Category Archives: My Reviews

Dr. Vidya (1962)

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Starting on a lighter note, English cinema had Dr. No in 1962 and Hindi had Dr. Vidya. Dr Vidya starring Vyjanthimala and Manoj Kumar is about an educated woman whose husband leaves her because she is educated. For her, he is a Pati parmeshwar and she will not rest until he accepts her back wholeheartedly. The concept is obviously dated today but well, those were the times. Happy birthday Vyjanthimala, whose birthday is on 13th August.

The Plot

Geeta (Vyjanthimala) is a fiesty college girl. She is good at studies and dancing and the upholder of Indian values. Her friend is Shanta (Helen), who is married. Shanta is the opposite of Geeta and influenced by western culture. Shanta’s husband Jagdish has returned from London and Shanta is aghast to find him unaffected by western influences and insisting on Indian values. Another classmate is Kundan (Prem Chopra) who is supportive of Shanta’s thoughts as a modern, independent woman.

Its Geeta’s birthday and the point between India vs western culture is highlighted again. Its also an opportunity for Geeta to present a semi classical song, dancing to Pawan deewani na mane udaye mora ghungtaa. Shanta is embarrassed by her husband’s behavior as he is supportive of Indian traditions and they have a fight upon returning home.

Geeta’s parents (played by Shivraj (as Lala Hansraj) and Mumtaz Begum) are looking for a suitable match for her. Her father conveniently remembers his old friend Chowdhury Hiralal (Nazir Hussain) and his son Ratan (Manoj Kumar). We come to know through a flashback that Geeta had fallen down the stairs as a child. There was a risk of losing her leg. Hiralal promises Hansraj his son Ratan will marry Geeta irrespective of Geeta’s physical disability. Luckily Geeta recovers and the risk is averted (of course, as she has to grow up as Vyjanthimala, an accomplished dancer!).

The match gets fixed. Ratan lives in the village and is hardly educated compared to Geeta. He is a zamindar who works closely with the farmers and their welfare. One day, Shanta, Kundan and their friends arrive at the village for a picnic is the village. Ratan accuses them of dancing in the field causing damage to the crops. He humiliates them and asks them to leave immediately.

Soon its marriage time. Shanta recognizes Ratan and is surprised Geeta is marrying such a uncivilized and uneducated villager. She openly humiliates Ratan. His friends also emphasize Geeta’s education and how she will dominate him. A stung Ratan is unable to face the reality. On the first night, a happy Geeta sings in anticipation of her husband but he doesn’t arrive. He has decided he cannot live with her and is ready to leave the house and the village.

The parents make him see sense but he is adamant. Geeta accepts this dejectedly and returns to her father’s house. Later Hiralal visits Geeta’s house. He falls sick while returning home and passes away at the railway station. Coincidentally, Ratan is at the railway station preparing to leave. He has a sudden shock seeing his father’s body. He returns home to stay with his mother and carry on his duties as a zamindar but not as a husband. He wants no communication with Geeta.

Geeta’s father Hansraj is practical and tells her to persuade her education and she becomes a doctor. She writes a letter informing Ratan of her success. He refuses to read the letter and sends her a substantial amount of money for her expenses. Hansraj is furious at his son-in-laws attitude.

Meanwhile Shanta has drifted away from her husband and wants to be a modern woman meaning wearing western clothes, speaking English and disregarding Indian culture. Geeta lectures her how she is wrong but Shanta disagrees.

Geeta has her own plans to win back Ratan. She goes to his village with her cook Nyarelal (Sundar). Nyarelal will pretend to be a doctor and she is Vidya, his uneducated niece. She assists Nyarelal when he is attending patients.

And rest of the time she is wooing Ratan by singing songs and pretending to be a simple, unsophisticated girl. As expected, Ratan falls in love with Vidya.

But will he marry Vidya when is still married to Geeta? Will circumstances change for the better? And there are a couple of villains waiting to do their job – Madan Puri (who is after Vidya) and Prem Chopra (pursuing Shanta).

The Music

While not the best of S.D. Burman, it has some good songs like Pawan deewani, Khanke kangana, and Jaani tum to dole. Vyjanthimala gets to dance in most of the songs.

My Thoughts

The movie is inspired from the Marathi movie Shikaleli Bayko meaning educated wife. Usha Kiran had played the title role. Dr Vidya is a collection of many filmy formula elements but make the final product boring. There are too many characters and sub plots. The Indian v/s western track was not required. The movie should have stuck to the core story of Geeta and Ratan and how they resolve the differences to reunite as husband and wife. The leads lack chemistry which only improves towards the end of the movie. It is difficult to believe why a qualified doctor would make her servant a doctor without thinking of its risky implications; that’s too far fetched. Overall, Vyjanthimala is fine, Manoj Kumar is O.K. Helen shines in the supporting role which is not limited to a couple of songs.

The verdict – watch Dr. Vidya only for the memorable songs and Vyjanthimala’s dancing skills but watch Dr. No any time!

