Category Archives: My Reviews

Jai Santoshi Maa (1975)

My Reviews,

The year 1975 was a historical year for Hindi Cinema. This was the year that saw the release of Sholay which became a milestone for Indian cinema. Apart from Sholay, there were a host of movies from big banners, bigger stars and directors like Deewar, Dharmatma, Pratigya, Sanyasi, Khel Khel Mein, Chupke Chupke, Mili, Warrant and Amanush to name a few. But one film that stood out among all was Jai Santoshi Maa. In the era of the angry young man and changing values (?), this low budget mythological film caught the audience’s imagination and set the box office on fire. Its been 50 years since its release. So, I felt it was time to visit this movie and see what the fuss is about!

The Plot

Jai Santoshi Maa begins with a scene depicting Raksha Bandhan of the gods. Mansa is tying rakhi to her brother Lord Ganesha. His children request her to tie a rakhi but she refuses as she is not their sister. The children run to their father Lord Ganesha and wish (or demand) that he “arrange” a sister for them. His wives Riddhi and Siddhi are supportive of the demand.

Devarishi Narad (Mahipal) arrives and hears the conversation cum request. Narad also requests Ganesha to fulfil his sons’ wish. Lord Ganesha obliges and we see the arrival of his daughter or “Manaskanya”. She is named Santoshi Mata by Narad as someone who will bring happiness and satisfaction in one’s life.

The attention shifts from heaven to earth in Sonepur with the title song Main to aarti utaru re. The heroine Satyavati (Kanan Kaushal) is singing in the temple. She has only one wish from the goddess – a loving husband. Her father is Bharat Bhushan. His only wish is to get her married and be relieved of his responsibility.

While returning from the temple, her friends tease her about marriage. She runs and collides with a young man Birju/ Brij Ram (Ashish Kumar). Satyavati and Birju look at each other and there is an instant connect.

She leaves and he is left in thought. Birju is a singer from the neighbouring town of Mirpur. He roams all day, immersed in music. He is part of a big joint family. His mother is played by Leela Mishra. He has 6 brothers, the eldest being Daya Ram (Manher Desai), followed by Bhairav Ram (Rajan Haksar). All brothers are married. Their respective wives (played by Bela Bose and Asha Potdar) are not happy with Birju. He does not contribute anything while his brothers slog in the fields whole day.

Birju arrives in Sonepur for a festival. Satyavati recognises him as the same person she had collided with. She has not forgotten him. The priest welcomes him and requests him to sing a song in appreciation of Santoshi Maa. He sings Yahan wahan jahan tahan mat pucho kahan kahan hai Santoshi Maa describing that the goddess is everywhere.

After the song, Satyavati is pushed by her friends to compliment him but she mutters some appreciative words and runs away shyly. Outside, she is met by Banke (a dacoit), who tries to molest her. She shouts for help and Birju comes to her aid.

Banke and his band of dacoits are beaten by Birju. Satyavati is relieved and thanks him for his timely intervention. She notices he has got injured and brings him home. Her father is thankful to Birju. He enquires about Birju’s family.

Later, as he is leaving, Birju admits his love for Satyavati. Satyavati goes to the temple and prays to Santoshi Mata to fulfil her wish of getting married to Birju. If this happens, she will visit all temples of Santoshi Mata in different locations.

The match gets fixed, followed by marriage. The baraat arrives at Birju’s house. Satyavati’s sisters in law (bhabhis) have ensured that she will not feel welcome right from the start. After a couple of scripted “inauspicious” happenings, they taunt her by talking about her poverty. Satyavati is disturbed but Birju calms her down.

Birju’s mother tells his brothers to start taking him to the fields. Next day, a reluctant Birju does so. In a random moment, he runs away and comes to meet Satyavati. He says she had called him which is not the case! The eldest brother Daya Ram is amused by the behaviour of the newly weds but Bhairav Ram is not. Nor are their wives.

Satyvati tells Birju of her promise to Santoshi Mata. Accordingly, they go on a pilgrimage and visit her temples in multiple locations (considering the budget of the movie it is clear that the lead pair do not visit all the temples, most of their shots are shot in a studio and the editing “attempts” to make it look otherwise!)

Now is the time to introduce a twist as the newly weds cannot be allowed to remain happy. Devarishi Narad goes to meet the 3 goddesses Laxmi (Neelam), Parvati (Lata Arora) and Brahmani (Padma Rani). He tells them that the people on earth are singing praise of the goddess Santoshi Mata. They are miffed at hearing this. He further quotes the example of Satyavati, who is a param bhakta of only one goddess – Santoshi Mata. They are further annoyed when their husbands (Vishnu, Mahesh and Brahma) disguise as sadhus and visit Satyvati. Her bhabhis insult the sadhus but Satyavati offers them prasad in the form of gud and chana, and displays her devotion. It is time for the 3 goddesses to spice up the proceedings.

