Can a film have a personality? Abrar Alvi's masterful Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam does. Its sublime grace in the face of heartbreak is almost like leafing through pages of melancholic poetry. Hemant Kumar's mild-mannered compositions like Na jao saiyan and Bhanwra bada naadan have an important part to play.
Interestingly, the story, based on Bimal Mitro's novel, too reveals itself in a flashback, where through the wistful eyes of Bhootnath (played by Guru Dutt); we are introduced to the complex inhabitants -- debauched landlords and docile bahus -- of a traditional haveli in pre-independence India.
His fascinating relationship with the downcast, desperate yet divinely beautiful chhoti bahu (Meena Kumari) vying for the attentions of an indifferent husband, in vain, alongside a bantering distraction with the impish Jabba (Waheeda Rehman), forms the crux of the plot.
Guru Dutt's restrained excellence and Waheeda Rehman's playful nonchalance is understandably overshadowed by Meena Kumari's overwhelming aura. The Queen of tragedy exudes the pain and humiliation of her character through the tremulous delicacy of her anguished voice, big, glassy eyes and sarcasm-laden smile.
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