Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke (These Are The Path Of Love, Hindi; 1963)
Even though at the outset, the producers claim that the presentation was a figment of the story writer's imagination, and resemblances were purely coincidental, the public did not buy it. It is based on Nanavati's murder trial where a Parsee Naval Commander, Kawas Nanavati, stood accused of killing his English wife Sylvia's lover, Prem Ahuja, a wealthy debonair playboy Sindhi businessman.
Even though at the outset, the producers claim that the presentation was a figment of the story writer's imagination, and resemblances were purely coincidental, the public did not buy it. It is based on Nanavati's murder trial where a Parsee Naval Commander, Kawas Nanavati, stood accused of killing his English wife Sylvia's lover, Prem Ahuja, a wealthy debonair playboy Sindhi businessman.
This court case took the Indian public by storm. They had to chance to have an intimate peek into the private lives of the upper echelon of the society. The crux of the trial was whether the Commander's crime was premeditated or was at the spur of the moment. Pretty soon sympathisers from both sides (those who thought the crime was an accident vs those who believed it was planned) began to make it a community issue - Parsee vs Sindhi. The case heard by a jury, the last of its kind in Indian legal system, found him not guilty of murder. The case was reheard in High Courts, and Navanati was found guilty.
He was later pardoned by Governor after pressure from Parsee community and that Nehru's sister at Governorship of Mahashatra helped. The commander used to move around with the high browed society, including the first family then, Nehru's.
After being the family (Navanati, Sylvia who stayed on with him until his death and three children) emigrated to Canada.
This 1963 film has almost the same setting -an airline pilot Anil (Sunil Dutt) leaves his French-Indian wife Nina (Leela Naidu) and two kids under the care of his childhood friend, a confirmed bachelor, Ashok. Almost the whole film is told through the trial in flashbacks, poetic dialogues between lovers and fornicator, melodious hypnotising songs and the wit of Ashok Kumar, the defence lawyer, Mukherjee.
The outcome of the case is different from Nanavati's one. Anil is acquitted, but they had Nina commit suicide to preserve the sanctity of an Indian lady!
I thought the movie was progressing well until it reached the last 20 minutes. In keeping the masala expectation of the audience, they made a big boo-boo. Just when everything was going against Anil's way- the intent, the ballistics, witness and all, Mukherjee reenacts a drama with Ashok's scorned fiancé, Asha, who actually also had shot at Ashok but they also found another gun with Ashok's fingerprint from which the fatal bullet found in Ashok's heart was fired! So Ashok killed himself! Confusing right? Don't ask too many questions, the songs and the witty dialogues will make up for the deficiencies in the storyline...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KM_Nanavati_v._State_of_Maharashtra http://inconsistentandincomplete.blogspot.com/2011/12/mumbai-april-27-1959-nanavatis-story.html
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| Kawas Nanavati |
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| Prem Ahuja |
This 1963 film has almost the same setting -an airline pilot Anil (Sunil Dutt) leaves his French-Indian wife Nina (Leela Naidu) and two kids under the care of his childhood friend, a confirmed bachelor, Ashok. Almost the whole film is told through the trial in flashbacks, poetic dialogues between lovers and fornicator, melodious hypnotising songs and the wit of Ashok Kumar, the defence lawyer, Mukherjee.
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| Sylvia Nanavati |
I thought the movie was progressing well until it reached the last 20 minutes. In keeping the masala expectation of the audience, they made a big boo-boo. Just when everything was going against Anil's way- the intent, the ballistics, witness and all, Mukherjee reenacts a drama with Ashok's scorned fiancé, Asha, who actually also had shot at Ashok but they also found another gun with Ashok's fingerprint from which the fatal bullet found in Ashok's heart was fired! So Ashok killed himself! Confusing right? Don't ask too many questions, the songs and the witty dialogues will make up for the deficiencies in the storyline...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KM_Nanavati_v._State_of_Maharashtra http://inconsistentandincomplete.blogspot.com/2011/12/mumbai-april-27-1959-nanavatis-story.html
Leela Naidu's 2010 book with Jerry Pinto indicates that the movie screenplay was written before the Nanavati case. It was a coincidence of the real-life case events with a similar movie storyline that led to similarities while the movie was being made. (Wikipedia)
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| More than four decades later, a newspaper, Hindustan Times, reached Nanavati for a story. Here is his reply- |
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