'Abodh' 40 Years On: A Nostalgic Look at Simpler Times

The film 'Abodh' released in 1984 is a Rajshri Films imprint story of innocence and maturity.
Forty years ago (August 1984) when films were not as fast-paced as they are today, when most of the fighting scenes were shown with the sound 'Dhishoom Dhishoom' it was acceptable for the audience to see a single hero dominating 125 hundred enemies. In such an environment, Rajshri Production's classic 'Abodh' stressed its familiar fragrance and took the audience to that nostalgic era, when Rajshri's films like Piya Ka Ghar, Chitchor, Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye, Geet Gaata Chal, Ankhi Ke Jharokho Se, Nadiya Ke Paar, captivated the audience. Used to keep.
In the slowly changing Bollywood landscape, the film, 'Abodh' once again brought a heart-touching story of childhood, maturity, and the complexities of love. Directed by renowned director Hiren Nag, this soft and gentle sentimental film gave today's superstar Madhuri Dixit and Bengali film actor Tapas Paul a chance to step into the Hindi film industry.

In those days Madhuri Dixit was sixteen years old and had just passed SSC. She lived in Andheri East JB Nagar and studied in a nearby school. Since childhood, Madhuri Dixit was very fond of dancing and acting and she used to do many stage shows in her school.

It is said that in those days, Rajshri Film people were looking for a new pair for their film 'Abodh'. Director Govind Moonis, who had directed Rajshri's film Nadiya Ke Paar, had suggested Madhuri's name to Rajshri Films' director Tarachand Barjatya for 'Abodh'. Actually, his daughter studied in the same class as Madhuri's elder sister. Tarachand Barjatya called Madhuri and asked her to read a few lines from a book in Hindi to see whether her accent while speaking was Maharashtrian. (Because Madhuri's mother tongue is Marathi) But Madhuri's Hindi was clear. After proper screen test, Madhuri was finalized for her debut film Abodh.

Recently, on the completion of 40 years of the film Abodh (1984), Madhuri remembered those days a lot. She had shared, "For the first time in my life, I faced the camera during the audition of Abodh. I was only 16 years old at that time. In those days, my hair was very short, almost bob cut, but in that film I had to play the role of a village girl, so what to do now? They put a heavy wig on my head, from forehead to waist (which was kept wrapped for reuse ). I was given the make-up of a village girl and in no time I suddenly transformed into a village girl. .
After that I was taken to Rajshree Studio in Prabhadevi. There I was asked to dance. The producers of Rajshri wanted to see how I looked on screen in this look and how comfortable I was in front of the camera. I was a little confused at first, I thought that they would give me some dialogue to speak or teach me some dance step, but here, as soon as the music started playing, I was asked to take steps and dance on my own. It was strange. Well, luckily since I used to dance and act on the school stage so there was no problem and they liked my dance."

Sharing the experience of the first shot and initial shooting of 'Abodh' forty years ago, Madhuri had said, I was signed for the film Abodh and soon the shooting started. My co-star, Tapas Paul, was also new to Bollywood and was also young. We both excitedly explored the surrounding areas after the shot like school children. I had never been to a film set before, so I had no idea that everything about the set (house, walls, stairs) was made of cardboard, light plywood and paper. While talking, I leaned my hand on a wall of the 'house' built on the set and was shocked, the wall burst and my hand went inside it. I screamed out of fear. Everyone laughed at me for looking surprised and embarrassed, and I was told that the walls were made of canvas. I literally broke the set on my first day (laughed Madhuri) and that's how I got my first lesson about filmmaking. Thankfully, everyone around was very nice and laughed at my stupidity despite the loss."

Madhuri had also told an interesting thing about the filming of the first song of her career in 'Abodh'. She had said, "My first shot was on the song 'Ghani Ghani Amariyaan', where as the innocent and child-like Gauri, I had to run, , dance, sing in the fields while having fun with my friends. Although it all seems easy today, it was no easy task for a young girl entering the world of screens for the first time. It was during this shooting that I learned about camera angles, and about keeping in mind the limits of marks drawn on the ground while dancing and singing. I also learned that there is a correct way to raise my arms to a particular height and length while still in frame. It was all quite overwhelming but fun. Yes, of course, I was nervous, but since the entire team was very supportive, I enjoyed my first day comfortably and happily without any problem or mistake. ,

Like Madhuri Dixit, the film's hero Tapas Pal was also completely new. Although he had become a star of Bengali films due to the immense success of Tarun Majumdar's films 'Dadar Kirti' (1980) and Saheb (1981), he was unaware of the Hindi language, Hindi films and Mumbai, and didn't even know.  the local dialect was Marathi.
During the filming of "Abodh", Tapas Paul also faced many challenges, especially as it was his Bollywood debut. Adapting from the Bengali film industry to the Bollywood industry required him to adapt to different acting styles and industry expectations, and there was also pressure to deliver a strong performance. The film's story, which deals with complex themes of maturity and marital relationships, demanded emotional depth from both the film's lead actors, which both Tapas Pal and Madhuri had to pull off. By the way 'Abodh' was the only Hindi film of superstar Tapas Pal.

Not many people know that the role of Tapas Pal was earlier offered to Ashish Chanana but he rejected it because he wanted a bigger launch.
The story of Abodh revolves around the heroine Gauri, an innocent and young girl living in a village. Her parents are looking for a suitable groom for her. Gauri is a carefree girl with whom Shankar eventually gets married. Gauri had still not blossomed completely, she did not have any special understanding about marriage in her heart. Even after marriage, she did not give up her childishness. She kept playing and jumping all day and slept comfortably at night. Shankar wants to love her but Gauri doesn't even let him touch her. Once he tries to touch Gauri forcefully, Gauri gets offended and goes to her parent's house.  Due to immense guilt for forcing himself on Gauri, Shankar leaves the house and goes to the city without informing her. While staying in her parent's house Gauri meets her newly married friend who tells her the true meaning of marriage and then Gauri regrets her thinking and returns back to her Shankar home. At her in-laws house, Gauri is saddened to hear the news of Shankar's departure. After a lot of struggle, both of them finally meet again, and this time their union is forever.

The film's music, composed by Ravindra Jain, was a major highlight during that time, with songs like "Ghani Ghani Amaria" and "Tujhe Dekhne Ko Tarsati Hai Aankhe Yeh Dil" being well received.  With its beautiful story, highlighting the importance of family, love, forgiveness, tradition, and communication in relationships, the innocence of Madhuri and Tapas, the film is another pearl in the string of Abodh Rajshri Film's garland. It is a different matter that due to the changing format of Bollywood films in the eighties, this film did not work well but it has given two superstars to the cinema world, Madhuri Dixit and Tapas Pal. It is a matter of great regret that Tapas Pal died of a heart attack on 18 February 2020.

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