I had originally tried to order Aaina (1977) from Netflix, but got the 1993 version of Aaina instead, which I reviewed HERE. I eventually did get the 1977 version of Aaina that stars Mumtaz and Rajesh Khanna. I would not be tricked by Bollywood’s duplicate titles and miss out on my original plan to see the 1977 version!
Shalini (Mumtaz) is a poor yet happy brahmin girl who spends her time laughing and smiling, despite her family’s poverty. Ashok (Rajesh Khanna) and Shalini like each other but are from different castes. They tease each other and have a lot of fun, but ultimately they come to understand that society’s norms will keep them apart.
When Ashok notes that Shalini’s only sari is worn to the point of having holes, he buys her a new one. Shalini’s mother (Nirupa Roy) lets her daughter know that she can not accept this sort of gift from a man because it would be shameful for the entire family. I love how this lesson of family honor is filmed with the characters on either side of the worn sari:
Things continue to worsen for the family when the dad’s evil sister, Janki (Lalita Pawar) comes with her daughter to live with the already financially stressed family. Janki doesn’t do a thing to help out, in fact she just spends time going to frivolous Bollywood movies and gossiping. When Janki finds one of her starving nephews begging for food she fails to understand that her taking money to go to the movies has caused the problem since that money would otherwise go for food for the children. Then Shalini finds her mother one night mixing poison in with the food so the she can poison the family out of their misery.
The next obstacle is that one of Shalini’s brothers wants to go to medical school, so in an attempt to get a recommendation to insure his entry to the program, Shalini travels to the big city. She stays with some friends of the family in the a home with a large central split staircase, so often seen in Bollywood films, hai na?
Shalini’s connection to try and get the recommendation for her brother’s entry to medical school is a fraud, and the situation ends with her being raped, as represented by a mirror aaina being broken. She then hears of another person who can help her get the medical school recommendation, who invites her home to meet his wife.
But the wife is not there, only her picture is on the wall, and this powerful man has the same nefarious interests in Shalini as the man who first violated her.
So this is how Shalini, a young Brahmin girl, eventually turns to prostitution to support her family. One night she’s enjoying the company of a client, and he discovers that she’s Brahmin like him. Note the symbolism of the mirror aaina on the wall saying hey, why don’t you look at yourself first yaar, before you point any fingers.
Shalini points out the ridiculousness of his hypocrisy and returns his tight slap to her face with one to his face. Ironically, later in the movie when Shalini returns home to pay for and attend both her sister and brother’s weddings, who turns out to be the groom for her sister? Not to spoil things, but it’s this creep here!
I learned from Suhan, a commenter on my 1992 Aaina post, that Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007) pulled from the 1977 Aaina.
This one comes out smelling of mothballs, like a wedding dress stored for decades in an attic trunk. Not surprising, since the plot is vintage 1977 from Aaina, and the 1995 Marathi film Doghi. (Hindustan Times).
If you’ve seen LCMD, perhaps like me you remember once Rani Mukerji became a high class call girl, she lived in a super deluxe apartment in Mumbai. This was the only shot of that apartment I could find, but you get a general idea of its sleek, modern look.
Like Rani Mukerji’s character in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Shalini also gets a fantastic place to live thanks to her profession. I’m not saying it’s a good trade off, but it sure is a cool place. One of my favorite parts of the film was when Shalini got a visitor, she would push a buzzer on the table and a curtain would automatically pull open, revealing the client behind the door. Check it out:
Sometimes it was a shock just who would stop by, like in this case, her friend Ashok from back home who told everyone he died in the war. After knowing he could never be with Shalini, Ashok faked his own death, but eventually years later fate brought him right to her door!
Is that double lucky kismat at work or what? Not only does he get a prostitute, but she’s also the woman he loves! What are the odds of THAT happening!? Alas, Shalini is shocked and ashamed. Don’t you love that torpedo/bullet bra she must be wearing under her shirt?
Despite her circumstances, Ashok understands and more importantly accepts her as she is, and wonders what could have been between the two of them and life hadn’t taken them on different paths.
Shalini returns home to give her family money and pay for her siblings weddings. A cute part of the movie was the film within the film where the village watched stars Dharmendra and Neetu Singh film a song sequence to Jaane Kya Ho Jaye with playback singers Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. This is scene cuts back and forth being picturized on filmi film stars and the “real” young couple in the film, Shalini’s sister and that scoundrel she’s engaged to, Shalini’s former client:
Shalini sacrifices herself to fund her family and is disgusted to return home only to find her mother pregnant again! There are already about 8 kids in the family. Of course her mother has no idea just what Shalini has done to earn money.
Seems word has gotten out around town about Shalini’s new job and her little sister points out how her music teacher (paid for by Shalini) was staring at her. Shalini flirts with idea of suicide to answer the question of her eternal suffering, but when she’s about to jump, she hears the sounds of her siblings calling to her.
So how do you think it all ends? If you’d like to know more, please go to see the plot summary by rAjOo.
I’d love to hear your impressions of Aaina too.
Bollywood Food Club 
