Tu Sukhkarta (1993)

My Reviews,

Its the time of the year to welcome the elephant God Ganesha / Ganpati and I thought it was apt to write about a movie dedicated to this revered deity. Last year, I has written about Ashtavinayak, a Marathi film which revolved around the believer v/s non-believer theme. Today I am writing about a 90s film, Tu Sukhkarta (loosely translated as someone who gives or brings joy and happiness).

It is primarily a comedy film but gives a message that if you have full faith in your devotion of Ganpati, it can turn difficult challenges into achievable goals. The star cast consists of familiar faces like Ashok Saraf, Nivedita Joshi-Saraf and Laxmikant Berde among others. The film is directed by N. S. Vaidya.

The Plot

The story revolves around the Devbhakta family. Sudhir Joshi is the head of the family. His wife is Nayantara. They stay in a bungalow with their 2 children – Varsha and Manya. We don’t see any servants in the house and both husband and wife spend the whole day at home!

Varsha (Nivedita Saraf), is a science graduate. But she too stays at home immersed in the devotion of Ganpati. She is spiritually inclined. She is a vegetarian, likes to dress in traditional attire and stays away from the latest fashion trends. Her parents want her to get married soon and have been looking for a suitable match. One of the prospective grooms is Mr. Sontakke, a doctor who is moving to the US. But Varsha is rejected because she is not “modern” enough and unfit to settle in the US given her background and beliefs.

Varsha’s father is furious at her. She tries to calm him down stating that if Ganesha wants her to get married, it will happen at the appropriate time. It is the will of the God. But he has had enough. He questions her belief terming it as superstition.

Varsha’s brother is Manohar alias Manya (Laxmikant Berde). He is the working member of the family. His love interest is Aarti (Nishigandha Wad), who has recently completed a nursing course. Aarti’s aunt (played by Ashalata Wabgaonkar) is a dominating character. For some reason she despises men and is against Manya’s marriage with Aarti. This results in a comedy track between the 3 characters.

Aarti’s aunt works a matron in Siddheshwar Clinic run by Dr. Vijay (Sunil Shende). She arranges for Aarti to get a job in the clinic. Vijay is supportive and Aarti is appointed as a nurse.

Vijay is a close friend of Manya and Varsha is like a sister to him. Manya tells him about the marriage proposal rejection. Vijay recommends him a marriage bureau called “Hamkhas Vivah Mandal” which had helped him to get married. Manya immediately goes to the Hamkhas office and registers Varsha’s name. He is told that their representative will pay a visit to Manya’s house.

Dr Vijay’s clinic is called Siddheshwar Clinic whereas the Devbhakta bungalow is named Siddheshwar Niwas. As both are located very close to each other there is a frequent confusion between the patients and visitors of the two parties. This confusion leads to the arrival of a man called Vinayak Vighnaharte (Ashok Saraf) in the Devbhakta bungalow.

The family has been desperately waiting for the marriage bureau representative to visit their house. They mistakenly assume Vinayak as the man they were looking for and welcome him wholeheartedly. Vinayak tries to explain that he is looking for Dr. Vijay but the family assumes he is referring to Vijay’s recommendation of the marriage bureau. Vinayak politely explains that he cannot accept their request to arrange Varsha’s marriage. Manya and his parents are angry at this behaviour. Vinayak is about to leave when he hears Varsha singing a devotional song.

He sees her and is impressed by her simplicity, beauty and singing talent. He is surprised that such a girl is still unmarried. He accepts the challenge to get her married as soon as possible.

He meets her again in a Ganpati temple that she visits regularly. Apparently, Vinayak Vighnaharte is not a believer in spite of his weird name which literally means Lord Ganesha, the supreme leader and the remover of all obstacles and difficulties. But he doesn’t mock her belief. He handles her in a subtle way and convinces her of a makeover. Gone is the traditional attire, and a fashionable Varsha emerges much to the relief of her parents and Manya.

