All posts by GGaurav

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About GGaurav

I am passionate about old movies, songs and trivia.

Mr Natwarlal (1979)

My Reviews,

The week gone by saw the birthdays of Amitabh Bachchan (11 October) and Rekha (10 October). One of the most famous pairings of Hindi cinema, they became famous because of their onscreen as well as offscreen chemistry. So much has been written about their professional and personal lives. Undeniably, they were not mere stars but brilliant actors who could shine in the different roles they portrayed. This was a major contributing factor to ensure the film’s success.

From Do Anjaane (1976) to Silsila (1981), they did about 9 movies together including Mr. Natwarlal which will be covered in today’s post. While not a great film, Amitabh’s stardom and the lead pair’s chemistry are perhaps its redeeming factors. And the presence of a tigress, who is a terror on screen and entertainer off it! The film’s title is inspired from an actual con man named Natwarlal.

The Plot

The movie appears in flashback. We hear Amitabh’s voice (we don’t see him yet). He is talking to his son and advising him to be a good boy etc. He tells his son about another young boy called Natwar. Natwar used to live with his brother Inspector Girdharilal (Ajit) and sister in law (played by Indrani Mukherjee). (Ajit was easily 50+ and it is hard to digest he has a school going younger brother!). Girdharilal’s wife is excepting their first child.

Girdharilal is one of those honest and principled police officers. He has been awarded a medal for his distinguished service. He wants Natwar to follow his footsteps and stay away from corruption. Natwar is impressed by his brother’s achievements.

Girdharilal is after Vikram Singh (Amjad Khan) whom he suspects to be engaged in illegal activities. Vikram’s close associate is Mickey (Satyen Kappu).

Vikram knows Girdharilal cannot be bribed and threatens his family (by pouring petrol around his house and leaving a snake in their bedroom) with dire consequences. Later, he plots and frames Girdharilal in a bribery case leading to a CBI investigation. There is a court case and Girdharilal needs some solid evidence to prove his innocence and unmask Vikram as the villain. A frustrated Girdharilal visits Vikram’s factory. Through sheer luck he gets the required proof to nail Vikram.

Vikram retaliates and attempts to crush Girdharilal, his wife and Natwar in a speeding car. They escape but Girdharilal’s wife is seriously injured. The doctor informs she has lost her child and can never conceive. She accepts the reality and consoles Girdharilal by stating Natwar will be their son going forward. Natwar calls her “bhabhi maa.” Vikram and Mickey flee the country and disappear from the scene.

Natwar is affected emotionally by the events and the suffering of his brother and bhabhi maa. He vows to track down Vikram and seek revenge for his deeds. But he knows he has to become a bad man himself to achieve his target. It doesn’t help to be principled and ethical always.

20 years pass and Natwar grows up (played by Amitabh Bachchan). He is a con man “Mr. Natwarlal”, a kind of Robin Hood who robs the rich but also helps needy people. All this with the sole aim to reach Vikram Singh one day. His bhabhi maa is that typical filmy “maa” character who feels her son can do no wrong and trusts him blindly. His brother on the other hand knows the shady dealings that Natwar is involved in but is unable to prove it. Natwar manages to outwit him every time and stay one step ahead of the police.

One day, Vikram Singh’s associate Mickey calls Natwar to a secluded place, posing as a thief who got burnt in an explosion. He tells Natwar that he had intended to steal a priceless diamond necklace from Seth Fakirchand (Yunus Parvez) and ensure it reaches the border of Chandanpur by the 10th of the month. But he is unable to do it himself. Natwar has no intention of being part of this plan and prepares to leave. But Mickey plays his trump card by calling out Vikram’s name. Natwar agrees to the proposal as this offers him an opportunity of getting closer to Vikram.

After Natwar leaves, Mickey removes his burnt man’s disguise as Fakirchand comes to meet him. This is all part of a well thought plan. Mickey reveals he was once the right hand man of Vikram but they had a fallout and now he is Vikram’s enemy seeking his downfall. He also reveals that Vikram Vikram is operating some illegal diamond mines near Chandanpur. He has a habit of branding the letter “V” on his servants as a permanent mark to remind them of their allegiance. Mickey intends to kill Vikram (and Natwar) and be the sole possessor of the mines. This way he will extract his revenge.

