The film is set in an India before independence. "Baap Gee" (Nasseruddin Shah) is a tax collector (subedar) of a village. Sonbai (Smita Patil) is a village belle who is married to Raj Babbar. They are a childless couple.Babbar goes to the city for employment.
Shah sees Patil at the village lake and begins to lust for her. There are unseen and horrendous consequences for all the protagonists.
The movie was produced by National Film Development Corporation was it seems they did not give more than a couple of hundred bucks for the same. It looks badly dated at many places.
The side characters get meaty roles and do justice to them. Suresh Oberoi plays the village head Mukhi (short for Mukhia) who is hand in gloves with the subedar. He spends nights with another woman and neglects his wife played superbly by the excellent Deepti Naval.
Benjamin Gilani plays the village teacher who emphasizes on the education for the girl child. There is Paresh Rawal in one of his earliest roles as a village wise ass. He gets a few lines but impresses in his part.
The music is nothing to write home about. The movie is lifted out of its mediocre production values by stellar performance by Om Puri, Smita Patil and Shah. Ketan Mehta, who is both the writer and the director, does a commendable job with the obviously limited amount of funding he must have had at his disposal.
This can be seen by movie buffs who want to see great acting. It has its heart in the right place but sometimes, like in life, it is not enough.
Shah sees Patil at the village lake and begins to lust for her. There are unseen and horrendous consequences for all the protagonists.
The movie was produced by National Film Development Corporation was it seems they did not give more than a couple of hundred bucks for the same. It looks badly dated at many places.
The side characters get meaty roles and do justice to them. Suresh Oberoi plays the village head Mukhi (short for Mukhia) who is hand in gloves with the subedar. He spends nights with another woman and neglects his wife played superbly by the excellent Deepti Naval.
Benjamin Gilani plays the village teacher who emphasizes on the education for the girl child. There is Paresh Rawal in one of his earliest roles as a village wise ass. He gets a few lines but impresses in his part.
The music is nothing to write home about. The movie is lifted out of its mediocre production values by stellar performance by Om Puri, Smita Patil and Shah. Ketan Mehta, who is both the writer and the director, does a commendable job with the obviously limited amount of funding he must have had at his disposal.
This can be seen by movie buffs who want to see great acting. It has its heart in the right place but sometimes, like in life, it is not enough.