All posts by GGaurav

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About GGaurav

I am passionate about old movies, songs and trivia.

Dillagi (1978)

My Reviews,

Dillagi is a Basu Chatterjee directed movie based on a Bengali story. The movie can be termed a sweet and simple story with hardly any twist or turn. In comparison to some of his other classic movies, this one is a pale offering.

The Plot

Dillagi opens with a new lecturer arriving in a new lecturer Swarnakamal/Kamal (Dharmendra) arriving in a girls college. He is a Sanskrit teacher. On the very first day he has a funny interaction with some students. He also meets Phoolrenu/Renu (Hema Malini), the Chemistry lecturer. Kamal is a bachelor who falls in love with Renu at first sight!

But Renu is made up of a different material. A no non-sense and disciplinarian personality. First of all she doesn’t like Kamal teaching the girl students romantic dramas of Kalidas etc terming it as a bad influence. She is also the hostel warden and would expect the students to behave in a normal and controlled manner, meaning no time for entertainment and ensure full concentration on studies. The students have nicknamed her carbon and carbon dioxide because of her properties! Needless to say she has no interest in romance or respond to Kamal’s romantic overtures time and again.

The students have started calling Kamal as “jijajee.” Among the staff, Geeta (Mithu Mukherjee) admonishes Renu on her dry romantic life but Renu tells her she is happy as she is. Renu has a widowed mother and younger brother Ramesh (Asrani) in Kashipur. She will get married after her brother’s marriage.

Meanwhile Kamal’s efforts to woo Renu continue but not even the arrival of Basant ritu (season) and Holi festival will bring any change in Renu’s colorless romantic disposition! She doesn’t like his advances and would like him to leave the college at the earliest. She rejects his offer to act in the college’s silver jubilee function. Kamal selects Geeta to play the role of Shakuntala with him as Dushyant. Renu does feel a bit jealous when she sees Kamal and Geeta’s romantic duet on stage. Are these the first seeds of change?

The summer holidays arrive and Renu leaves for her hometown Kashipur. Kamal informs her he will come to visit her. His sister stays in the same town. While Renu doesn’t show much interest, she eagerly waits for his arrival.

Is this change for the better? Will Renu mellow down and will a chemistry develop between the opposite elements?

The Music

The songs are written by Yogesh and music by Rajesh Roshan. The tunes are melodious but none too memorable.

My Thoughts

The film is not boring but there is expectation of some drama which unfortunately does not happen. There is a bit of twist in the end when Renu selects another college lecturer as her prospective groom and later realises it is not Kamal. The interactions between Kamal and Renu are worth watching and indeed the 2 lead characters share great chemistry on screen.

It is fun to watch Dharmendra play such a toned down character (similar to Chupke Chupke (1975)) which is different from his regular image. He brings out the Sanskrit teacher character brilliantly frequently bursting out in Sanskrit in front of the heroine which she dislikes. Wish he had done such more such roles showing his flair for light comedy. Hema Malini complements him, (and yes, talks in a very Hema Malini special accent!).

Other cast are adequate including Mithu Mukherjee, Asrani with Shatrughan Sinha and Deven Verma in special appearances.

Aatmavishwas (1989)

My Reviews,

Aatmavishwas (meaning Self Confidence) is a Marathi language movie written, produced and directed by Sachin. Sachin is known for his comedy movies like Navri Mile Navryala, Gammat Jammat and Ashi Hi Banwabanwi. So it comes as a surprise when he attempts a different serious movie.

The Plot

The movie is a multi starrer that revolves around Mrs Aarti Mangalkar (Neelkantee Patekar) and her family. Aarti is presented as a non glamorous next door middle aged neighbour. She has no say in her family’s matters. Everyone takes her for granted. Her whole day is spent “serving” her family.

The movie begins with Aarti arriving home. On the way she meets her disturbed neighbour Raju Ratnaparkhi (Sachin) living in the downstairs flat with his uncle and aunt. Raju’s parents have died in an accident when he was a child leaving him vulnerable with a long lasting impact. Aarti is one of the few people kind to Raju.

She continues with her daily routine at home. Everyone is engrossed in their matters and living on their terms. Her husband (Madhukar Toradmal) had his own press which unfortunately burnt down. He is forced to work under his erstwhile employee by swallowing his pride. Elder son Abhay (Prashant Damle) and daughter in law (Archana Patkar) want to move to their own flat. Her daughter Ashwini (Kishori Shahane) is in the last year of college and romantically involved with Vijay Zende (Ashok Saraf). The youngest son Ajinkya (Sunil Barve) does everything except studying for his 12th board exams. 

Things are moving at their own pace when Aarti meets her childhood friend Vasanti (Daya Dongre) at the bus stop one day. Vasanti has recently returned from South Africa with her doctor husband and now settled blissfully in India. She regales Aarti about her happy married life which is a total contrast to Aarti’s situation. Aarti is forced to admit her wretched life where she has no value in her own house. Vasanti is shocked to hear this as her friend had helped her gain self confidence during their childhood especially when she was thinking of taking a drop during the all important board exams.

Things reach a point when Aarti’s family decide to sell their flat in Dadar and move to Kandivali. Aarti is aghast as she is the rightful owner of the flat (her mother in-law had willed her the flat). She is not ready to sell off the legacy of her in-laws for the selfish motives of her family. But she does not have the strength to oppose her family’s decision.

A desperate Aarti contacts Vasanti and voices her concern leading to the twist in the tale. Vasanti tells her she knows a “mantra” she had learnt in South Africa which enables 2 people to exchange personalities. Vasanti’s outgoing personality will help to instill some self confidence in Aarti. A reluctant Aarti believes this and agrees to go ahead with the exchange. After an intense “exchange” session, we see a confident Aarti emerging ready to take on her family and anyone who stands in her way.

