Tells the story of newly weds Hamid and Salma. They move into a rental flat next door to the local red light district. The flat had been the former home of a well known mujra and qawali singer, Shamshad. Men still come to the door in the hope of seeing Shamshad and do not seem too put out by seeing Salma despite her protestations. The couple struggle to live within the bounds of their own moral code while the earnings of prostitution seem to be flaunted around them. Hamid gets more and more angry and seemingly unable to reconcile his morality with the immorality of the world and at one point beats his wife and then rapes her making her into a 'whore' of his fantasy. The story here bears resemblance to the later 'Ek Chadar Maili Si' by the same director and seems to explore the complex world of women and sexuality as viewed by Indian men: mother, goddess, whore. This film also explores the ethos of prostitution in its reality and as a metaphor for the outside world.
Credits
Dastak Cast
| Name |
Character |
|
Sanjeev Kumar
He was 32, 47 years old when he died
|
as Hamid Ahmed |
|
Manmohan Krishna
He was 48, 68 years old when he died
|
as Shahid |
|
Anwar Hussain
He was 45, 62 years old when he died
|
as Akhtar Marativale |
Dastak Crew
| Name |
Department |
|
Hrishikesh Mukherjee as Editor. He was 48 (83) years old when He died
|
Editing |
|
Sudhendu Roy as Art Direction. He was 49 (78) years old when He died
|
Art |
|
Madan Mohan as Original Music Composer. He was 46 (51) years old when He died
|
Sound |
|
Rajinder Singh Bedi as Director. He was 55 (69) years old when He died
|
Directing |
|
Rajinder Singh Bedi as Producer. He was 55 (69) years old when He died
|
Production |
|
Rajinder Singh Bedi as Writer. He was 55 (69) years old when He died
|
Writing |
|
Kamal Bose as Director of Photography. He was 55 (80) years old when He died
|
Camera |
|
Makhan Singh as Assistant Director. He was 57 (59) years old when He died
|
Directing |
