Khamoshi A Musical Masterpiece

The craze for Rajesh Khanna continued; however; Khamoshi was all about the sublime beauty and acting of Waheeda Rehman. The story is about a heartbroken nurse, who falls in love with her patient; however, she is unable to hide her reality, which makes her insane and she gets admitted to the same hospital. 

There is a way in which films should start when they need to show flashback. A person giving a narration or simply a line which says something like “5 years before” shows average thinking of the writer. Khamoshi is different right from the first shot. I love the way the opening shot lines up with the title “Khamoshi”. We see Waheeda Rehman dressed up as a nurse looking down from the balcony. There is a white sedan below. A person comes and enters the back seat and the sedan moves away. The camera flashes back on the eyes of Waheedaji, who moves back 3 to 4 steps. She hardly says anything but her face speak volumes. Rajesh Khanna showed his powerful side of acting; however, it was one of the finest movies starting Waheeda Rehman. Khamoshi was made in black and white, unlike to its predecessors like “Aradhana” & “Do Raaste” which were color. Color pallets didn’t matter. Khamoshi was a hit.

The movie had songs penned by Gulzar and music composed by Hemant Kumar. A Hemant kumar concert / musical journey is incomplete without mention of Khamoshi. I know more than 1000 old songs but one song which is closest to my heart is “Humne Dekhee Hai Un Aankhon Ki Mehekti Khushboo”. I think the wording of this song will inspire generations to come. If one listens to this song line by line, one will realize the depth of Gulzar’s writing. This song is picturized on beautiful Snehlata who plays the role of Arun’s (Rajesh Khanna) ex-friend Sulekha who rejected his proposal. We live in a period were every small relationship is labeled. The song tells us that it is unimportant to tag a relationship and speaks love in its purest form. Another dimension is one should love someone without asking for anything in return. The body language of Waheeda Rehman is worth observing. She is traveling in the car and the way she tickles her neck, the intense thirst of missing someone is mind-blowing. The lyrics go like:

“Humne dekhi hain un aankhon ki mehekti khusboo

Haath se choo kar isse rishton ka ilzam na do
Sirf ehsaas hain ye rooh se mehsoos karoon
Pyaar ko pyaar hi rehne do koin naam na do”

The song “Woh Shaam Kuch Aajeeb hai” belongs to Rajesh Khanna according to me. His poise expressed both dignity, grace, and mannerisms. That infectious smile is icing on the cake . “Tum Pukar Lo, Tumhara Intezar hai” is a haunting melody & showed the acting range Waheedaji.

Eyes & body language of an actress are so important in sad songs. Just imagine yourself staring plainly out of a bus/car/train window on a lovely evening during the sunset & their comes the songs from Khamoshi on the radio. There can’t be another beautiful moment of absolute bliss.