Category Archives: My Reviews

Paradh (1977)

My Reviews,

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.

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.