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SYNOPSIS - DAAG
("STIGMA")
- (SONG: HUM AUR TUM) Sonia (Sharmila Tagore)
and Sunil (Rajesh Khanna) are in love. They don't want to split tomorrow,
though they must go home. Sunil jests about how difficult it is to find
new ways to say "I love you."
- Sunil gets the job he's applied for at Kapoor
Industries. He goes to tell Sonia; his method of getting her attention
arouses suspicions in her aunt and uncle Khanna. Khanna teases his wife,
saying some Romeo is out to get her. She figures out that the "whistler"
is calling for Sonia, and frets that Sonia's wild ways will corrupt
her own two daughters. Later, Sunil comes to the house to ask Khanna
for Sonia's hand in marriage. After some misunderstandings, Khanna gives
his qualified blessings, saying the person who will decide on such matters
— his wife — is currently out of the house. Sunil runs into
her on the way out and tells her that his happiness lies in her hands.
She comes in, and is ill pleased to learn that Sunil has asked for Sonia's
hand. She's just arranged Sonia's engagement to her aunt's son, a man
who Khanna says looks like a fugitive in some warrant notice in the
post office. His wife vows that Sonia will only marry this man, as to
do otherwise would set a bad example for their own daughters. Sonia
passionately declares that she will only marry Sunil (SONG: CHAHE MAA
RUTHE YA BABA).
- Sunil and Sonia are married, with her uncle's
blessings. They take off to Kullu, where Kapoor Industries is located.
- The boss isn't around at the Kapoors' household,
but Dheeraj Kapoor, the headman's son, offers them a warm if slightly
suspect welcome. Sunil turns down his offer of whiskey; Sonia declines
refreshments. After they depart to their bedroom, Dheeraj salivates
over Sonia. His friends warn him that she doesn't look the type to cheat
on her husband. Dheeraj confidently assures them that money can buy
anything.
- After a passionate night, Sonia wakes Sunil
so he won't be late for work. He meets the boss, who asks his son Dheeraj
to be sure to get 50,000 Rs. from the safe before coming in to the office.
Sonia realizes Sunil has forgotten his wallet, and anticipates a funny
episode. Meanwhile, Dheeraj is succumbing to his baser instincts. He
goes into Sonia's bedroom to access the safe, and attacks her. Sunil
returns in the nick of time, but in the ensuiing brawl, Dheeraj is killed.
- In court, Sunil stands no chance against the
Kapoor's wealth and influence. The Kapoors' lawyer paints a picture
of Sunil as a greedy man overwhelmed at the opportunity to steal from
the Kapoors' safe. As evidence, he cites the money found scattered all
over the floor after the murder. He argues that Dheeraj interrupted
a theft in progress and was slain while attempting to stop Sunil. Sunil
is sentenced to prison. Afterward, Sonia tearfully vows to wait for
him forever.
- On the way to the prison, Sunil attacks a convict
who implies that Sonia will shortly forget him in the arms of another
lover. The brawl somehow causes an accident in which, according to the
next day's papers, all the passengers are killed. Sonia goes into a
decline. The doctor tells her uncle that Sonia is pregnant. Her aunt
becomes hysterical at the news, predicting scandal and mayhem. Khanna
argues that it is their duty to help Sonia, and if she won't do it,
he'll find some other place for himself and his niece. Hearing this,
Sonia flees.
- (SONG: HAWAA CHALE KAISE) Sonia teaches at a
school in the mountains. Her son is five years old now. Alas, the school
board has discovered her past, and most of the members feel they cannot
risk their school's reputation by keeping her on. Only two members argue
in her defense; one, Chandni (Raakhee), heatedly protests that they
all have secrets in their past; would they like to be judged by them?
She feels that every human deserves forgiveness. But her arguments do
not sway the board. They decide to fire Sonia. Chandni asks Sonia to
come live with her as a companion: "My husband is rarely home,
and I get lonely." Sonia gratefully accepts.
- Chandni's daughter Pinky shows Sonia's son Rinku
all the many toys her father has bought her. She says she'll ask her
dad to get him some too. During a game later, she assigns toys to represent
their families, but when she tells him that one will represent his father,
he admits that he does not have one. Sonia is moved to tears: "The
one thing I can't give him is a father." Chandni gently asks her
why she doesn't consider remarrying. Sonia says, "A woman loves
only once, not time and time again." Chandni allows that might
be true, but "at least you would give your son a father."
