Fantastic Voyage (1966)

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Films based on science fiction have been popular in English cinema. Special effects are an important feature of such movies. If done properly, they impress the audience and leave an impact. Fantastic Voyage (FV) is one such film. It is a fantasy plot where a group of people undertake a dangerous mission and travel inside the human body. They have one hour to complete the mission or the consequence will be disastrous. The plot majorly focuses on the challenges and experiences faced in their mission. Not to forget the visual extravaganza they have for company in the complex uncharted territory.

The film is based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. It was adapted as a novel by Isaac Asimov (interestingly, the book got published prior to the films release due to delays in the film’s completion). Richard Fleischer directed the movie. The film received 5 Oscar (Academy Award) nominations and won 2 awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction in Color.

The Plot

The film begins with the landing of a plane in the United States. Grant (Stephen Boyd) has arrived with a scientist named Jan Benes (Jean Del Val) who has defected to the USA. The scientist’s specialization is miniaturization (the process of shrinking people or objects). Currently, scientists in the USA are able to achieve miniaturization for only an hour. Apparently, Benes is able to do it indefinitely. This path breaking discovery will enable the USA to have an edge over its enemy (the country name is not revealed but it is obvious!).

Benes leaves the airport with full security. But the convoy is attacked with the intention of killing him. He is quickly rescued but he develops a blood clot in his brain and goes into a coma. He is currently lying in a medical facility at the Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces (CMDF) waiting to be operated upon to remove the clot. Unfortunately, the clot cannot be removed through a normal surgical procedure.

In a planned fantastic procedure, a team of specialists will travel “inside” the human body and operate on the clot.

Grant is a secret agent and asked to join this surgical mission. Apparently, it is suspected that someone from the mission will aim to kill Benes. Grant’s job is to ensure this doesn’t happen and Benes is saved.

So, Grant is brought to CMDF whose location seems to be a heavily guarded secret. He is met by General Carter (Edmond O’Brien) who is overseeing the mission with Colonel Reid (Arthur O’Connell). Carter explains the role of CMDF etc to Grant and shares details of the mission.

Carter explains the plan to shrink a submarine with 5 people on board. The submarine will be injected into Benes’s body. It will travel to the location of the blood clot, allowing the surgeons to perform the operation (by shooting the clot with a laser). All this is too fantastic for Grant to digest. He does not how to react but there is no time to lose.

There is a quick briefing session and we are introduced to the other members of the team. Captain Bill Owens (Willliam Redfield), a Navy officer will be responsible for operating the submarine. Dr. Michaels (Donald Pleasence) is the head of the medical team and circulatory specialist who will pinpoint the submarine’s exact location. And finally surgeon Dr. Peter Duval (Arthur Kennedy), and his assistant Cora Peterson (Raquel Welch) who would perform the actual operation with the laser.

So, the team is all set. They enter the submarine called Proteus and are miniaturized. They are able to communicate with the control room through wireless messages. Proteus is powered by a microscopic nuclear particle, enabling its location in the bloodstream to be tracked from outside by using a radioactive tracer.

But it is not smooth sailing all the way. At the very beginning, Dr Michaels feels claustrophobic and tries to leave the Proteus. He has to be caught and calmed down.

More problems are on the way. The team has to pass through the heart which is not a part of the original plan. For this, the heart has to be stopped by inducing cardiac arrest. Otherwise the sheer vibrations from the beating action of the heart will impact and possibly destroy Proteus.

They also face a sudden loss of oxygen. Grant volunteers to arrange the oxygen by pumping into the lungs! An innovative idea given the ready supply of oxygen available. He almost gets blown away but is rescued by the others.

Then the laser is found to be damaged and Dr Duval and Cora have to think of repairing the laser with the available resources. Grant realizes there is a sabouteur on board who will ensure the mission fails at all costs.

And the clock is ticking! They have only an hour to complete the mission. If not, the submarine will expand, killing Benes one way or the other. They are also up against the body’s natural defense mechanism which releases anti bodies if it detects an intruder. They have to navigate wisely without attracting attention.

