Category Archives: My Reviews

Do Jasoos (1975)

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12 July was Rajendra Kumar’s death anniversary and his birthday falls on 20 July. I thought of revisiting one of his later movies. That is after his jubilee stardom was on the wane, and a new crop of actors had made their way in the 70s. In Do Jasoos, he teams with his old friend Raj Kapoor with both playing the protagonists. The movie was made under Rajendra Kumar’s banner Dimple Films and directed by his brother Naresh Kumar.

The Plot

Dharamchand (Raj Kapoor) and Karamchand (Rajendra Kumar) are two out of work detectives. Their job is to roam around singing the title song highlighting some evils in the society like the widespread adulteration of milk, food items and medicines, unwanted strikes by labour unions and so on.

They are deep in debt with no resources. They have locked the office and put up a fake notice stating they are away in Kashmir for some important work. Well, both are inside the office deciding on the next course of action. They decide to stop all social service and concentrate on real work. Better late than never!

Coincidentally, they get a phone call from Seth Nihal Chand (Asit Sen). Upon visiting his house, he tells them his daughter Hema (Farida Jalal) is getting married next week but has ran way with her boyfriend. He wants them to bring her back at all costs as soon as possible. Unfortunately his glasses break when he is searching for Hema’s photo and gives her friend’s photo (named Pinky Verma) by mistake. Dharamchand & Karamchand promise to bring her back in return of a hefty fee cum reward.

Here we are introduced to their two wheeler partner in detection – Radha. They even sing Bol Radha bol sangam hoga ke nahin. They are lucky and find the real daughter Hema immediately, who returns home. But they continue the search of the friend Pinky Verma (Bhavna Bhatt). This is where the real story begins.

Ashok Sinha (Shailendra Singh) is a singer. He is in love with Pinky Verma. Ashok’s father V.N Sinha (Manmohan Krishna) is a journalist. He was responsible for exposing the bad deeds of Prem (Prem Chopra) which resulted in Prem going to jail. As a result, Prem’s father, who is now dead has left his property to Pinky Verma. Apparently Prem’s father had ill treated Pinky’s late father and deprived him financially and wants to make amends and compensate his family! By the way, Pinky’s mother (Dulari) is blind. Too complicated.

Prem is out of jail and is happy to hear of his father’s death but not happy to hear about the will’s implications. He joins hands with his smuggling partner Motilal Sippy (Kamal Kapoor) to track Pinky, marry her and get hold of all the money.

But first, Prem visits the journalist Sinha’s house and kills him in revenge. Pinky happens to witness the murder and runs away. Thus begins a long chain of chase sequences. Prem and his goons as well as the two detectives are chasing Pinky, ironically for the same reason – money!

After a lot of silliness including a visit to a fake currency unit deep in the jungle, Dharamchand and Karamchand mange to catch Pinky and take her to Nihal Chand’s house. Hema explains what has happened and things get cleared. Pinky calls them her brothers and they both promise to save her from Prem and ensure her safety.

Pinky is asked to stay with one of their friends, a fisherman called John uncle for a few days. Pinky is happy and sings a duet with Ashok.

But Prem is hot in pursuit. He visits Pinky’s house and later kidnaps her mother leading to the climax.

The Music

Ravindra Jain has composed the songs but its definitely not one of his best scores. The title song Do jasoos kare mehsoos is popular. Another song, apparently inspired is the melodious duet sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Shailendra Singh – Dariyacha raja deva re deva…purvaiya leke chali meri naiyya.

My Thoughts

Do Jasoos could have been an entertaining movie but things don’t work out. Rajendra Kumar and Raj Kapoor are past their prime and don’t make the proceedings interesting. Raj Kapoor maintains his image of a simple person and do gooder who doesn’t understand the practical aspects of his profession, especially money matters. Whereas Rajendra Kumar is shown as the one more practical. Nevertheless, there a few scenes where Raj Kapoor makes you laugh with his reactions. Wondering if another duo like Ashok Kumar and Pran would have made the roles memorable and funnier.

