Cast
- Bharat Bhushan — Mill owner
- Saeed Jaffrey — Mill owner's agent
- Suresh Oberoi — The young man
- Deepa — Village girl
| Aagaman | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Muzaffar Ali |
| Written by | Asghar Wajahat |
| Story by | R. Trivedi |
| Produced by | Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane Seed and Development Corporation |
| Starring |
|
| Music by |
|
Production company | Integrated Films |
Release date | 1982 |
Running time | 150 mins. |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Aagaman is a 1982 Hindi language drama film directed by Muzaffar Ali and produced by Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane Seed and Development Corporation under the banner of Integrated Films. The cast included Saeed Jaffrey, Suresh Oberoi, Dilip Dhawan, Anupam Kher, Bharat Bhushan and Raj Bisaria. The film marked the debut of Anupam Kher.[2][3] In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter included him in its list of five best actors in Asia.[4] The plot involved the politics and working techniques of Uttar Pradesh sugarcane co-operative societies.[5][6] Upon release the film received mixed reviews. In November 2012 the film was shown at the 43rd International Film Festival of India.[7]
In a village of Awadh, sugarcane planters are exploited by mill owner (Bharat Bhushan). A young man (Suresh Oberoi) returns to this village after receiving a degree in law from a reputed university of Lucknow. Seeing the poor condition of planters, he urges them to stop selling their sugarcane to the mill owner and instead start their own co-operative mill. The mill owner, his landlord-agent (Saeed Jaffrey) and son discourage the villagers from doing so. The mill owner's son urges the people to form a planter's union and continue selling their crop to the mill. Initially, the villagers trust him, but after continuous persuasions from the young man and realising that only self-sufficiency can improve their condition, they unite and set up their own mill. In the end, the young man marries a village girl (Deepa), who was very active in the movement.[8]
The then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Vishwanath Pratap Singh asked Muzaffar Ali to make a film for promoting the sugarcane co-operative societies in the state. Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane Seed and Development Corporation provided the necessary budget.[8] R. N. Trivedi and Asghar Wajahat wrote the film's story,[8][9] Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan composed the film's music and the lyrics were written by Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Hasrat Jaipuri.[1][8]
Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from film critics. Muzaffar Ali's early films like Gaman, Umrao Jaan and Aagaman focused on Awadh. In an article published in 2012, Business Standard noted that "To [Muzaffar] Ali goes the credit of portraying Awadh truthfully on cinema; the only other claimant being Satyajit Ray in Shatranj Ke Khiladi".[10] Sumit Mitra of India Today called it a disappointing film and criticised Ali's film-making technique and cinematography. He added that "Ali's approach to direction is more that of film club enthusiast than film maker" and the lyrics used were "totally out of context". Mitra criticised the promotional nature of the film by saying that the state owned co-operative societies have dominated the market, but praised Saeed Jaffrey's acting.[8]
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