The suspense is maintained till the end as the team deals with one obstacle after the other. In the midst of all this, they are treated to the inside view of the human body that no one else has encountered before.

The Music

The score was composed and conducted by Leonard Rosenman. It complements the events on the screen as the Proteus traverses through the human body. There are moments of wonder, anxiety in equal measure supported by the background music.

My Thoughts

I had watched FV a long time back and was impressed by the special effects. Today, they may not look very impressive with CGI and green screens but it is still a visual delight. Specially impressive are the lung sequence and the attack by the anti bodies/ white cells.

The plot is too fantastic but the film maintains its seriousness throughout to make it believable. All the actors are good including the villain who is eventually revealed and meets a horrifying end. Looking back, it is a 60 year old movie but definitely worth a watch.

Khudgarz (1987)

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Khudgarz was the directorial debut of Rakesh Roshan. Khudgarz means “selfish” or “self interested” and is the story of 2 friends played by Jeetendra and Shatrughan Sinha. Typically, one is rich while the other is of the illiterate and poor villager type. In spite of the differences in their background, they are thick friends. A series of misunderstandings leads to cracks in their friendship and has a long term impact on their relationship.

The plot may seem predictable but it has its moments. It was a success at the box office and established Rakesh Roshan as a successful producer and director. Apparently, he thought the letter K was lucky and named his subsequent films beginning with “K.” To name a few, there were Khoon Bhari Maang (1988), Kishen Kanhaiya (1990), Khel (1992), King Uncle (1993), Karan Arjun (1995) and Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai (2000).

The Plot

Amar Saxena (Master Rinku) is the only son of a rich hotelier Brij Bhushan Saxena (Saeed Jaffrey). Amar’s mother has passed away. He longs for his father’s company who is always busy in his work. Brij Bhushan is a calculative man looking for some gain in his every action.

One day, Amar is going in his car when the driver accidentally splashes mud on a boy called Bihari – Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha (Master Javed). An angry Bihari throws a stone and shatters the car’s rear glass. Amar steps out and the boys get into a fight rolling in the mud. Bihari’s sister Lalita calls her mother (Sushma Seth), who stops the boys.

Things are sorted out. Bihari’s mother tells Amar that he is also like a son to her. Amar starts visiting the family regularly. He develops a close friendship with Bihari and treats Lalita as his sister. Every year, Lalita ties a rakhi on the wrists of both her brothers. The 2 boys are inseparable and this is underlined with the song Zindagi ka naam dosti (featuring Rishi Kapoor in a cameo).

The boys grow up, played by Jeetendra (Amar) and Shatrughan Sinha (Bihari). Their friendship continues. Amar handles his father’s hotel business. Bihari owns a small restaurant/hotel next to his house. He also owns a tract of prime land in front of his house. He has got many offers but he has no interest in selling the land and happy to live a simple life with his family.

Some time is spent on the romantic tracks of the friends. Amar is in love with a girl Jaya (Bhanupriya), who works as a florist. After some initial hiccups, they get married. Brij Bhushan is not amused as Jaya is not from a rich family but respects his son’s wishes.

Bihari is attracted to Lata (Amrita Singh) who works as a construction worker. After an irritating track and with Amar’s helping hand, they admit their love for each other.

Brij Bhushan plans to gift a 5 star hotel to Amar as a marriage gift. The problem is the land on the proposed site is owned by Bihari. Amar goes to meet Bihari with the proposal – he will continue to own the land and the profits of the hotel will be shared 50:50 by both the parties.

Bihari is more than willing to help Amar. But Brij Bhushan is a shrewd businessman. He makes Bihari “sign” documents to give up his ownership of the land. Bihari is an illiterate man and readily gives his thumb impression on the documents. Amar is unaware of this move.

The hotel is ready. On the inauguration day, the chief guest (played by Abhi Bhattacharya) points out to Bihari’s house and hotel on the premises which is an eyesore. Brij Bhushan tells him that it will be taken care of soon. Amar is busy attending Bihari’s wedding (on the same day).