She tells her family she is not willing to sell the flat and tears the agreement papers. She soon takes charge of the house making everyone toe her line.

How long does this continue? Will her family accept the sudden change? And what about her exchanged personality, is this a permanent change?

The Music

The music by Arun Paudwal is catchy with 3 tracks. A stage duet “Re mann me tula” picturised on Ashok Saraf and Kishori Shahane. Another duet between Sachin & Varsha Usgaonkar (Aali jaag soniyachya). And finally an offbeat track “Sanga majhya lekila” picturised on Ashalata Wabgaonkar in a cameo.

My Thoughts

Sachin has taken a big gamble by making a different movie focusing on a female protagonist. Neelkantee Patekar performs brilliantly and bounds the multiple threads in the movie. She stands out among the other better-known stars. Her transition from a meek lady to the stronger “exchanged personality” seems believable. Again, credit to Sachin for making this so believable without any over the top scenes and melodrama. The supporting cast offer good support and their characters are well etched out. Ashok Saraf once again proves his versatility and is a delight to watch.

The only sore point might be the Sachin – Varsha Usgaonkar track. It doesn’t add much to the story except highlighting a social issue and Sachin gets to show his dancing and singing prowess in a romantic dream song. Some filmy touches could have been avoided.

But these are minor quibbles in an otherwise intense and highly watchable movie.

Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool (1969)

My Reviews, , , , , , , , , ,

Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool (ABGP) is based on a Marathi play by writer Vasant Kanetkar and is presented by Ashok Kumar. His brother Anoop Kumar is the producer and direction by Satyen Bose. ABGP is a tale of principles, the right way and the wrong way. What happens if your life long principles crash in an instant? Where does this lead you?

The Plot

Principal Vidyanand (Ashok Kumar) is the “adarshwadi” college principal. He was appointed by the current trustee Seth Dharamdas’s father on account of his honest and non-corrupt nature. He has dedicated his life to the well being of the college. The vice principal Shyam Rao (Anoop Kumar) has been Vidyanand’s protégé and is like a family member. Vidyanand’s wife Sumitra (Nirupa Roy) is a doctor. And he has a not so shareef friend Shambhu (Pran) with a third wife Neelam (Helen).

Things are happy going. Vidyanand and Sumitra have lost their own son and treat the college children as their own. 

There is an extra smart student Chandrashekhar/Chandu (Deb Mukherjee) who keeps playing new pranks like coming to college on a donkey. He is a poor boy who aims to be educated as well as rich one day. His love interest is played by Krishna (Alka). The other professors are fed up of Chandu’s antics and complain to Vidyanand.

Vidyanand has a strong conversation with Chandu regarding his ongoing education and future plans. He admonishes him of his casual approach towards education and money. He has to be clear of his life’s ambition and how to pursue it. The dialogue between Vidyanand and Chandu is one of the more impactful scenes of the movie.

Later, Chandu is selected for police training and leaves the city. He is happy he has found new parents in the form of the kindly principal and his wife. And has assurance from Krishna she will wait for his return and they can get married. Which they do!

But things cant be calm for long. Seth Dharamdas (Raj Mehra) is the college trustee and main antagonist. He wants a free hand in the running of the college and invest in new buildings meaning more profit. But Vidyanand is not agreeable as the building contractor is Dharamdas’s close relative with a dubious reputation who was recently involved in a newly constructed building’s collapse.

One thing leads to the other. Dharamdas manages to corrupt the other professors including Shyam to do his bidding. Shyam gets Vidyanand to sign a blank cheque. The police arrest Vidyanand for the embezzlement of college funds worth Rs 1,35,000. Vidyanand assures Sumitra and Shambhu that Shyam will tell the truth in court and all will be sorted. But Shyam points to Vidyanand as the source of the crime leaving Vidyanand shattered. In a fit of rage and disbelief, he admits to the crime.

Vidyanand is jailed and after release has only one ambition – to destroy Seth Dharamdas. He joins hands with Shambhu and Neelam, open up a luxury hotel and engage in shady activities including gold smuggling. His various tips about Dharamdas’s smuggling operations help the police come closer to the villain. Things reach a point when he kidnap’s Dharamdas’s son Naveen and is ready to kill him in order to save himself. Shambhu is not agreeable to the scheme as murder was never supposed to be part of the revenge saga. He tells Vidyanand he should consider leaving the country.

This leads to an interesting climax at the airport involving Vidyanand and the newly appointed DSP Chandrashekhar, who happens to be his old student and has looked up to him for his infallible ideals and principles all these years.

The Music

Songs composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. There are 5 songs which slow the progress of the story. The duet “Jaane kaisa hai mera diwana” is well known.

There are 2 songs picturized on Helen. One of them Meherbaan Mehboob dilbar janeman is the last song of the movie and is performed wonderfully by Ashok Kumar and Helen. It is placed at an important plot point in the story.

My Thoughts

The movie showcases the tale of morals and principles nicely. Ashok Kumar brings out the shock of betrayal with his exaggerated mannerisms. From the non-corruptible principal to seasoned smuggler, Ashok Kumar plays both roles impactfully. Vidyanand goes on his revenge spree and doesn’t know where to stop. Here he displays a different kind of anguish as he seems to have lost control and is even ready to justify murder. Thankfully he receives redemption at the end bringing him peace. He shines in the climax scene.

Deb Mukherjee, with his unconventional looks actually acts well in the movie. His initial irritating character to his transformation as a police officer is remarkable. Alka doesn’t have much to do.

Pran, Nirupa Roy, Helen are excellent. The villains are the weak link and appear as caricatures. There should have been a stronger character to take on Vidyanand which would have made it a more convincing watch.