Nanand Bhojai (1985)

Neo-traditionalist melodrama pivoting on the relationship between sisters-in-law, but also including brotherly and parental relations. Poonam (Neelu), with the financial help of her Muslim friend Rasool, marries Vijay (Dheraj) despite the evil machinations of her rejected suitor Rocky. When Vijay goes to look for work in the city, Vijay’s sister, manipulated by the villainous Rocky, persecutes the heroine. The familiar theme (esp. in Gujarati cinema: cf. Punatar’s bilingual of the same title, 1948) confirmed Rajasthani star Neelu’s image of ‘goodness’ in family melodramas (cf. Supattar Binani, 1981, and Bai Chali Sasariye, 1988). Made with mainly Bombay film actors and modelled on Hindi cinema except for some narrative emphases such as the approach to the dowry problem: in Hindi films, dowries are increasingly seen as anti-modern and assigned to oppressive feudalism, whereas it is a more urgent issue in Rajasthan.