Guide a 1965 – Film starring Dev Ananda & Waheeda Reheman.
Let me show you what the bestseller classic novel ‘Guide’ – which was in the syllabus of Kendriya Vidyalaya – like 11th/ 12th students (not my session) had to mug up the names, incidents, events and appear in the exams by understanding the psychology of ‘smooth-talker-with – thuggish- marketing-skills-fella-Raju Guide’ and his ‘daughter-of-a-courtesan-wife-of-an-archaeologist-runaway-live-in-lover-rozy’!
Rosy was the daughter of a courtesan – whose mother got weary of her profession and did not want her daughter to fall into the same muck as her – but as courtesans do not have good men as their clients or acquaintances – for no one from a(truly) decent family would ever like to mix with these kind of females – so she finds an archaeologist – who agreed to marry her daughter.
Rozy was being trained to dance since her childhood but her dumb mother(some would say a good concerned mother of course for no mother wants her daughter to entertain BEEPS by showing glimpses of her vital stats through her netty blouses and ghagraas) forced her to marry an ugly looking male – who later turns out to be impotent as well as debauch!
She meets good looking stud – the guide – who shows her some sympathy and she clings on to him – his stroke of sheer good luck of course – in getting a beautiful broadminded and bold bombshell – who was ready to go physical with him as well.
He starts her rehearsals in the basti that he lived in (new money making technique along with of course promoting her whorish nuances through dance… remember she was a courtesan’s daughter) – much to the dislike of his mother and neighbors – who were trying to educate their children but the sound of ghungru (anklets) were a disturbing element and everyone knows what kind of lifestyle these ‘naachenewaalis’ have…no father or brother would like the women of the house to be attracted in this racket of making quick money by showing skin flicks – it’s not good for the individual – nor for the society.
So when the Guide launched his live-in lover as a dancer in the basti – 1st – the daily wage-earner males – spent their Rs. 5/-(entire amount for the day- keeping early 60’s on mind- even less maybe) to view the damsel dance – basically give a jiggle show wearing netty outfits (for the daily waged males are clueless about bharatnatyam and mudras – they just gather to see a ‘laundiya’ dance- crude word to describe but facts are facts)
Diverting a bit from the main stream – many have analyzed it closely – I need to be different after all – Why society is against the naachenewaalis? An imaginary incident:
So this daily-waged breadwinner of the family goes home and sees his wife and three children waiting for dad to bring home some grub so that they could eat something …wife was waiting near the chulah – so that she can immediately start cooking and fill the empty stomachs – but what does she see – the Beep hubby spent all his money in buying the ticket and country liquor and chicken pakoras to discuss what a grand treat it was – to watch ROSY dance – and frustrated inside that he will after all have to face his ‘ugly shriveled up wife’ – whereas Raju Guide will have such a gala time enjoying the naachene-waali!
So when confronted by wife – they start fighting like cats and dogs – children watching from the corner – when the neighbors intervene and put an end to the fight – the reason why they disliked Rozy rehearsing in the locality – for they know exactly this will happen to Beep males and families will break……and ruckus will be created in the locality!
So bestsellers become so for a reason – they write bitter truth – but when made into a film…..people tend to see it differently……not everyone is intelligent enough to catch the subtle nuances you see!
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