Later, Chandni's husband appears. Gasp! It's Sunil! But he calls himself
"Sudhir." He meets Rinku and promises to take him on safari
in his jeep. Then Sonia spots him. Overwhelmed, she excuses herself.
Later, Rinku tells Sonia all about Pinky's daddy, and how he's going
to do all this neat stuff with Rinku. "If my dad were alive, would
he love me so much?" he asks his mother.
- (SONG: JAB BHI JI CHAHE) Sudhir stops Sonia
from leaving with Rinku. "You won't go," he tells her. Sonia:
"Who are you to stop me?" Sunil: "I'm your husband."
Sonia: "My husband is dead. God snatched him away from me."
Sudhir: "Don't talk like that. I'm alive." Sonia: "You're
not alive for me, but for those who have good fortune. And what do you
lack now? You have a child, a wife, wealth, a home —.everything!"
Sunil: "Listen to me!" Sonia: "No need. I see everything.
While I sat with your memory clutched to my breast, you forgot it all.
All the love, all the promises, your Sonia — you forgot it all."
Sudhir: "I forgot nothing. I remember it all. When we parted, the
tears in your eyes — as the police drew me away from you, I felt
as though we were parting for ever. I wondered if we would ever meet
again." He begins to tell her what happened to him.
- Flashback to the crash: Sunil survived, but
he was still handcuffed to another man. They headed down the slope to
the water. He asked if the man could swim; he said yes. So they freed
themselves (quite ingeniously), but while "I waited there, the
man never appeared. Maybe he couldn't swim, and lied to save my life.
I can't tell you what effect his sacrifice had on me. But my disgrace
was yet on my wrist." So he headed to a blacksmith's to get it
off. Afterwards, he went to Khanna's, where Sonia's uncle told him that
Sonia had disappeared, pregnant with his child, in a near-maddened state.
Chased by the police that Khanna's wife alerted, Sunil set off to find
her. "I began to search for you everywhere like a man possessed."
In his searches, he encountered Chandni, a woman whose father was plagued
by heart troubles. He helped them back to their house from the train
station, and realized that their home was a perfect hiding place in
which to wait out the police searches. Meanwhile, he got sucked into
their own troubles: Chandni had been impregnated and abandoned by a
rogue, and her father could not die easily knowing he left her to a
life of censure and despair. Sunil struck a private bargain with Chandni:
before the world and her father, they would pretend to be married. But
never would they actually wed: it would be an understanding, a compromise
between the two of them, so her child would have a name and escape social
ostracization. When Chandni tried to tell him the story of what happened
to her, he stopped her: "I don't want to know. Nor should you try
to learn about my past."
- Present day: Sudhir tells Sonia that "I've
never touched her, from that day forward. What are you thinking?"
Sonia: "I'm wondering why so many people under this roof have stories
about their pasts. Did they pen them by themselves? If not, why am I
being punished like this?" Sudhir: "It's done; I'm free now."
Sonia: "You're not free. You gave your name to Pinky and Chandni;
you gave them honor. She helped you out. Now you want to disgrace her?"
Sudhir: "But I love you, Sonia." Sonia: "So where will
you take me? The police know you're alive. They'll snatch you away.
I don't want to be widowed again." Sudhir: "I don't want to
lose you either. But if you want me to remain here, you must stay as
well." Sonia agrees (SONG: NI MAINU YAAR MANNA NI).
- Chandni's father, Deewan, proposes Sudhir's
name for the mayorship. Deewan's friend, Inspector Singh, shows up and
thinks he recognizes Sudhir. He calls headquarters to request the file
on the Dheeraj Kapoor murder. Meanwhile, Chandni has become discontented
with her relationship with Sudhir. She asks her father if she can accompany
him to Haridwar to pray for something special, since she has heard that
everything one asks for there will be granted.
