BAIJU BAWRA: 64 YEARS OLD
What I didn’t like:
Rai Mohan as Swami Haridas. There was something just so creepy about him. True, he was supposed to be the long-suffering, always-smiling and patient and saintly swami, but the general impression I got was of someone definitely a little macabre. Maybe the smile had something to do with it.
In any case, the story and the acting are not the main thing about Baiju Bawra. The acting is so-so (in some cases, even downright theatrical), and the story, while not boring, tends to wander off on tangents. The melodrama goes over the top every now and then, the wood-and-cardboard sets are unconvincing, and there are anachronisms (the bandits brandish rifles that fire successive rounds). But, Meena Kumari is pretty, Kuldeep Kaur is spirited, and the music is magnificent. If there’s one Hindi film I’d recommend for a good dose of classical Hindustani music, this would be it.