The Seventh Horse of the Sun (सूरज का सतवन घोड़ा)

NFDC & DOORDARSHAN Present

A Shyam Benegal Film

Seventh Horse Of The Sun

Amrish Puri

Neena Gupta

lla Arun

K.K. Raina

Pallavi Joshi

Rajeshwari Sachdev

Story Dharmvir Bharati

Screenplay & Dialogue Shama Zaidi

Art Direction Nitish Roy

Costumes Pia Benegal

Make-up: Vishwanath Govekar

Editing Bhanudas Divkar (A.F.E.)

lt's as if the sounds of these mohallas...

...are ringing in my ears,

their particular smells fill my nostrils

ln a mohalla like this one, l spent my childhood

Every evening some friends and l would meet...

...at Manek Mulla's place

Music Vanraj Bhatia

Manek Babu was a colourful character

Photography Piyush Shah

He was a few years older than us

We regarded him as a sort of guru

Direction Shyam Benegal

Manek Babu lived alone

His Railway Mail Service job left him a lot of free time -

For young people, why only young people,

it is everyone's wont to talk politics

And when politics tires, there is always love and romance

Manek Babu had a fund of stories and poems,

though he may never have written a single word on paper -

ever willing to regale us with them

ln love; melon with the knife, or knife with the melon,

it is the knife that suffers

A person whose character is like this knife -

sharp and straight...

...must never get involved

But in literature, love stories are the most successful

Romance is essential - but...

But in everyday life if you see...

...there are at most 10 years for loving

ln those 10 years, we eat, work, keep body and soul together,

study, read books, listen to music,

go to the cinema, meet friends

So little time left for love...

...why love stories then?

You have heard of Rabindranath Tagore

He wrote...

ln my soul resides a longing woman...

...it is the woman who narrates the story...

...over and over again in different ways

There are many kinds of longing women...

...the accomplished longing woman,

the crude longing woman,

the mature, the obsessed, and so on...

l think he is obsessed with women

What did you say? - Nothing

What's this? Sitting in my room & reading other people's stories

Devdas ?

Sentimental junk - No moral...nothing to uplift us

A good love story should uplift society

Why? What has social uplift to do with love?

What do you fellows know about love?

lt's not just romance, deep emotions, mystery

Love is based on socio-economic relations in our society...

...the turmoil of class struggle

Class struggle! that's really heavy...

lnstead of lecturing, why don't you just tell us...

...your kind of love story

My kind of love story? Let me see...

This is called Being true to one's salt

ln the old house next to ours there was a shed

ln the shed there was a cow

ln the house a girl

The girl was called Jamuna

What the cow was called, l do not know

She's like your mother.

Did you bring my book?

And you...treat her like a nobody

Tanna...Tanna...

What happened?

How l wish my mother was alive

Was she kind...your mother?

Yes, just like you

Silly, you mustn't say such things...

What will happen to us, Jamuna

l worry about you

Are you hungry? Shall l get you some malpuas

Where are you taking malpuas?

They are meant as offerings

lt's time you stopped meeting Tanna

You are no longer children, you know

You are old enough to get married...

l've told you before...Talk to Tanna's father

He is a good boy

The boy is good. But the family is horrible

How he was born in that dreadful family beats me...

Besides, their sub-caste is inferior to ours

How can we give our daughter to them?

l will not marry anyone else

lf l marry, it'll only be Tanna

l swear on God, l'll die first...

...but l'll go to no one else's house but his!

Finally, both father and mother agreed...

...to let Jamuna have her way

They say Tanna must live with them as a live-in son-in-law

And they'll give no dowry

Crazy! As if Mahesar Dalal will agree!

His only son - imagine him taking no dowry

Back from school?

Manek, did you give the cow a chapatti this evening

l fed it in the morning

l have to study. l have exams tomorrow

You know that the cow has to be fed morning and night

Otherwise my vow will be broken. Go right now...

lf l fail, don't blame me

Scared? lt's me...

Let me go...

Sit down

Talk to me. l get so lonely

What shall l talk about...

Anything...

About my school?

No, something else...

Then what?

Something that's fun

Jamuna, l've exams tomorrow

lt's still early, sit

Jamuna, l'm hungry, l must go

Hungry? Wait. Don't go. l'll return in a moment

Now eat

Mother's gone to listen to discourses at the temple

l don't like sweet puas

You like salty ones...just like Tanna

Yes...

l'll make those for you tomorrow. You'll come tomorrow?

The discourses will go on for 6 days. l'll be all alone

Don't forget to bring the book

Your Devdas

The clock sounded two strokes

Devdas called out, 'Paro'

ln a choked voice Paro asked 'What?'

Mother and father are totally opposed to it...do you know?

Paro nodded and replied,

Yes, l know

Tanna, come down...

Where the hell are you? Come down quickly

Here, eat these

Jamuna, was there a function in your school today?

School? Mother took me out of school a long time ago

l pass my time reading books you bring me

But such nice clothes you are wearing...

Don't stare!

lt is real German organdy

Uncle brought this from Calcutta for my dowry

Look, there are little flowers on it. lsn't it not.

Yes. Very nice

But Tanna, he didn't even look at what l was wearing

He simply ran away

l feel so lonely

He doesn't even dare talk to me

You've not eaten any puas

l must go home

Eat, otherwise they'll go waste

l don't want to eat. l must go

Shut up and eat

Say something, Manek

Why did you and Tanna break up?

Tanna is a coward

l got my mother to agree

But he is so afraid of his father

Tanna is awful

Tanna is not bad. His father is awful

Ever since his mother died and Mausi came...

...he's had a bad time...

lf he's so scared why does he lead me on...

...making me hope...

Tanna has made a big mistake

No! The world is like that

Do you know what Devdas wrote to Parvati?

...Parvati, for two days l've been thinking only of you

Mother, father; nobody wants that we marry

lf l were to make you happy,

it'd mean giving my family such a blow which they're unable to bear

This l cannot do

See it's just like Tanna and me

Only his family is worse than Devdas'

But Tanna is not like Devdas

He is such an oaf. A real clown

You'll come every day to feed the cow?

Sister-in-law will come from tomorrow. l have exams

Look Manek, you've eaten my salt

And those who don't honour their salt...

...their sins pile up,

because God above notices all we do...

...and writes it in his big book

Then what happened? Did you go?