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Dastak
Dastak
Directed by	Rajinder Singh Bedi
Screenplay by	Rajinder Singh Bedi
Produced by	Rajinder Singh Bedi
Starring	Sanjeev Kumar; Rehana Sultan; Anju Mahendru
Cinematography	Kamal Bose
Edited by	Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Music by	Madan Mohan; Majrooh Sultanpuri (lyrics)
Release date	December 31, 1970;
Running time	140 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Dastak (knock on door) is a Hindi film made in 1970. It was written and directed by Rajinder Singh Bedi and was his directorial debut.

The film is known for its performances by its leading cast, Sanjeev Kumar, and the newcomer, Rehana Sultan, and for its memorable songs by Madan Mohan. He won his first National Film Award for it and the lyrics of Majrooh Sultanpuri. Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the film director-turned-editor of this black-and-white film and won a Filmfare Award, his second after Madhumati in 1958.^[1]

Awards

Overview

Dastak presents an expanded version of Rajinder Singh Bedi's radio play, Naql-e-Makaani (Moving to a New House), first performed on All India Radio, Lahore in 1944.^[2]

Upon release, the film established Rajinder Singh Bedi as an important force in Indian Parallel Cinema, as Dastak is considered an important film of the decade.^[3] In 1972 the director was awarded the Padma Shri.

The director Hrishikesh Mukjherjee once said, "Rajinder Singh Bedi was an extraordinarily gifted writer. Indeed, I feel privileged that I could edit his maiden venture as writer-director 'Dastak' in stark B&W starring Sanjeev Kumar and Rehana Sultan. Rehana won the 'Urvashi' award then the term for the National Award for Best Actress and I won the coveted Filmfare award for my first love - editing!"^[4]

Critical reception

Dastak was featured in Avijit Ghosh's book, 40 Retakes: Bollywood Classics You May Have Missed.^[5] In a retrospective review, Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com wrote, "It [Dastak] rejects conventional ideas of filmmaking to produce a nuanced, uncompromised vision, which slams the inconsistencies and ethics of social structure through ordinary, imperfect people. Yet shows how it’s these very ordinary, imperfect people who battle it in spirit till the very end."^[5]

Synopsis

The film was known for its unusual story line set in a red light area. A newlywed couple, Hamid (Sanjeev Kumar) and Salma (Rehana Sultan), unwittingly rent a flat, and thus begins their daily turmoil at the knocks (dastak) on their door. The previous occupant was Shamshad Begum (Shakeela), a mujrewali (nautch girl).

Cast

Sanjeev Kumar as Hameed
Rehana Sultan as Salma
Anju Mahendru as Maria
Shakeela as Shamshad
Kamal Kapoor as Brijmohan
Manmohan Krishna as Shahid
Anwar Hussain as Marativale
Dev Kishan as Mirza
Niranjan Sharma
Jagdev
Yash Kumar

Music

The film's music director stood his ground as a maestro of classical rhythms on the dholak and raga based melodies. The music of Dastak stood out for its allegiance to the classical traditions of raga-based melodies by its music director Madan Mohan, who managed to get from Lata Mangeshkar, ostensibly her best performance as a playback singer.^[6]

Lyrics

The film is known for its poignant lyrics by lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri, especially in capturing the painful state of the story's female protagonist, Salma — be it a dramatic statement about the society: "Hum hai mataye koocha bazaar ki tarah, Uthti hai har nigaah kharidaar ki tarah" or the silent pain of "Mai Ri mai ka se Kahoon peer apne jiya ki..."^[7]