Peter Young Vishwam is the youngest brother of the powerful and cruel landowner Zamindar (Amrish Puri). He is married to Rukmani and, unlike his brothers, does not indulge in alcohol or women. But one day the village gets a new school teacher, whose wife Sushila (Shabana Azmi) instantly catches Vishwam's eye. Noticing this, his brothers come one night and kidnap Sushila for all to see, including her husband who tries to stop them but fails. He is shocked that no one of the so many present people dared to even raise a voice to stop this abduction. He turns to every possible authority, including the police, the court, the press, but is shocked to see a complete rejection resulting from the fear to face off the Zamindar. This is the story of Shyam Benegal's Nishaant, a well-made film which portrays the state of those times' rural India. The film depicts a reality which is a bit difficult to see. The proceedings are very serious and the film is dark and dim. Benegal's direction is excellent, with a serene narrative style that easily conveys the raw atmosphere of the village as well as the film's own mood. It is realistic and authentic, without any overt dramatisation. I did expect more from the ending though. The light at the end of the tunnel does finally seem to appear, but sadly the story itself remains somewhat incomplete and doleful. I think the ending did give the viewer an opportunity to interpret it the way he wants to, which is great, but one would expect to see some brightness in it. The film shows us the power of human nature. While Sushila terribly misses her son and goes through emotionally destructive experiences of gang-rape and humiliation, she later accepts the cruel reality, finds comfort in the house and ultimately starts getting attracted to the quiet Vishwam. Her absence tortures her husband and his helplessness makes his life miserable. One of the film's best scenes is when they finally meet in a local temple. She preaches him for his cowardice, ironically, in the same way he himself did with the people who did not stop her kidnappers. This makes him realise that a change must happen within the simple people and not the landowners.The film is very well acted. Girish Karnad is excellent as the tormented teacher who loses his wife and is unable to get her back. Shabana Azmi is outstanding as Sushila in a restrained and deep act. I particularly liked her outburst at her husband. Her anger was so easy to relate to. Smita Patil makes her acting debut with this very film and though her part is small, she makes the best of every scene she appears in. Amrish Puri is successfully frightening as the merciless Zamindar. Naseeruddin Shah is as always wonderful and his character is very sympathetic despite the conflict it creates. The boy who plays Sushila's son is extremely cute.Nishaant is a good film, a disturbing, real and engaging piece. What I particularly liked about the film is its unpredictability right until the very final scenes. My main complaint is that it was a tad too slow for my liking. While in the second half it gets far more enjoyable, and the film is thoroughly engaging thanks to its story and fantastic execution, the pace was still somewhat dragged, and at times made me like squirming in my seat. Nonetheless, it's a worthy effort. To those who expect to be purely entertained, this may not be the right film, but those who appreciate artistic excellence will definitely enjoy watching this picture.

activecell by far, nishaant is the best of Hindi language cinema i have yet seen. this film provoked powerful emotional responses, a sense of dread and tension. the impossible situation that befalls schoolmaster and his wife is so terrible and the decisions that they are forced to make are so absolutely destructive. gritty, grimy and bleak, this film had me pulling hairs out of my head; oh the injustice, oh the pain. on the other hand, this film is made from the light of an Indian sun, burning wildly with exoticism and ethnicity. There is also a kind of beauty and tender touch that leaves your heart melted to your chest, in particular the moments of love shown between mother and son, husband and wife, Vishwam and Sushila are all played incredibly well. On a lighter note, I'm declaring that through my endless passion for beautiful women both in cinema and in general, that Shabana Azmi is simply just hot. her performance as Sushila is so natural and her beauty so rare, i find it hard to place a contemporary in Hindi cinema to match.

shahkaal Nishant is a film that I first saw when I was about 12 years old and it had such a strong impact on me that I have felt the urge to view it again every 3-4 years. Nishant is the most dramatic and episodic of the three films that comprise Benegal's first trilogy - "Ankur", "Manthan" and "Nishant". The trilogy speaks to the coming of age of democracy and the last throes of the dying feudal system in India.In the early 70's, director Shyam Benegal harnessed some formidable talents in this set of films and the cast and crew is a who's who of modern Indian cinema. All the films were made on low budgets and are technically very spartan but this actually helps set the mood for the on-screen proceedings - making everything seem very real. The rural Indian locations, the performances of the extras, the weaving of local art and dance into the stories, the local dialects - all help make this film feel very real.In a nutshell, it is the story of a powerful local landlord (Amrish Puri before he became a caricature) who has two decadent alcoholic brothers (brilliantly wicked Mohan Agashe and Anant Nag), and one naive sibling (a very young Naseeruddin Shah), and who rules his village with an iron fist. He has inherited feudal power which is in slow decay. While he metaphorically rapes the people's land and crops, his brothers more literally prey on the women of the town - while their pet police patel (amazingly good Kubhushan Kharbanda in his pre-Shahkaal days) and village priest (writer Satyadev Dubey) collaborate in silence.In this time of discontent, a schoolteacher and his young wife (Girish Karnad & Shabana Azmi) arrive in town. Shortly thereafter, she is abducted by the two brothers as a gift for their youngest brother. The rest of the story deals with the schoolteacher's quest for justice - first through apathetic official channels and finally through revolution - leading to some very unpredictable and tragic consequences. The film starts slow, seethes and simmers and finally climaxes, set to a beautiful song by Priti Sagar, in a horrifying sequence that is among the best in Indian films - although it is very unlike Benegal.This is one of the best Indian films ever and as politically as relevant today as it was in the 1970s - especially given the many parallels that still exist in the world today. I give it a 9/10 - deducting one point because it fades when compared to the later films of my idol - Dev Anand.

jazzyjez Shyam Benegal has a well-deserved reputation for making hard-hitting social dramas which tell true Indian stories in a realistic manner, so you'll find no concessions to Bollywood here. The plot is brutal and compelling, and the film features an all-star cast who give uniformly excellent performances.Vishvam (Naseeruddin Shah) is one of four brothers who rule their feudal village in pre-independence India with an iron grip. They execute various criminal schemes to increase their own wealth at the expense of the villagers, with the village priest and constable powerless to stop them. However unlike his brothers he tries to lead a relatively restrained life, and at the start of the film we see him married and refraining from drinking and smoking.His brothers regularly exercise their droit de seigneur, ordering villagers to send their wives and daughters to the haveli so that they can be raped at leisure. At first Vishvam, restrained by his wife (played by beautiful and brilliant but tragically short-lived Smita Patil), refuses to join them. However when the new school teacher arrives with his young child and lovely wife he finds himself tempted, and the brothers abduct her.The rest of the film concerns the resolution of the abduction, with the villagers forced to make tough ethical decisions. The film ends in a shocking way which will leave audiences deeply disturbed, which is no doubt the cause of the low score that this film has received. However upon reflection the ending is thoroughly realistic, and provides a deep and unsettling insight into the human condition.Shyam Benegal grew up in rural India and so this film, which is based upon a true story, draws closely upon his own perceptions of village India and the people that inhabit it. However the story has universal appeal, and reveals how people's lives play out in the many parts of the world where civilization is still primitive and brutal.I am sad but unsurprised to see this film receive such low ratings. No doubt the viewers who rated it will have been expecting light Bollywood style entertainment, or at least some kind of feelgood resolution.This is an excellent social drama in the tradition of Ankur and Mandi, and should be seen by anyone interested in compelling stories, excellent acting and the realities of village life in the developing world.