The Devbhakta family is impressed by Varsha’s transformation and Vinayak’s initial success. What remains is getting her to agree to a suitable match. But this is not so easy as Varsha has started liking Vinayak. They spend a lot of time together but Vinayak is reluctant to get close to her. He has his own reason for doing so.

All is fine until one day it is revealed that Vinayak has been diagnosed with a brain tumour. That is the reason he had come to meet Dr Vijay. The diagnosis has been confirmed and he has only a few months to live. The truth is revealed to Manya by accident. He goes to meet Vinayak, who is set to leave the city. He requests Manya not to tell Varsha about the real reason for his sudden departure.

But Varsha gets to know the truth eventually. She agrees to get married but the groom has to be Vinayak. She has full faith in her Lord and he will help them in this crisis. Can divine intervention cure a terminal disease?

There is another unexpected revelation made about Vinayak’s background (hint: Aarti’s aunt).

Where will this lead to? Will Varsha and Vinayak be able to unite? Will Varsha’s devotion be successful? The answer lies in the hands of the almighty Ganpati.

The Music

The songs are written by Shantaram Nandgaonkar and Varsha Desai. The music is credited to Amar Amit S. The playback singers are famous names like Ravindra Sathe, Uttara Kelkar, Vinay Mandke and Sudesh Bhosle among others. Unfortunately, the songs are forgettable and fail to leave an impact. There is a medley of Hindi film songs as well. Wish they had done it comprising of Marathi songs.

My Thoughts

The film is partly saved thanks to the casting. Ashok Saraf, Laxmikant Berde, Sudhir Joshi are entertaining as always. The women provide able support. Nivedita Saraf performs the predictable role comfortably. The songs and background music could have been better.

Tu Sukhkarta is an entertaining film until it reaches the point when the truth about Vinayak’s life threatening diagnosis is revealed. After that the plot stretches and things get boring. The sub plot involving Vinayak’s background doesn’t add anything meaningful. It would have been good if the movie had ended 30 minutes earlier. The climax seems clumsy and rushed. The film does not present the conflict of the believer v/s the non-believer. It relies more on the “your devotion will not go unnoticed” angle.

Imtihan (1974)

My Reviews,

Imtihan meaning examination or test was a commercially successful movie from the 70s. The film was produced by B A Chandiramani and directed by Madan Sinha. It tells the story of a young man who leaves his rich and comfortable background to take up a job as a lecturer in a college. His tricky experiences in the new role test his resolve time and again. How he tackles them forms the core plot of the movie. Imtihan attempts a different theme compared to the other films of its time. Vinod Khanna, Tanuja and Bindu play the key characters.

The Plot

Pramod Sharma (Vinod Khanna) is the son of a rich man (played by Murad). Pramod is all suited up with a suitcase in hand to leave his father’s bungalow. He has got the job of a lecturer in Adarsh Mahavidyalaya (college). The father is angry because he has been slogging to earn money all his life in the hope that his son will take over the family business. But his son wants to give up everything to work as an ordinary teacher. Pramod counters that for him money is not the focus rather he would like to distribute his knowledge gained among others. The father begs him to stop and reconsider his decision but Pramod has already decided his life’s mission.

The titles roll and the inspirational song Ruk jaana nahi tu kahi haar ke plays in the background. Pramod reaches the college and meets the principal (Abhi Bhattacharya). As they make a tour of the college, the principal introduces Pramod to Rita Sharma (Bindu) who is the chairman’s daughter. Rita’s reaction conveys she is awestruck by the handsome Pramod.

Rita is an important character. She dresses stylishly in modern bold clothes and her arrival in college is considered a happening event by the male students. Everyone vies for her attention probably because of her looks and influence. This behaviour is disgusting and sums up the general condition of the college.