Satyavati notices that her husband is being fed leftovers by his bhabhis. Birju is incensed when he comes to know this. There is a strong altercation between the brothers. (Daya Ram is not at home). Bhairav Ram and the younger brothers insult Birju, calling him useless “(nikamma).” Birju decides to leave the house. He vows he will return only after he becomes a rich man and not live at the mercy of his brothers. He tells Satyavati to await his return and leaves abruptly. He starts his journey by getting on a boat.

Thanks to the conspiring goddesses, there is a storm and the boat capsizes. This time, the goddesses arrive in disguise in Birju’s house and inform that he got thrown off the boat and drowned. Birju’s mother and Dayaram are devastated to hear this. Satyavati refuses to accept he is dead. And indeed, Birju is alive. He was about to drown but Santoshi Maa saves him in time.

Birju is looking for means to earn money. He comes in contact with a rich man (jeweller) by helping him when he faints near a temple. The man employs him. Birju is a hard worker and impresses his employer. Again, due to the goddesses, he falls for the man’s daughter Geeta (Rajni Bala) and forgets about Satyavati and his family.

Satyavati’s hardships continue. The bhabhis treat her like a servant and give her hell. Satyavati’s father comes to meet her and take her with him. But she refuses, as she believes her husband is alive and will return one day. She attempts suicide but Narad saves her. He asks her to perform the Sola Shukrawar vrat and pray to Santoshi Mata.

Where will this lead to? Will Birju remember Satyavati? Will they reunite? And what is Santoshi Maa’s role when her devotees are suffering without losing their devotion?

The Music

The songs did well. Kavi Pradeep was the lyricist and C Arjun the music director. The female songs were sung by Usha Mangeshkar. The title song Main to aarti utaru re appears twice and has become one of the staple songs for Dandiya nights during the Navratri festival. The lyrics are simple and tune catchy. Then we have Karti hu tumhara vrat main sweekar karo maa and Madad karo Santoshi mata.

Yahan wahan jahan tahan also appears twice, once in Mahendra Kapoor’s voice and later by Pradeep. Manna Dey sings the sad song Mat ro aaj Radhike.

My Thoughts

The story unfolds in a predictable format. The reason why the goddesses keep testing Satyavati is not convincing. The film seems like a family drama or soap opera. It is a stretch to watch with things getting repetitive. The evil sisters in law are at their manipulative best and irritating. Same for Narad and the goddesses track. The colors are garish and the sets evidently low budget. Such mythological films would typically have some “miracle” scenes requiring special effects which are fun to watch. But here you hardly see such scenes, making it less engaging.

Anita Guha plays the role of Santoshi Maa. She doesn’t have much to do except getting angry and helping the characters when they are in need. The main leads Ashish Kumar and Kanan Kaushal look older for their roles. Ashish Kumar reminds you of a combination of Bharat Bhushan and Biswajeet. Rest of the supporting cast perform as required.

That brings me back to the question – what made the film click ? Was it mere devotion? Or was it a bit of a welcome change to see a different movie in the era of the angry young man? Or was it pure luck?

Whatever be the reason, the film created box office history. Unfortunately, the film’s producer Satram Rohra could not repeat the magic with later films like Nawab Sahib.

Valu (2008)

My Reviews, ,

Valu (The Wild Bull) is a delightful Marathi film. Presented by debutant director Umesh Kulkarni, it shows the simple yet entertaining events in a small village in Maharashtra. It is interesting to watch how the wild bull’s behaviour and the arrival of the forest officer has an impact on the ordinary villagers. The film was successful and has achieved cult status over the years.

The Plot

Valu’s story is set in a village called Kusavde. Swanand Gaddamwar (Atul Kulkarni), a Government forest officer is suddenly requested by his boss to visit Kusavde village to deal with Valu or the wild bull that is causing trouble in the village. Swanand has other pressing matters to attend to (he has a hearing in an important case the next day), and the wild bull doesn’t come under the wild animals category that is his remit. He tries to argue but to no effect. He needs to attend to Valu himself. His staff member Jagnade (Ashok Kulkarni) will accompany him.

That night, he has an argument with his wife (Poornima Ganu) on this matter. He is a forest officer who captures leopards and bisons, and is absolutely not pleased. His younger brother Sameer (Vrushasen Dabholkar) offers to come with him. He wants to shoot a documentary of some thrilling experience. Swanand retorts that all he will be doing is hitting the dart on the wild bull, capture him and return. What’s thrilling in that? But he agrees. So Swanand, Sameer and Jagnade head for Kusavde.

