Sangam (Confluence), released in 1964, Indian musical romantic film directed, produced and edited by Raj Kapoor at R. K. Studios, written by Inder Raj Anand. Film distributed R. K. Films with Mehboob Studio and Filmistan. The film tells the beautiful tale of love, misunderstanding, separation and sacrifice backed by great performances and melodious music. It tells the story of a pilot Sundar (Raj Kapoor), who upon returning home from war after being assumed dead, weds the woman Radha (Vyjayanthimala) he had long loved, unaware that she had been planning to marry his best friend Gopal (Rajendra Kumar).

Sundar, Radha and Gopal have been friends since childhood. As they grow into adults, Sundar develops an obsessive romantic attraction to Radha; for him, she is the only woman in the world. However, Radha prefers Gopal, who is also in love with her, and systematically resists Sundar’s advances. Matching Sundar’s great love for Radha is his unswerving devotion to his friendship with Gopal. Sundar confides his feelings for Radha to Gopal, who decides to sacrifice his love for his friend’s sake.

Eventually, Sundar enlists in the Indian Air Force and is assigned a dangerous mission in Kashmir, delivering items to soldiers fighting there. Before leaving, he extracts a promise from Gopal, whom he trusts implicitly, never to let any man come between Radha and himself while he is away. Sundar subsequently completes his mission, but his aircraft is shot down and he is listed as killed in action  and presumed dead. For his bravery, he is awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

The news saddens Radha and Gopal, but they are nonetheless now free to profess their love for one another. Among other expressions of love, Gopal writes her an unsigned love letter that touches her and which she hides away. Freed from his promise to his dead friend, Gopal confesses his own feelings. They begin taking steps to be married, Sundar returns, safe and sound. The self-effacing Gopal sacrifices his love once more, stepping back into the shadows and watching as the reborn Sundar resumes his wooing of Radha. Before Sundar enlisted, Radha’s parents did not like him, but after he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, they happily marry their daughter to him.

After the couple returns from an extended European honeymoon, Sundar is deliriously happy, as his life’s dream has been realised. Radha is resolved to be faithful to her husband and to put Gopal out of her mind, privately asking him to stay away from her and Sundar because of the torture his presence causes her. Sundar’s devotion to Gopal, however, is such that he constantly tries to draw him into their lives, much to Radha’s chagrin. Sundar’s love turns into jealous rage when confronted with the truth that his wife had loved another man. He cannot accept her answer, nor can he understand that she’s but human. His jealousy degrades him and nowhere is it more evident than in the scene where Sundar furtively picks up the pieces of the love letter that his wife had torn up in aching despair. 

Rajendra Kumar’s performance was quiet, controlled and effective. One can sympathise with his feelings, even if we cannot understand his actions. He looks dashing in overcoats and is kept in rein. He corners a major share of sympathy by dying in the end.

Raj Kapoor as the lighthearted human whirlwind who even dances a bit during O mehbooba; but he’s more watchable as the broken, suspicious husband with the brittle smile and jagged mouth.

Sangam belonged to Vyjayanthimala turns in a deeply sensitive, mature and layered performance as Radha, bringing the happiness and the grief, the anger and the frustration of a woman trapped by the actions of others.   The deep betrayal in her eyes when she realises that Gopal had been writing love letters to Sundar in her name;  the anger at his willingness to sacrifice her, her life, her happiness. The increasing helplessness as she endeavours to answer Sundar’s jealous taunts without compromising Gopal; the fury when she realises that once again  the men are deciding her future. Radha, who knows exactly what she wants, doesn’t have a voice in her own marriage – when Gopal refuses to marry her, her parents fix her marriage with Sundar, whose war record now makes him acceptable. Radha moves from one man to the other, trying like many women before and after her to make the best of her life.

The maturity of the script of Inder Raj Anand and the directorial vision that shaped it as well as the performances. The film tells the beautiful tale of love, misunderstanding, separation and sacrifice backed by great performances and melodious music.

Sangam‘s soundtrack was composed by  Shankar Jaikishan, with lyrics were penned by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri. Vyjayantimala made her debut as a singer by beautifully humming to the tunes of “Yeh Mera Prem Patra”, along with Mohammed Rafi. Some of the songs from the film are “Bol Radha Bol”, “Dost Dost Na Raha”, and “Ich Liebe Dich I Love You”.

Raj Kapoor’s first complete film in colour. The film was shot in European locations like Venice, Paris and Switzerland. During filming, Raj Kapoor took the help of the Indian Air Force  in the shooting of the Air Force scenes. The film explores themes of love, loyalty, sacrifice, and the consequences of choices made in relationships. It portrays the conflicts and emotional turmoil faced by the characters as they navigate their complicated circumstances. The film was considered bold and much ahead of its time due to its storyline and characterizations. All these things immensely contributed to the commercial success of the film.

Internationally, the film was released in the Soviet Union in 1964.

Photos courtesy Google. Excerpts taken from Google.