There are few remarkable things about the 1965 movie Gumnaam. Considering the films that were made during the sixties, the story is quite unusual, since it is based on Agatha Christie’s well known novel And Then There Were None. The film is a suspense thriller and it shows from the very first sequence itself. A man arranges another man’s killing and not long after he gets killed by a mysterious stranger. At the heart of the story are nine strangers – seven men and two women – who get stranded on an island. One by one they get killed. Who is killing them? Who planned this trip to get all of them together?
There are many well known names in the movie. Manoj Kumar plays the role of C.I.D. Inspector Anand, Nanda is Asha and Pran is Barrister Rakesh. Watching the movie after more than 50 years, one character stands out – Mehmood who plays the butler. Mehmood is one of the most underrated actors in Hindi cinema. Comic acting is rarely considered elite enough to warrant a serious discussion and comedians are often looked upon as nothing more than characters who provide relief in between tense scenes. With the exception of Pran, Mehmood is way ahead of everyone else in Gumnaam in terms of acting.
Here’s one reason why Mehmood stands out. Most leading stars are very keen to preserve their screen image and in the process impose too many restrictions upon themselves. Not Mehmood. He has no qualms about playing any role. In Gumnaam, He speaks the Hyderabadi dialect with such perfect diction. What’s more, he even writes in Urdu using Arabic script! How often you see such minute detailing in a Hindi movie from the sixties? Mehmood’s dialogues are much more crisp and he has some amazing punchlines. In comparison, dialogues of the rest of the cast are mostly very plain (With the exception of climax!) My guess is that Mehmood himself must have contributed to his dialogues. I would love to have some confirmation on this. As a result the movie is carried almost single handedly by Mehmood. Perfect dialogue delivery and timing! What an actor!
Songs are an essential part of Hindi cinema. Most of the old movies can be categorized as musicals. Characters break into a song and after the song is over, they go back to their normal lives. As the movies began to be more realistic, this contradiction became more and more apparent. I still find it a bit strange to watch Smita Patil or Anupam Kher breaking into a song in a so-called realistic gritty movie. Some filmmakers found a way out by introducing the song in background, the way it’s been done in Hollywood. Here’s what’s interesting. No matter how many times the characters break into a song, they rarely refer to it or acknowledge it in any way. It would be breaking the fourth wall. David Dhawan has done it quite a few times in his comedy movies. In Gumnaam, we repeatedly hear the title song sung by an unknown lady and the characters actually acknowledge the fact. Mehmood even says, “Yeh basti ka hit gaana hai, Bhaiyye!” (This is the famous song of this place!)
While watching old movies, one has to take into account the limitations of technology at the time. It would be unfair to compare them – even unconsciously – to the post-CGI sleek movies of today. What Mehmood shows very convincingly is that good acting does not depend on these external factors. A great actor can make any movie interesting.