Through some funny scenes, it is revealed that the necklace has been stolen from Fakirchand’s safe in spite of all the security in place (anybody can guess who the thief is!). So, Natwar in possession of the necklace, starts for Chandanpur.

Chandanpur is set in the lap of the Himalayas close to the border. It is here that Vikram Singh has established his illegal mine cum hideout. He uses a tiger to terrorize the villagers. Under the guise of the tiger attack, he kidnaps the villagers and makes them work in his mines. He literally treats them like slaves.

The villagers are under the assumption that the missing men have been eaten by the tiger (300 men in 2 months, that’s the mind blowing statistic!). Life has become miserable for the villagers. Among the villagers is the chief (Kadar Khan) and Shanno (Rekha). The chief has sent for a hunter Avtaar Singh to help them out. However unknown to them, Vikram nabs him before he can reach the village and kills him.

When Natwar reaches the village, the chief assumes he is Avtaar Singh. Natwar doesn’t understand but acknowledges he is the man they are looking for. The chief updates him on how the tiger has terrorized the area and seeks his help.

Natwar soon gets an opportunity to face the tiger. He pushes some strategically placed drums (which often happens in movies!) along a slope. The drums roll down the slope scaring the tiger away. The villagers are convinced Avtaar Singh is the man who will relieve them of their suffering. Natwar settles down in the village.

And its time for a bit of lighter moments and romance. Natwar befriends the kids in the village by singing a song Mere paas aao mere doston ek kissa suno. Shanno admits her love for him singing Pardesiyan ye sach hai piya.

News are reaching Vikram Singh about the hunter’s arrival. He knows the man cannot be Avtaar Singh and sends his spies to find the truth. The track continues for some time before Vikram and Natwar come face to face. Natwar manages to escape but he is on track to seek his revenge.

The game of cat and mouse continues before a typical climax. And Natwar does manage to capture the tiger and shrewdly use it against Vikram.

The Music

Rajesh Roshan is the music director with lyrics by Anand Bakshi. Two songs are quite well known one of them being Pardesiyan ye sach hai piya (Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar). But the unique song is Mere paas aao sung by Amitabh Bachchan. This was his first song as a playback singer and became very successful.

Other songs are also good including Tauba tauba (Asha Bhosle), Qayamat hai (Mohammed Rafi and Anuradha Paudwal) and Oonchi oonchi baaton se (Mohammed Rafi and Usha Mangeshkar).

My Thoughts

The film was released when Amitabh was in his peak form. It makes use of all his skills be it action, romance, comedy and even singing to impress the audience. And his chemistry with Rekha is satisfying. There are many subtle moments between the two and very entertaining to watch. Amjad Khan is his usual best as the villain and Satyen Kappu is impressive. Other actors perform as required. The tigress (Bharati) plays her role convincingly and is an important character throughout the movie!

The film is not without its flaws. There are loopholes in the story and improbabilities. It is difficult to believe someone operating a diamond mine close to the border and the police and Border Security Force (BSF) being unaware of it. The second half drags on as Natwar gets closer to Vikram and extract his revenge. But such things don’t matter when you have a superstar and his immense star power. Its Amitabh all the way for guaranteed box office success!

Appointment With Death (1988)

My Reviews,

I have been an avid reader of Agatha Christie’s works and admire her style of writing, the plot development and suspense in most of them. It is difficult to guess the murderer till the very end and therein lies the success of her writing. The 2 most loved characters she created were Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple who feature in many novels and short stories doing what they do best – pursuing the culprit and solving the mystery.

Appointment With Death was first published in 1938. It may not be as famous as some other novels but nevertheless was a good mystery with all the usual elements. Not to forget the presence of Poirot who unmasks the murderer with his sleuthing skills. I came across this movie adaptation and decided to view and write about it. It stars Peter Ustinov as Poirot. The movie is produced and directed by Michael Winner. Is it a winner, lets see?