The overaged students look as if they have been spending too many years in the college. They dress in terrible clothes and have no regard for their tutors or studies. They openly throw objects like tomatoes on their professors and play music when the lecture is in progress. The professors (like Asit Sen and C S Dubey) suffer this treatment meekly. No wonder the students have to resolve to mass scale copying during exams. In case they are caught, they openly threaten the invigilator by pulling up a knife. This is the sorry state of affairs. The college is not adarsh in any way! Wonder what the principal has been doing all these years.

Pramod has a tough task on his hand. His colleagues warn him to be careful but he is confident to step in the classroom and get on with his work as a history lecturer. The class is waiting for him to give him the most memorable welcome. But Pramod is ready. He tackles their maneuvers like a skilled player, leaving them impressed. Most importantly, he teaches a lesson to Rakesh (Abhijeet Sen).

Rakesh is the college bully. He has a say in everything and is engaged in illegal activities like supplying liqour, drugs, explicit photos of girls etc. The students are scared to oppose him. His close friend is Paul (Ranjeet in a special appearance), a photographer who aids him in his illegal activities. Rakesh is not amused when he becomes a laughing stock courtesy of Pramod. He is itching to teach a lesson to Pramod.

The story cannot be complete without a love angle. The principal has a daughter Madhu (Tanuja), a heartbroken character. Madhu was once a chirpy student and ace painter. She was in love with an air force officer. Unfortunately, one day, news come in that his plane has crashed. Madhu is unable to bear the news and falls down the stairs. The physical and emotional turmoil is too much for her. Due to the accident, she walks with a limp in one leg. She has given up painting and remains immersed in her own world.

The arrival of Pramod brings a tinge of positivity in her life. Pramod lectures her to admire the beauty around her and suggests her to start painting again. She is resentful but thaws gradually. She starts liking his company. She convinces him to be pose as a model for her painting (she is good at portraits). He agrees leading to some funny moments. He doesn’t have the patience to pose as a model and she is fed up with giving him instructions to stay composed and maintain the pose!

Pramod is instrumental in bringing her out of her self imposed shell. She starts visiting the college campus and interacting with the students. Many of the students are happy to have her in their midst. What follows is Madhu’s acknowledgment of a change in her life. She sings the memorable Roz shaam aati thi in the company of Pramod.

With one exception – Rita. Rita is infatuated by Pramod. She tries multiple ways to get closer to him. Strangely, he doesn’t tell her outright that she is a student and needs to stay within her limits. She could have been given an official warning but that doesn’t happen. Rita resents Madhu’s presence in Pramod’s life. A day comes when she realises that Pramod has fallen for Madhu and she has no chance of gaining his love. She is consumed by a bitter jealousy and vindictiveness and will do anything to teach a befitting lesson to Pramod.

This is the opportunity Rakesh had been waiting for. He poison’s Rita’s mind. The students are set to go on a college trip to a historical site. Pramod will be accompanying them. This is where Rita executes her plan and lures Pramod into a trap in the middle of the night. She accuses Pramod of molesting her. Everyone believes Rita and Pramod faces suspension from the college.

Will Pramod accept his fate or make an attempt to clear his name? Will his ideals help him to overcome the allegations? The exciting climax reveals the outcome.

The Music

The film has only 4 songs. They are written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, with music by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Ruk jaana nahin (Kishore Kumar) and Roz shaam aati thi (Lata Mangeshkar) are the well known songs. The other songs are Dekho idhar bhi jaane tamanna (by Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar) which is a kind of face off between the 2 female characters. Then there is the over the top erotic number Bujhade jal gayi (Asha Bhosle).

My Thoughts

I was expecting a film where the new lecturer is successful in reforming the rowdy students and endearing himself to them. Unfortunately it falls short on these expectations. Rakesh doesn’t change and Rita almost succeeds in her mission to defame Pramod. The ending is a bit ambiguous. What is Pramod’s state of mind? Does he consider himself at least partly successful in achieving what he had seeked?

