The Best of Smita Patil

Chakra (1981)

This film won Smita Patil yet another National Award for best actress after Bhumika. Chakra, a surprise box office success, was a strident wake up call, rousing us to the seemingly inescapable 'chakra' of fate that governs the lives of millions of Mumbai slumdwellers.

Smita plays a migrant who comes to Mumbai but finds little succour in the city of dreams. After she loses her husband, she ekes out an existence in the slums. Hers is a character that is not romanticised or glorified but drawn with a level eye -- she has a couple of affairs (Naseeruddin Shah, Kulbushan Kharbanda). It's a Darwinian situation where survival is all that matters.

Brimming with squalor and seediness, the story is realistically but grippingly told. Its hard-hitting credo predates Chandni Bar. Smita's hopes have survived in her son on whom she has pinned her expectations but the wheels of fate grind inexorably on.

In Chakra, Smita looks far removed from the gloss and glamour of Bollywood, blending seamlessly with her character. As part of her research for the film she visited jhopadpattis (slums) on Mumbai's Tulsi Pipe Road, returning home with parched lips and chipped nails. She imbues her performance with a hard-won empathy.

Unfortunately, a bathing scene of Smita splashed on the film's posters became the most recognisable symbol of the film. It gave the film a notoriety and maybe success too. The film's promising director Rabindra Dharamaraj, unfortunately, passed away in the year of the film's release.

Also read: Raj Babbar on his wife Smita Patil

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