The Plot

The protagonist is Emily Boynton (Piper Laurie), a rich lady based in the United States. Emily’s husband is dead and the family lawyer Jefferson Cope (David Soul) is reading out the contents of the will to Emily. Apparently there are 2 wills under consideration. The first will makes Emily the sole beneficiary leaving nothing for her children. However the second (and last will) allocates a sum of 200,000 dollars to each beneficiary. Emily doesn’t care about the second will as that will involve sharing the money with her children. She has no intention of doing so.

Emily has a strong personality. She had been a wardress in a prison when she met her future husband Mr Boynton (who was the Governor). She worked for 14 years in the prison and knows a lot about crime and criminals. She likes to lord over people, have a hold over them and make them do as she wants. She tells Jefferson bluntly that she knows about a fraud committed by him and she is happy to inform the US Law Society which will destroy his career. Jefferson pleads her not to do that. She orders him to burn the second will, which he does having no choice. It is time to inform the children.

The children are called in and are shocked to hear that their mother is in full control of the family fortune. They will be entitled to the money but only upon her death.

Emily has 3 step children. The eldest is Lennox (Nicholas Guest), his wife is Nadine (Carrie Fischer). Then Raymond (John Terlesky) and Carol (Valerie Richards). Ginevra or Jinny (Amber Bezer) is her real daughter but she is treated the same as the others. The helpless children have no option but to accept the situation. Emily is satisfied.

Soon after, the family goes to visit Europe. They visit London, followed by Trieste in Italy.

Here we are introduced to other important characters in the story. Lady Westholme (Lauren Bacall) is an American woman who married a British man after meeting him on a ship. She acquired British citizenship after marriage and became a Member of Parliament (MP) after 10 years. Given her influential status, she tends to be bossy and have her way. With her is Miss Quinton (Hayley Mills), an archaeologist.

Dr Sarah King (Jenny Seagrove) has recently graduated and is a qualified doctor. She helps Emily when she stumbles during a sightseeing tour. Later in the story, Emily’s son Raymond falls in love with Sarah, to the obvious displeasure of his mother.

And finally Hercule Poirot who is taking a well deserved vacation. He is an old friend of Sarah King and both are surprised to see each other. It seems Poirot is always “well placed” to overhear some important pieces of conversation involving Emily which are going to be important as the story progresses. Particularly when her children are discussing the injustice done to them and how good it would be to get rid of her!

Jefferson, the lawyer makes an unscheduled appearance in Trieste. Emily is not happy at this development but her daughter in law Nadine is. Nadine is having an affair with Jefferson and is pleased to be closer to him. He gifts her a cigarette case with a message declaring their closeness. Obviously, this will cause hell if it gets revealed to Nadine’s husband Lennox or Emily.

The group boards a ship to go their next stop of Jaffa, Palestine (I guess Israel did not exist as an independent state when the book was published). On the ship, Emily and Jefferson have a decent talk. She knows of his affair with Nadine. He requests her to be considerate and give some money to the children. She mellows down a bit and invites him to join them for dinner that night.

At dinner, Emily makes a show of pouring wine for everyone. But her intention is to poison Jefferson by adding a high dose of her medicine digitalis in his wine glass. (Emily is shown consuming the medicine at the beginning of the movie and highlights that it is dangerous to exceed the dosage mentioned).

But Jefferson does not drink the wine. He is interrupted by Lennox who has found the cigarette case in his wife’s possessions. He confronts Jefferson and punches him as he is about to sip the wine. The glass falls down. A shrewd Poirot observes that the cockroaches under the table who “taste” the wine are dead. (Seriously, are there so many cockroaches on that ship??)

They arrive in the holy land (Jerusalem?). Colonel Carbury (John Gielgud), an acquaintance welcomes Poirot. A curious Poirot continues to observe the goings-on in the Boynton family. One night, Poirot sees Emily handing over money to an Arab for “getting the job done.” He wonders what this is about.