Sudhir (Kiran Kumar) is a close confidante of Brij Bhushan and a corrupt man. He raises the issue of demolishing Bihari’s house and hotel. Brij Bhushan knows this is difficult and seeks Amar’s help.

Amar goes to meet Bihari and promises a huge house and hotel in return of demolishing his property. Bihari is totally against the demolition. The house is the result of his father’s blood and sweat and he will continue to live in it. Amar tries to convince him that he should change for the better but Bihari is in no mood to listen and slaps Amar. This is the first sign of a strain in their friendship. Later, Amar gets drunk and can barely remember what happened after his meeting with Bihari.

Brij Bhushan and Sudhir are waiting for this opportunity. They proceed with the demolition on the same night. Bihari is shattered and goes to confront Amar. Amar claims that he doesn’t know anything about the demolition. Sudhir intervenes and tells him that this action was taken on his advice. Amar is unable to recall the conversation as he was drunk.

Bihari blames Amar for his plight and lectures him. This is one of the most important scenes of the film. He challenges Amar that he will compete with him and build his own hotel business.

Circumstances lead to Bihari and Sudhir joining hands. Unfortunately, Bihari does not know Sudhir’s real character and starts trusting him. Bihari manages to obtain a loan from the bank and begin his journey of being a successful businessman. He doesn’t miss any opportunity to compete with Amar, be it an auction or the hotelier association’s presidential election.

Meanwhile, Lalita’s marriage is arranged with Sudhir. Amar and Jaya (who is pregnant) are attacked as they try to reach the marriage venue. Jaya gets seriously injured. She delivers a boy and passes away in the hospital. Bihari’s mother goes to offer her condolences hoping that things will improve between Amar and Bihari.

But that is not to be. The rivalry between Amar and Bihari continues. Years pass and Bihari and Lata have a daughter. Amar and Bihari’s children (played by Govinda and Neelam in a special appearance) fall in love. But they have to overcome the hurdle of their respective fathers.

Will the children help their fathers to reconcile? Will things be normal between the ex-friends? Will Sudhir be exposed?

The Music

The songs were written by Indivar and composed by Rajesh Roshan. The Zindagi ka naam dosti track appears thrice. The most popular song is Aap Ke Aa Jaane Se picturized on Govinda and Neelam.

My Thoughts

Khudgarz is a well made film of its time but may appear boring today. It talks about friendship being over and above everything else. It has a typical family drama feel of the 80s. Nevertheless it was instrumental in establishing Rakesh Roshan as a successful director, who went to make some interesting films on different subjects. He is also credited with the story idea of Khudgarz.

Jeetendra and Shatrughan Sinha are good in their roles but don’t appear convincing as young men. They are more suitable in their older avatars. You are reminded of similarities with Jeffrey Archer’s Kane and Abel novel when the two bitter rivals take on each other and their children get romantically involved in spite of knowing their fathers will not approve.

Bhanupriya looks and behaves like Sridevi! It is strange that Amrita Singh agreed to play Neelam’s mother’s role so early in her career. The rest of the cast perform as required. Kadar Khan appears in an unwanted comedy side plot. Music wise, the song Aap ke aa jaane se has retained its popularity.

Ina Mina Dika (1989)

My Reviews

What happens if someone looks at a photo and the person or object in the photo materialises in front of you? The Marathi film Ina Mina Dika is based on this fantasy. It is a comedy film starring Ashok Saraf, Prashant Damle, Archana Patkar, Rekha Rao and Sudhir Joshi. Archana Patkar had produced the film while Raju Parsekar was the director. As evident, the title is borrowed from the famous song Ina Mina Dika from Aasha (1957). There was also a Hindi film Eena Meena Deeka (1994), but based on a different plot.

The Plot

Vasudeo Inamdar (Prashant Damle) is known as Ina. Ina works as a clerk in an office on a meager salary. He is not known for his efficiency. He sleeps in the office and commits some blunders like dispatching a consignment of apples to Kashmir! No wonder, the apples are sent back, leading to the frustration of his boss Mr. J D Shahane (Viju Khote). Shahane vents out his fury on Ina and orders the loss to be recovered from his salary each month.