Vinod Khanna shines as the idealistic lecturer. He has a commanding screen presence with his acting and looks. His chemistry with Tanuja is lacking. Bindu has a meaty role and gives her best. The student characters are irritating to watch. Overall, in spite of its shortcomings, the film makes for an interesting watch and leaves its impact.

The Tower (1993)

My Reviews,

English cinema has a long history of horror films and they always come up with interesting ideas to scare the audience. Some work, some don’t. The Tower was a made for TV movie from the early 1990s. It explores the techno-horror genre. It was written by John Riley and directed by Richard Kletter.

A “Tower”, a high rise building is the central character of the movie. It is a “smart” office building run by artificial intelligence. It is designed in a way to ensure it safeguards itself from all things it perceives as a threat and proceeds to eliminate or “delete” the threat by the use of technology. That is the central theme of the movie. Is your workplace really safe in the world of AI? That is perhaps the question posed in this movie.

The Plot

The film begins with a terrifying scene. A harmless bird is perched on top of the tower. The tower perceives it as a threat to security and kills it with the help of the ventilation system. “Security Breach Deleted” is the message displayed on the computer screen.

This is an introduction to the Tower, which is a “smart” building with state of the art features. It makes use of Artificial Intelligence to smoothly run the building’s operations and detect and delete any security threat.

The Tower is the headquarters of a company called Intercorp. Its 6.00 a.m. and time to open the offices. Mr Wilson (Richard Grant), the security in-charge walks in. He is greeted by CAS (Cybernetic Access Structure), which is the main computer in the basement of the building. It “talks” and sounds like a modern virtual assistant (Alexa!).

Wilson activates all the security zones in the building. CAS gives the time and temperature and all sundry information that you can request if you have the correct code (like baseball scores and so on). CAS waters the plants and fills up the coffee machines. Wilson enjoys his coffee while CAS does the work! That’s the advantage of a smart building.

CAS confirms all is O.K. but this is going to change soon with the arrival of a new employee.

Meet Tony Minot (Paul Reiser). He is a musician by profession but has been forced to take up a proper job (the reason is not clear). It is his first day at Intercorp and he is leaving his flat to drive to the Tower. He forgets his flat keys and opens the door by inserting the access card issued by Intercorp. This action damages the card slightly.

He reaches Intercorp Tower in his car. He needs to swipe his card to enter the parking area. He swipes it but the system fails to read it properly. But Tony is a resourceful guy. He follows another car and quickly rushes inside before the barrier comes down. In other words he tailgates which is a violation. He parks the car. CAS tells him that he needs to move his car to its assigned place but he doesn’t know where it is.

Apparently, there was an orientation video which he was supposed to watch but he doesn’t consider it important. As evident, he is a reckless guy who doesn’t care much of rules and regulations. He leaves the car as is and enters the office reception. He meets Wilson and tells him his name and that he is the new joiner in Business Research department. Wilson is already aware of the parking violation. He checks the access card and confirms it should work fine.

Tony waits downstairs while Linda Ferillo (Susan Norman) comes to meet him. She works in Human Resources and was apparently responsible for securing him the job. He is thankful to her and gives her a gift. She doesn’t care and tells him clearly that he needs to follow all the rules from dress code to everything else when he is in the Tower. Else he will get a security violation. This is not acceptable to Little Hill (Roger Rees), the owner of Intercorp. Hill’s office is on the top floor.

Tony tells her that he knows his way with computers. Linda counters that he doesn’t how smart the building is. It would be good if he abides by the rules. He has never dealt with something as intelligent as CAS. Linda accompanies him to his work station. She helps him to activate voice recognition on his work PC, so he can talk to CAS and give any instructions. He asks CAS to play music and make coffee. He is genuinely amazed when the instructions are completed. He starts scratching his face with the access card. Linda warns him to stop doing that. He will be literally helpless if anything happens to the card.