Raymond is getting closer to Sarah. At one point, Emily forbids Raymond to meet Sarah. Miffed by this ridiculous behaviour, Sarah approaches Emily and lectures her. Emily retorts vaguely, “I don’t forget anything, not an action, a name, a face.” Is this a warning? Does she know something from Sarah’s past?

The group continue their journey in Jerusalem and later in Qumran, which is an archaeological site. In Qumran, Emily, in a surprisingly good mood asks Raymond and Sarah to take a walk after lunch. She says the same to Lennox, Nadine and Jefferson, asking them to be mature and behave civilly. Carol is sent with Miss Quinton. Meanwhile Emily settles down outside her tent on a chair. She invites Lady Westholme to have a chat with her.

The group is surprised at Emily’s behaviour but proceed on the walk, away from the site. They return one after the other. In the evening, Sarah sees a servant trying to wake Emily who appears to be asleep. She rushes over to find her dead. Sarah assumes it is because of her heart condition.

But Poirot is not convinced. He deduces that Emily did not die of natural causes. Upon investigating, he finds that Sarah’s bottle of digitalis is empty, so is a syringe missing from her medical bag. He infers that Emily was injected a lethal dose of the medicine that caused her death.

He requests his friend Colonel Carbury to give him a couple of days to find the murderer. Obviously, it has to be someone from the group, and multiple people had motives to wish Emily was dead – the sooner the better.

So, who did it?

My Thoughts

The film pales in comparison to the book. The book gives a detailed background of all characters, particularly the Boyntons. Emily is portrayed as a tyrant who has a tight grip over her children. It is as if she is still running a prison and the children can hardly dare to think of freedom. In the movie, Emily is a forced evil character. The underlying state of intense tension between her and the children is missing. Overall, the characters are introduced poorly. The murder and its aftermath involving the investigation should be gripping but it fails to engage you. There are a few thrilling moments towards the end which includes another murder but that’s about it. The performances by the well known cast are less than impressive and the exotic locations also fail to match the mood of the novel.

Peter Ustinov’s Poirot doesn’t remind you of the character with its idiosyncrasies created by the writer. He is funny but appears bored and doesn’t add much to the lackluster proceedings.

This adaptation might work as a stand alone film but is not a treat for fans of Agatha Christie.

Lata Mangeshkar – Birthday Songs

My Lists

Today is 28th September, and we are remembering Lata Mangeshkar on her birthday. But remembering would be a wrong word as I am sure there is hardly a day when we don’t hear her songs. It might be from the classic era – 50s and 60s or the 90s where she sang selectively but continued to deliver huge hits. It might be a film song or otherwise. As often repeated, there will be no one like Lataji again. Such is her influence.

Thinking about a theme is so difficult when it comes to such a great artist. I had written about 1 voice and 10 heroines earlier remembering the singer and some of the heroines she sang for. Today’s post is about birthday songs sang by Lataji. Birthdays are common situations in our movies and a perfect reason to place a song. While meant to be a cheerful occasion, we see the occasional twist, adding to the entertainment.

1) Song: Da Dir Daara…Meri Laadli
Film: Andaz (1949)
Credits: Majrooh Sultanpuri | Naushad | Lata Mangeshkar and Chorus

Starting with one of the very early songs of Lataji. This was her first collaboration with Naushad, with whom she had a long association till the 1990s. In the song, Raj Kapoor and Nargis are celebrating their daughter’s first birthday. Everything is fine till Dilip Kumar’s arrival which adds drama to the scene. Nargis pauses when she sees him but gains control and continues the song. Lataji’s voice sounded young but it had the range and throw that were going to become legendary soon.

2) Song: Ek Bewafa Se Pyaar Kiya
Film: Awara (1951)
Credits: Hasrat Jaipuri | Shankar Jaikishan | Lata Mangeshkar

Similar to Naushad, Lataji had a long association with Shankar Jaikishan, who gave her some of the best songs of her career. Not to forget Raj Kapoor’s legendary banner R.K. Films under which this film was made. In this scene, it is Nargis’s birthday and meant to be a happy occasion. But there is a twist before the song which reveals the harsh reality of her lover (Raj Kapoor). Her friend sings the song but it is a reflection of her troubled state of mind. What to say about Lataji’s singing – effortless and amazing breath control.