The rest of the cast don’t add much value. This is Shailendra Singh’s debut movie as actor after his blockbuster singing debut in Bobby. But he doesn’t get much to do. Bhavna Bhatt is a teenager and appears too raw for the role. The baddies Prem Chopra, Kamal Kapoor and Ram Mohan seem more impactful. The plot is complicated with unnecessary sub plots. Overall, Do Jasoos fails to leave the mark as a fun film.

The movie left me with 2 questions. Where can we find the below police station?

Why does a fisherman’s house have these stack of brass pots..?

Qatl (1986)

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Cheating or adultery in marriage has been an old theme in Hindi movies. Qatl is another movie in the same genre, directed by R.K. Nayyar. The movie is a tribute to Sanjeev Kumar who passed away before the movie’s release. He plays the blind protagonist effectively and raises the plot’s believability by a few notches. Presenting the review and remembering this great actor whose birthday falls on 9 July.

The Plot

Rakesh (Sanjeev Kumar), Rohini (Sarika) and Ranjit (Marc Zuber) are the principal characters, forming the pati, patni aur woh trio. Rohini is a poor girl who happens to meet Ranjit in a departmental store. She is about to be caught for shoplifting but Ranjit saves her (impressed by her beauty). He offers her a chance to become a drama heroine but she lacks the necessary acting skills. By chance, superstar Rakesh sees her and decides to train her to succeed as an actress.

The training starts and Rohini becomes a successful actress. Along the way, Rakesh and Rohini fall in love and get married. But their joy is short lived as Rakesh loses his eyesight while trying to save Rohini from a falling chandelier. Rohini as the dedicated better half quits the theater to take care of Rakesh.

Rakesh realises he is doing an injustice to Rohini’s talent and asks her to resume acting. She reluctantly agrees. She appoints a nurse Sita (Ranjeeta) to take care of Rakesh when she is away. Sita is the same nurse who was treating Rakesh in the hospital and he is happy to have a familiar companion for support.

They get on well and Rakesh becomes fairly independent to manage things without relying on others for support. And his “sixth” sense improves. But things are not as they seem. Through a coincidence, Rakesh becomes aware of Rohini’s affair with Ranjit and he is shattered.

The sad reality is revealed to him on Rohini’s birthday and he starts planning his revenge to teach both of them a lesson.

Rakesh’s anger is uncontrollable and he plans to murder Rohini and make Ranjit the prime suspect. No one will believe Rakesh is the murderer as he is blind. Is it possible for a blind man to plot a murder, travel alone and kill someone? Nah!

Well, Rakesh commits the murder (dressed as a Pathan) in Ranjit’s flat with Ranjit’s revolver. Ranjit is arrested. Enter Inspector Shatru (Shatrughan Sinha) who plays a bumbling police officer but with a knack of solving difficult cases. Shatru realises it has to be Rakesh who killed Rohini. And Sita seems to be involved somehow. What happens next is interesting to watch. The plot takes more twists and turns when Sita confesses the murder leading to the all important court scene. Saeed Jaffrey plays the judge.

Does Sita get convicted? Will Rakesh own up the murder? And does Ranjit walk away as a free man? The answers are revealed in a nail biting climax with a final twist!

The Music

Laxmikant Pyarelal have composed the music. The songs are not bad but don’t add to the story. The exception is the philosophical Kisi Ka Dil Jo Todega, sung by Anup Jalota and picturised on a roadside fakir (Ashok Kumar credited as Dada Muni in the titles!) The song appears in parts throughout the movie.

My Thoughts

Qatl is a well presented and directed movie and different from the regular fare. There are loopholes and too many coincidences to digest. But Sanjeev Kumar saves the day. While the blind man committing a murder may not sound very convincing, he manages to make it believable. Of special mention is the murder scene and climax. We get to see scenes from Naya Din Naya Raat, in flashback where a blind Rakesh is remembering the roles immortalised by him. Sarika, Marc Zuber and Ranjeeta are effective in their roles. Ameen Sayani appears in a short cameo.

Shatrughan Sinha manages to be funny without being too irritating. But I wonder if a serious inspector character would have made the investigation more impactful as he gets closer to the murderer.