Mumbaicha Faujdar (1984)

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Movies depicting marital discord are not new to cinema. We have many of them where one of the partners is forced into the marriage for whatever reason. Mumbaicha Faujdar (meaning Police Officer from Mumbai) is a Marathi movie which deals with this topic on a lighter note. Impressive acting, dialogues, music and direction make this a delightful watch.

The Plot

So who are the lucky couple? We have Shakuntala “Shaku” (Ranjana) a village girl from a well to do family. Shaku is interested in reading mystery stories. Her father is on the lookout for a suitable husband for her with one important condition. The groom has to be a police officer from Mumbai, considering the power and authority it brings with that position. Her uncle (Jairam Kulkarni) brings many proposals from eligible police officers for her consideration. She is enthralled and sings a song Kasa navasan mala milala.

On the other side is Sub Inspector Jaisingh Rao Mohite (Ravindra Mahajani), a capable officer from Mumbai. Jaisingh meets a journalist Madhuri Yadav (Priya Tendulkar) at his lawyer friend Suryakant’s house. She interviews him for her magazine’s article. Jaisingh realises Madhuri is the perfect life partner he is looking for. A modern, fashionable and sophisticated woman who can be his equal. He imagines their happily married life through the song “Sahajeevanat aali hi swapna sundari.”

He requests his friend Suryakant’s wife (Roohi Berde) to take Madhuri to his father’s place and help in arranging the match. She does so.

But duty first. The police commisioner sends Jaisingh and Havaldar Gondhale (Sharad Talwalkar) to Shaku’s village. Apparently a pair of fraud men are active in that area. Coincidentally, the fraud duo meet Shaku’s family posing as an eligible police officer “groom” and his father (oh yes, supposedly from Mumbai). Their plan is to rob Shaku’s jewellery in the pretext of arranging the marriage. But Jaisingh and Gondhale arrive in time to unmask the frauds. Things move fast and Shaku’s father contacts Jaisingh’s father and the marriage gets fixed. Havaldar Gondhale is instrumental in the match making.

All this is unknown to Jaisingh. Due to a miscommunication, Jaisingh assumes his marriage has been fixed with Madhuri. He gets a shock when he sees the wedding invite with Shaku’s name. His father argues Shaku is the perfect daughter in law for their family and a reluctant Jaisingh has no option but to agree with the mismatched union.

Shaku arrives in Mumbai but is an embarrassment for Jaisingh on a daily basis. She doesn’t have the experience of living in a big city and behaves like an uneducated manner-less village girl. Shaku tries to adjust to the police quarters’ routine but often leading to funny consequences. Her intentions are good but not acceptable to her neighbors, particularly the wives of the other police officers. They consider themselves far advanced in comparison to the down to earth Shaku. Jaisingh has to face some well intended taunts in this regard.

Shaku tries to learn the ways of the modern city life, but remains at heart the simple and innocent village girl. She is a good cook and aims to fulfill her duties as a caring wife. She enjoys support from Havaldar Gondhale who is also a father figure for her.

There are a few touching moments in their relationship but Jaisingh is aware his future with Shaku is not the one he had imagined with Madhuri. He is tolerant and tries to “educate” Shaku to the ways of the city but it is not as easy at it seems. The final straw comes in the police officers party. On request, Shaku sings “Marathmola gaana, shambhar numbari sona” describing Maharashtra’s musical traditions. The guests are impressed and join in the song and dance. But at the end of the song, she slaps a senior police officer who tries to get close to her while dancing, leaving everyone shocked.

Jaisingh has had enough. His wife will never be able to leave her rural mindset and adapt to the urban lifestyle. The only solution left is for Shaku to go back to her father’s house. Shaku has no choice but to leave.

Will Shaku be able return to Mumbai and live with her husband happily ever after? The final part of the movie answers the question to a satisfying and entertaining outcome.

The Music

Jagdish Khebudkar has written the lyrics while Vishwanath More is the music director. In addition to the 3 songs mentioned in the review, the song that stands out is the melodious duet “Ha Sagari Kinara.” Set in Shivaranjani and sung by Suresh Wadkar and Anuradha Paudwal, it brings out the emotions of the estranged couple at a key point in the movie.

My Thoughts

Rajdutt (director) and Vasant Sabnis (screenplay and dialogues) need to be mentioned for their contribution. Vasant Sabnis is also the writer of another classic Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi (1988). But the star of the show is Ranjana. Its fun to watch the outspoken rustic character and she looks comfortable without going over the top. She shares great chemistry with Ravindra Mahajani, being his co-star in many movies. Of special mention is the scene where the newly married couple visit the friend Suryakant’s house and Ranjana is at her best to embarrass Ravindra with her antics! Priya Tendulkar, Roohi Berde and Sharad Talwalkar are good in their supporting roles.

Overall Mumbaicha Faujdar is a light hearted entertainer and manages to retain its charm.

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..?