3) Song: Pawan Diwani
Film: Dr Vidya (1962)
Credits: Majrooh Sultanpuri | S. D. Burman | Lata Mangeshkar

It is Vyjayanti Mala’s onscreen birthday party. And her dance performance is the return gift for the assembled guests! Her performance is impeccable but Lataji’s divine singing displays her classical singing prowess. Definitely one of those songs which are a treat to the eyes and the ears in equal measure.

4) Song: Tumhe Aur Kya Doon Main
Film: Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964)
Credits: Hasrat Jaipuri | Shankar Jaikishan | Lata Mangeshkar

Shankar Jaikishan once again, with their favourite Raag Bhairavi. And Lataji’s voice blending with Saira Banu’s screen presence takes it to another level. A melodious song celebrating the birthday of the 2 heroes – Rajendra Kumar and Dharmendra. She is wishing both of them but her heart is set on one of them!

5) Song: Kya Rang-e-Mehfil
Film: Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966)
Credits: Shakeel Badayuni | Naushad | Lata Mangeshkar and Chorus

A messy and forgettable film with great music. A different composition from Naushad and presented so brilliantly by Lataji. It is Shyama’s birthday celebration. Waheeda Rehman is requested or rather forced to showcase her singing skills in the party. She obliges by singing this enchanting number.

6) Song: Dulhan Ban Ke Aayi Umango Ki Shaam
Film: Saaz Aur Awaaz (1966)
Credits: Khumar Barabankvi | Naushad | Lata Mangeshkar

Another Naushad composition from another forgettable film from the 60s. But the songs were good like this number based on Raag Pilu. This time it is Saira Banu’s birthday. She arrives late and performs this song, thanking the guests and well wishers who have come to greet her. It has the Naushad stamp and Lataji delivers the intricate number convincingly.

7) Song: Aaj Hai 2 October Ka Din
Film: Parivaar (1967)
Credits: Gulshan Bawra | Kalyanji Anandji | Lata Mangeshkar and Chorus

Jeetendra and Nanda are celebrating their son’s birthday. What is special is it is 2nd of October which is the birthday of 2 great leaders – Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. The lyrics describe both the personalities and wish the child to try and follow their paths.

8) Song: Badhai Ho Badhai
Film: Mere Munna (1967)
Credits: Qamar Jalalabadi | Kalyanji Anandji | Lata Mangeshkar

And finally a song sung by a child! Junior Mehmood sings the song with playback by Lataji. Seems it is Nutan and Rehman’s son’s birthday and Jr. Mehmood is wishing him by singing this delightful song. One of Lataji’s ability was to sound like the character she is singing for and does so here as well. Singing for a child and that too a boy with desirable results!

9) Song: Janam Din Aaya
Film: Baharon Ki Manzil (1968)
Credits: Majrooh Sultanpuri | Lamikant Pyarelal | Lata Mangeshkar and Chorus

This was a film with a different story line. Meena Kumari plays the role of a woman who has lost her memory for many years. This song celebrates the birthday of her daughter (from a small child to a grown up girl (played by Farida Jalal)). Lataji sang the most number of songs for the Laxmikant Pyarelal duo over more than 3 decades of their luminous career.

10) Song: Choron Ko Saare Nazar Aate Hai Chor
Film: Naya Zamana (1971)
Credits: Anand Bakshi | S. D. Burman | Lata Mangeshkar

And the final song in today’s list – not a happy song by any means. This is a situational song as per the demand of the movie. It is Hema Malini’s niece’s birthday. She has invited her “poor” friend Aruna Irani for the party. Aruna gets wrongly accused of stealing by Hema’s sister in law (Indrani Mukherjee) because she is not wealthy like the other guests. She is hurt by this behaviour but she doesn’t leave as she has promised to sing a song on this joyous occasion. She stays and entertains the affluent guests by singing this song sarcasm filled composition. Lataji brings out the emotions effectively – part hurt and part angry.