Ina’s wife is Shalu/Shalini (Archana Patkar). They had a love marriage but Shalu is frustrated because Ina is unable to fulfill any of her wishes. The items on her wish list include a colour TV, refrigerator, steel cupboard and so on. She is a dominating character and knows how to have her way.

Without informing Ina, she brings a colour TV home on instalment basis. Ina is angry and helpless at Shalu’s behaviour but she is no mood to listen. He tells her he does not have the resources to fulfill her demands. He sees a Mehmood song playing on the TV – Main marne chala hoon. Drawing inspiration, Ina attempts suicide by putting a rope around his neck and hanging from the ceiling fan in the kitchen. Unfortunately the rope is flimsy and he falls down. Shalu rushes to see what happened.

Ina is admitted to the hospital. His close friend Mina (Ashok Saraf) comes to visit him. His full name is Digambar Minapure. He explains in detail the origin of Ina’s and Mina’s short names. Mina is a car mechanic but he is shown flirting with girls rather than enjoying the company of cars.

In one such scene, he attempts to flirt with a girl when her car breaks down. The girl intends to teach him a lesson and summons her friends. They gang up and start beating Mina. He is saved by Laxmi (Rekha Rao), a tiffin delivery girl (dabbewali) by profession. As expected, there will be a romantic track between the two.

Ina is recovering but a new complication enters his life. If he looks at a photo and falls asleep, the person or object in the photo will come to life in his dreams. This happens for the first time in the hospital, when he looks at the girl in the calendar. This is Sonika, a film actress (played by Anuradha Patel). She comes alive, fondles him and also sings a song. It takes some time for Ina to realize his “problem” and convince others that he is speaking the truth. This leads to some hilarious experiences. Ina sees his childhood photo, falls asleep, and the young Ina comes to meet him.

Later, to convince Mina, he looks at a painting of Narasimha and the man-lion avatar materialises and attempts to kill Mina. Ina wakes up in time and Mina is saved (as the avatar vanishes when the dream breaks).

Shalu is concerned about Ina’s problem and goes to a psychiatrist Dr D’costa (Sudhir Joshi) for consultation. He agrees to meet and treat Ina. Ina names him Dr. “Dika”. But Dika is a crooked character. He is engaged in some criminal activities like drug trading and distribution. He sees an opportunity to earn easy money with Ina’s assistance.

He makes Ina look at a photo of currency notes and then hypnotises him to fall asleep. As expected, money materialises from thin air. His plan is ready.

Dika manipulates Shalu and convinces her to help him in his money generation scheme by using Ina’s special ability. Shalu is reluctant but agrees when he promises that she can have all the luxuries she had been wishing for. The scheme is successful. The only catch is the money will disappear as soon as Ina wakes up. Through proper planning, Dika manages to procure the money and spend it before it vanishes. Poor Ina is subjected to prolonged periods of induced sleep.

But Mina is suspicious of Dr Dika. Through chance meetings, he knows about the man’s character and is worried about Ina. With the help of Laxmi (who is now his wife), he decides to expose the doctor and save his friend.

Will he be successful? And what about Shalu? Will she let go of her greed and enjoy a normal life with Ina?

The Music

The music by Shrikant Telang is good but the songs don’t contribute much to the story. Sudesh Bhosle, Uttara Kelkar and Jayshree Shivram lend their voices to Shantaram Nandgaonkar’s lyrics.

My Thoughts

The film works mostly because of its casting. Ashok Saraf is impeccable in his timing and reactions. Prashant Damle and Archana Patkar are perfect as the quarreling husband and wife. Sudhir Joshi plays the vile cum comedy character of the doctor convincingly.

The fantasy scenes could have been more exciting but this would be because of budget constraints. Some of the comedy scenes are stretched, the Ashok Saraf and Rekha Rao track could have been trimmed. There are masala elements like a cameo from a Hindi actress (Anuradha Patel), a seduction song between Shalu and the doctor, and the climax chase sequence shot in Goa to keep the viewer engaged. Overall, a decent effort!