Too often in Bollywood, the heroine is a passive observer of her
own life, suffering in silence until the hero comes along to rescue her.
It’s not purely a BW problem, of course; Hollywood has plenty of
passive heroines as well. But being demure is one of the archetypal
characteristics of the Good Indian Girl; sometimes (as in Jeans) she’s so demure that she’s practically mute. Tonight’s movie, Seeta Aur Geeta, proves that when things go wrong what you really need is a Bad Indian Girl.
Seeta and Geeta (Hema Malini) are identical twin sisters, separated at birth. When we meet them, Seeta is living the archetypal Cinderella story, forced by her cruel aunt Kaushalva (Manorama), Kaushalva’s brother Ranjeet (Roopesh Kumar), and Kaushalva’s spoiled daughter Sheela (Daisy Irani) to spend all day doing the household chores. She’s beaten, taunted, and generally humiliated, and her passive uncle Badrinath (Satyen Kappu) and kindly, infirm grandmother (Pratima Devi) are powerless to help her. Seeta suffers in silence, secretly hoping that a handsome prince will come along and rescue her.
Geeta, on the other hand, has been raised in poverty but with love. She’s become a saucy free spirit, bickering with her adoptive mother (Radhiki Rani) and performing tightrope and knife throwing acts with her partner Raka (Dharmendra), while secretly dreaming of a life of luxury.
Kaushalva is only in control of the family fortune until Seeta’s marriage, so she spitefully sabotages a potential engagement to Ravi (Sanjeev Kumar), an eligable doctor. Soon after, Ranjeet tries to force himself on a heartbroken Seeta, and when she cries for help, beats her and accuses her of stealing his wallet.
In the dead of night, Seeta runs away. Meanwhile, Geeta has a fight with her mother and also leaves home. Naturally, the pair are mistaken for each other, and each ends up leading the other’s life.
It’s a time-tested premise, but what sets SAG apart from the rest of the mistaken identity film pack is the behavior of the twins themselves. While Seeta charms and eventually reforms Raka with her simple piety and feminine demeanor, Geeta takes quick stock of the injustice in Seeta’s household and commences kicking ass, both figuratively and literally. Seeta’s family quickly discover that she’s not afraid of them, and that makes all the difference.
Hema Malini owns this film. She gives a ferocious performance as Geeta, and dominates every frame of film that Geeta appears in. Remarkably, Geeta also has the lion’s share of the action sequences in the movie; Raka and Ravi get some opportunities to fight, but it’s Geeta who takes out an entire police station Jackie Chan-style, and it’s Geeta who engages the villain in a sword fight at the movie’s climax.
Seeta isn’t nearly so much of a presence, which makes Malini’s performance all the more impressive. You can tell at a glance which sister is which, even when one is actively impersonating the other. Apparently, after this film, Malini was given the nickname “Numero Uno.” She deserves it.
Seeta Aur Geeta was made in 1972. I would really like to see some of the current generation of Bollywood actresses get more roles like this; it would be wonderful to see Preity or Rani or Juhi beating up the villain for once while Shahrukh looks on in amazement.
And from the “Only in Bollywood” file: After the inevitable double wedding, Ravi and Raka take a moment to wonder just what one does on one’s wedding night. It’s a patently ridiculous conversation; Raka is a street smart orphan, while Ravi is a doctor! But it shows a refreshing lack of double standard, since the men and women are expected to come into marriage with equivalent sexual experience. It’d never happen in a Western film.
Seeta and Geeta (Hema Malini) are identical twin sisters, separated at birth. When we meet them, Seeta is living the archetypal Cinderella story, forced by her cruel aunt Kaushalva (Manorama), Kaushalva’s brother Ranjeet (Roopesh Kumar), and Kaushalva’s spoiled daughter Sheela (Daisy Irani) to spend all day doing the household chores. She’s beaten, taunted, and generally humiliated, and her passive uncle Badrinath (Satyen Kappu) and kindly, infirm grandmother (Pratima Devi) are powerless to help her. Seeta suffers in silence, secretly hoping that a handsome prince will come along and rescue her.
Geeta, on the other hand, has been raised in poverty but with love. She’s become a saucy free spirit, bickering with her adoptive mother (Radhiki Rani) and performing tightrope and knife throwing acts with her partner Raka (Dharmendra), while secretly dreaming of a life of luxury.
Kaushalva is only in control of the family fortune until Seeta’s marriage, so she spitefully sabotages a potential engagement to Ravi (Sanjeev Kumar), an eligable doctor. Soon after, Ranjeet tries to force himself on a heartbroken Seeta, and when she cries for help, beats her and accuses her of stealing his wallet.
In the dead of night, Seeta runs away. Meanwhile, Geeta has a fight with her mother and also leaves home. Naturally, the pair are mistaken for each other, and each ends up leading the other’s life.
It’s a time-tested premise, but what sets SAG apart from the rest of the mistaken identity film pack is the behavior of the twins themselves. While Seeta charms and eventually reforms Raka with her simple piety and feminine demeanor, Geeta takes quick stock of the injustice in Seeta’s household and commences kicking ass, both figuratively and literally. Seeta’s family quickly discover that she’s not afraid of them, and that makes all the difference.
Hema Malini owns this film. She gives a ferocious performance as Geeta, and dominates every frame of film that Geeta appears in. Remarkably, Geeta also has the lion’s share of the action sequences in the movie; Raka and Ravi get some opportunities to fight, but it’s Geeta who takes out an entire police station Jackie Chan-style, and it’s Geeta who engages the villain in a sword fight at the movie’s climax.
Seeta isn’t nearly so much of a presence, which makes Malini’s performance all the more impressive. You can tell at a glance which sister is which, even when one is actively impersonating the other. Apparently, after this film, Malini was given the nickname “Numero Uno.” She deserves it.
Seeta Aur Geeta was made in 1972. I would really like to see some of the current generation of Bollywood actresses get more roles like this; it would be wonderful to see Preity or Rani or Juhi beating up the villain for once while Shahrukh looks on in amazement.
And from the “Only in Bollywood” file: After the inevitable double wedding, Ravi and Raka take a moment to wonder just what one does on one’s wedding night. It’s a patently ridiculous conversation; Raka is a street smart orphan, while Ravi is a doctor! But it shows a refreshing lack of double standard, since the men and women are expected to come into marriage with equivalent sexual experience. It’d never happen in a Western film.
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