An employee comes and informs Tony that Mr Hill is expecting him. He like to meet new employees on their first day. Mr Hill is the ruthless businessman character. He hands Tony an empty file and asks him to fill it up with some useful details. After the meeting, Tony boards the elevator to go down to his office. To pass the time (and tease CAS!), he keeps inserting and removing the card in the elevator slot and tries to “chat” with CAS. He just thinks it as a game for the sake of confusing CAS. Unknown to him he is being marked for “elevator violation.” That is violation no. 2 after the parking incident. He has been classified by CAS as a “Security Risk.”

Tony continues to be the “bad boy” in school. He is whiling away his time. He inserts his own music chip in the office PC. In doing so, he uses the access card to fix the chip in place. Linda reminds him that this will be another violation and he better remove it before things get escalated. But its too late. CAS has noted it as another violation (System Invasion == Possible Intruder). Tony continues with his disregard of rules and the violations keep piling.

The day has ended and Tony has a date. But Mr Hill has other plans. He sends him a handful of files to be worked upon as soon as possible. That means Tony will have to stay till late in the night to complete the task. Tony is not amused. Wilson is leaving for the day. The security is put on Night Mode. He notices that Tony is still in the office and goes to investigate.

Tony is on his way to Hill’s office but his card is not working properly. Wilson comes and inserts Tony’s card to access the elevator. CAS immediately marks him (i.e. Tony) for deletion. It has had enough with all the violations tagged to this employee. CAS assumes that Tony has entered the elevator and proceeds to “delete” the threat called Tony. As a result Wilson gets brutally crushed by the elevator doors courtesy of CAS. That shows the shortcoming of CAS. It can only sense the intruder’s presence. It is unable to rely on facial recognition.

Tony is trying to figure out how to go to Hill’s office when Hill comes down the stairs. He tells Tony that he always uses the stairs. Poor Tony has no choice but to follow Hill all along the way to the top by climbing the stairs. He tries to tell Hill that there is some problem with the way CAS behaves but Hill is in no mood to listen. For him, CAS is the most reliant system. They reach the office. Hill is preparing for a sauna bath (yes, he has a sauna in his office). He tells Tony to set the sauna temperature. Tony inserts the card and sets the temperature. But CAS sees this as another violation. Apparently it realises that the intruder is still alive and marks him for deletion again. Hill tells Tony to go to his office, work on the assigned task and come back with the answers.

Hill enters the sauna. (Tony tries to use the elevator, is unsuccessful and reenters Hill’s office.) Meanwhile, CAS is trying to eliminate Tony. It has assumed that Tony has entered the sauna and starts increasing the temperature to dangerous levels. Tony is horrified to see that Hill is trapped inside the sauna. The door has been locked by CAS. He tries everything including calling the police. But he cannot save Hill as the sauna door explodes due to excessive heat. Tony enters the sauna and CAS senses his presence. Tony realises the sauna itself is about to explode and slides down through a pipe to save himself.

This is just the beginning. CAS cannot stand his presence and will do everything to kill him. Will it be successful? Later Linda returns to the building and both are trapped in the deserted building. They try everything to thwart the attempts by CAS.

Will CAS be successful in eliminating Tony? Can he beat the system?

The Music

There is nothing much to write about the music. It tries to be sinister but is repetitive and boring.

My Thoughts

The Tower is good as a concept and the result could have been better. Its not the big studio mega budget movie so the central character’s actions seem toned down. The building’s response could have been faster to make it look like the terrifying pursuer that one would expect it to be – “delete at all costs”. CAS is smart but it does not have facial recognition capability. That is a big design flaw. Still it manages to create a sense of fear in the minds of the protagonists.

Acting wise, the lead Paul Reiser is irritating to say the least. He needs the job but is not ready to adhere to the rules from the first minute. Why would he have this approach is not explained.

Overall, the film is entertaining and raises the question of over reliance on AI which remains relevant today.