While not a classic, Qatl manages to keep the viewer engaged till the end and Sanjeev Kumar leaves a lasting impression.

Paradh (1977)

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June 4th was the birth anniversary of Nutan. So this post is a late tribute to one of Hindi cinema’s acting greats. Presenting Paradh (meaning hunting), a Marathi movie starring Nutan and other Hindi movie actors. Possibly the only Marathi movie of Nutan, it was also made in Hindi as Anjaam (1978).

The Plot

The story begins with Seth Dinanath (Shreeram Lagoo) arriving at a mansion. He has recently purchased it for Rs 20 lakhs. He is greeted by an old servant Sadoba (Dhumal) working for the previous owners. As he is settling down in his new property, strange things start happening. The lights flicker, windows bang, a painting frame crashes. He feels the presence of someone in the mansion and hears a supposedly haunting song. Is the place haunted?

As he is wandering about the place looking for an explanation, he is met by an old lady. This is Vidya (Nutan), who was the previous owner of the mansion. She thanks him for the purchase and helping her in her difficulties. He tells her about his intention to build a cancer hospital on this property in memory of his late wife.

Vidya notices the fallen frame. The painting is of her late husband Thakur (Ramesh Deo). She continues to narrate her story to Dinanath who is intrigued in general by all the happenings since he has arrived.

Time for a long flashback. After initial issues, Vidya and Thakur are leading a happily married life and Vidya is expecting their child. However Thakur owes one Seth Dharamdas (P. Jairaj) a lot of money and he is required to pay monthly instalments without fail.

Vidya delivers a boy but Thakur gets killed in an accident on his way to the hospital. The boy grows up as Sunil (Sachin) studying in Maharaja college. His friend and soon to be fiancee is Seema (Sarika). Sunil is an outstanding student and wins all the awards in the annual function. He is awarded by Raja Saab (Gajanan Jagirdar) who invites him to his palace.

Sunil is angry when he comes to know of the money owed to Dharamdas. Vidya has been selling her jewellery to repay the money all these years. And the day is not far away when the family mansion will have to be sold. Sunil meets Dharamdas requesting him an extension for the payment but he refuses to show any sympathy. By chance, Sunil saves the life of Shrikant Moghe (who works for Dharamdas). In return he receives a substantial amount of money which helps him repay the full debt of Dharamdas.

Sunil also gets a job in Shrikant Moghe’s office. His boss is Shekhar (Chandrashekar). Things couldn’t have been better. He is also looking forward to get married to Seema who has been visiting their house frequently and Vidya approves of her too. But tragedy is waiting to strike.

Unknown to Sunil, Dharamdas is running a smuggling ring and Shekhar and Shrikant Moghe are part of the gang. When Sunil comes to know the real picture, he is forced to steal a Nataraj statue worth Rs 2 crores from Raja Saab’s palace. Sunil is successful but refuses to give the statue to Dharamdas and team. Vidya hides the statue in the mansion while Sunil calls the police. However Sunil gets killed before the police arrive. Later, a sorrowful Seema commits suicide. Vidya completes her narration.

What happens next is the twist in the story leading to a startling revelation in the climax.

The Music

Ram Kadam gives some catchy music. Ajun athawe ti raat pawsali is a romantic song sung by Chandrashekhar Gadgil. The haunting Ye na sajali is sung by Suman Kalyanpur. But the big surprise is Nutan singing and dancing to Saang sakhya tuja kay hawe? Great effort for a difficult composition! One has to wonder why she didn’t sing more in her hey days.

My Thoughts

As mentioned, this is possibly Nutan’s only film with 2 language versions. She acts effortlessly and lights up the screen with her presence especially during the twist in the end. Then there is a long list of Hindi movie actors including Sachin, Sarika, P. Jairaj, Chandrashekhar and Jagdish Raj but the non Marathi speaking  actors’ voices are dubbed. The spooky atmosphere keeps the viewer guessing as to where the story is really leading to. The thriller element and final reveal are worth watching and of course, Nutan.