In one of the many sequences simmering with seductive synergy Sharmila wonders aloud why Anand Babu insists on coming to her when he has a home and wife.
Sharmila’s character, a homeless childless woman who is tricked into a life of prostitution is not just a mother-figure to the lonely neglected near-divorcee Anand Babu (Rajesh Khanna), she is also the woman to the ill-treated neighbourhood Nandu (Master Bobby who played pivotal roles in a number of films including Ek Phool Do Mali and Amar Prem before disappearing into adulthood) keeps running to for solace and samosas, in spite of being severely punished by his stepmother (Bindu). Sharmila brings to this timeless adaptation of Bibhutibushan Bandhopaddhyay’s the story, a kind of simpering beauty that levitates the lyricism of the tragic but uplifting tale to the level of a supremely seductive saga. In the film a 7-year old boy and a 30-plus man both desire the same kind of emotional attention from her. That Sharmila Tagore plays the woman whom men of all ages gravitate to in pursuit of some heavy-duty nurturing is a very happy situation for the screenplay. From its opening montage of a young rustic girl watching her callous husband bring home another wife, to the dying moments when the woman, now in her twilight years, is taken away to the relative comfort of her foster-son’s home as the festivities of Durga Puja break out on the streets of Kolkata… Amar Prem is a glorious homage to that favourite Bollywood archetype: the golden-hearted prostitute.
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