up teaching is not new anymore. In’Jab we met’ we find Kareena teaching when she has nowhere to go.She is also a teacher in ‘Kurbaan’.
The first teacher I saw on screen was Dr. Shriram Lagoo in ‘Pinjara’.A sad tale of a ‘master’ when he falls for an artist( a tamasgir).A caricature of a teacher in ‘Roti’ by Rajesh Khanna.Recent ‘Hichki’ & ‘Chalk & Duster’ try to bring in the real issue to the fore but editing needs to be neater. I fell for ‘Wednesday’ & ‘Article 15 ‘ only for their razor sharp editing.The story shines through here. In “Chalk & Duster” two teachers are made to take a quiz to prove their merit.Who does that? Isn’t the feedback of their students, past students enough? & saying ,sita also had to give Agnipariksha! …too much..aren’t we mixing the issues here?
In ‘Kitaab’ by Gulzar, the concept is good but the execution is not.Uttam Kumar & Vidya Sinha could not save the film.Only taking up the absenteeism from school was more than enough, the couple very busy & not having time for each other could have been another story.The boys playing hooky reminds of ‘Taare zameen par’, but rest of the movie fails to entertain.’Stanley ka dabba’ another good movie,that touches so many aspects & yet makes it a worth watch.
Glamourous & larger than life institutes have Amitabh Bachchan as head in ‘Mohabbatein’ …the role of the teacher has been tried by many as of today.Not to forget the beautiful teacher of Shahrukh Khan, Sushmita Sen in ‘Main hu na..’. Every college saga will boast of a galaxy of teachers in various shapes & sizes.What really matters in learning. Who will forget the ‘Masterji ‘ from Buniyad…one of the first long drawn serials that started the trend…Alok Nath,who gained everything from that role !
May the best teacher win the race here. More to follow. Happy viewing!
Asian Entertainment 