- While Chandni and Deewan are away, Sudhir and
Sonia shall play: on a drive, Sudhir stops the car to reiterate his
love for his wife (SONG: MERE DIL MEIN AAJ KYA HAI). Later, a
storm hits, forcing the couple to stay out at the farm with the children.
There, they reconsummate their love. The next morning, Sudhir decides
to tell Chandni everything, but Sonia cautions him that he will only
hurt Pinky. He asks her for a little more time, in which he can find
a way to break the news with minimum negative impact.
- Chandni returns home to discover the house is
empty. A servant tells her that the family has stayed out at the farm,
so she goes to find them. She discovers evidence that Sudhir and Sonia
have slept together, and lambastes Sonia for deceiving her. "You're
a low woman. If you have a shred of decency, you'll leave before Sudhir
comes back."
- Sudhir wins the mayorship, and Inspector Singh
tricks him into providing fingerprints. Sudhir returns home intoxicated,
and is astonished by Chandni's slurs against Sonia. Sudhir: "Don't
insult her!" Chandni: "What? A woman you've known for two
days ranks higher than one you've known for five years?" Sudhir:
"Don't forget that I've only given you my name." Chandni:
"I know, but I'm human, not stone! I love you. I'm beautiful and
young; what's in Sonia that I lack?" Sudhir: "Sonia's my wife,
Chandni."
- Chandni goes to the train station and begs Sonia's
forgiveness. Sonia admits that in Chandni's place, she would have done
the same thing. Chandni tells her she knows everything, and begs her
not to go, explaining that Sudhir will follow her, and that will mean
a life of disgrace for Pinky and herself. "Can't we share our pain?
You love each other. You're his wife; I'm just called it. Stay and live
as you were; you with the actual right, and I with society's recognition.
If you go I'll lose everything. I don't want more than I have already.
I promise, I'll never come between you two. Please forgive me for what
I said this morning." Sonia agrees to return.
- Inspector Singh gets the fingerprint report
back from forensics and discovers that Sudhir is a positive match for
Sunil. His underling cautions him to move carefully, since Sudhir is
now the mayor, and quite wealthy. Singh bemoans his decision: "I'm
torn between duty and friendship [to Deewan]."
- At the mayoral inauguration, Sunil makes a pretty
speech about how he's no one and nothing, and tomorrow there will be
someone else in his place. His sentiments are brutally underlined by
the arrival of Singh, who has come to arrest him. Deewan refuses to
believe the charges, so Singh points to Sonia as proof: "This woman
is Sunil's wife!" Sonia denies it: "The police may be fooled,
and the law may be fooled, but a wife can't be. My husband died five
years ago. I'm a widow." Sunil hesitates a bit too long for this
viewer's taste before telling Sonia that her sacrifice is not necessary.
"Stop. You're not a widow, you're a wife, and I'm alive. I received
the sentence, but you endured the punishment...Today, before everyone,
I'll say that I am Sunil Kohli and you are my wife. I was innocent then
and I'm innocent now. And if to save your wife is a crime, then they
can hang me for it."
- At the new trial (though why there should be
a new trial is never made clear), the judge who presides is the lawyer
who argued against Sunil before. (Lovely conflict of interest, no?)
Sunil makes a speech about how he should have gone ahead and served
his sentence, because he's been paying twofold ever since. The prosecutor
shoots back that Sunil took advantage of the town, and most especially
Deewan and Chandni, and has been enjoying their wealth for the last
five years. Sunil, he says, is a liar, a hypocrite, and a fraud. This
incenses Chandni, who begs to take the stand. She tells the court that
the motive of greed doesn't make sense in regards to Sunil, since in
five years he never showed any interest in Deewan's wealth. Furthermore,
it's likely that Dheeraj Kapoor did try to rape Sonia, since
Chandni herself was a victim of his misogynism. She recounts how he
offered marriage to her, and then, when she became pregnant, discarded
her. "No woman wants to disgrace herself before society, but I'm
doing it because Sunil is innocent. I couldn't forgive myself if I remained
quiet." In light of these revelations, the judge dismisses the
case against Sunil, declaring him a free man. Sonia then invites Chandni
to return home with them, because, as she reminds Sunil, "Rinku
is yours, don't forget." Isn't that nice. Happy platonic-menage-a-trois
ever after. Credits.
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