The first person they meet on the way is Jeevan Chowdhury (Girish Kulkarni, sent to receive them by the village chief (sarpanch). On arriving in Kusavde, Swanand is heartily welcomed by the sarpanch Anna (Dr. Mohan Agashe). His wife is Bharati Achrekar. The villagers have gathered in Anna’s house. Anna begins to tell about the village’s colourful history etc but his wife gestures to Jeevan, who skillfully diverts the subject. Swanand asks about Valu. It has been 6 months since the problem started. Initially, the villagers tried to control the animal but were not successful. Swanand asks him not to worry. He will soon capture the “on the run” animal and relieve them of the problem.

Jeevan takes the trio to their accommodation and ensures they are well settled. Sameer tells him that he will need to interview as many villagers as he can for his documentary. Jeevan ensures the news of the documentary shoot is spread all over the village. All villagers are instructed to gather at the village temple. But hardly anyone knows the meaning of “documentary”. For them it’s an opportunity to be part of a film shooting.

Swanand and Sameer soon find that filming the villagers is a daunting task. They are more interested to talk about the village’s problems rather than talk about Valu (they refer to Valu as “Durkya”). Swanand is frustrated as he needs to intervene multiple times to get them on track and talk only about the animal. And it needs a lot of sifting through the details to get a picture of Valu.

Swanand comes to know that Valu / Durkya is considered a holy animal. He would roam freely in the village. Children would play around him, the women would feed him. Overall, he was part of the family for the village. He was welcome everywhere. But one day things changed. He was no longer the gentle giant. He started causing trouble into the lives of the villagers. Valu would eat crops, damage the fields and other property. He injured a few people. One day, someone tries to poison Valu but the food is inadvertently eaten by another bull who dies. Apparently, Valu is also the cause of death of an old and revered man Aaja (Chandrakant Gokhale).

Swanand tries to sketch a daily schedule of Valu. What are his favorite spots, when does he eat, graze and so on. During the course of the filming, not only Valu’s character but the nature and motives of the villagers are also revealed.

Not to forget the egos of the so called prominent people of the village. The sarpanch Anna refuses to come for the shooting. It is a matter of his standing and prestige of his position. The documentary should come to him rather than the other way round. And Jeevan is ever ready to massage his inflated ego! On the opposite side is Aaba (Nandu Madhav), who is Anna’s challenger with his set of sidekicks. He wants to be successful in politics and move ahead. This becomes a game of one-upmanship at every opportunity. Like Anna, Aaba also refuses to attend the documentary shoot. He sends his wife (Renuka Daftardar) and son instead. He knows that Anna had sent for the forest officer. He has plans to catch the Valu single-handedly in an effort to downplay Anna and his efforts.

There is a romantic couple Sangi (Amruta Subhash) and Shiva (Mangesh Satpute). Their fathers are against the match but they do not care and are ready to elope and get married.

Jeevan’s mother is Sakhubai (Jyoti Subhash) who cares for Valu. She feeds him everyday and hopes he will be left to enjoy his freedom. She appears to be a practical woman who has her eyes and ears open and doesn’t shy away from voicing her opinions.

And then we have the village priest (Dilip Prabhavalkar) and his wife (Nirmiti Swant), with their own motives. They would like to maintain equal relations with Anna and Aaba, so that their position is not impacted.

So, this is the overall set up. After gaining all the information, it is for Swanand to get into action and achieve his mission. Will he be successful, will Valu oblige?

The Music

There are no songs but the music by Mangesh Dhakde suits the mood of the proceedings.

My Thoughts

Valu is not the regular movie with a hero, heroine and villain. It is also not a typical comedy film with laugh out loud dialogues. But it is still impactful as a satire on the day to day happenings in the life of the villagers. It also questions whether Valu the animal is to be blamed for all the wrongdoings or the attitude of the humans also needs to be investigated?

The interaction between the villagers is natural and has touches of light comedy in the dialogues. Each person has his own motive and the arrival of a Government employee causes a bit of disruption. They look at it as an opportunity to share their daily concerns with the Government, hoping for a resolution.

Umesh Kulkarni ( as the co-producer and writer with Girish Kulkarni) is successful in delivering a cohesive plot in spite of the multiple characters. An FTII alumnus, this was his first feature film as a director. The talented cast contributes adequately. From the veteran actors to the younger cast, they bring out the colour of their respective characters to full effect. Some of them were not so famous names back then, but the spark is visible. The Valu played by Raja is memorable in the few scenes that he appears in. Hope he was cooperative during the shoot!

Sometimes, an unconventional film manages to catch attention and Valu is one of such efforts.

Aap Ke Deewane (1980)

My Reviews,

6th September was Rakesh Roshan’s birthday (born: 1949). The son of well known music composer Roshan, he entered the film industry as an actor and moved to producing and directing films. He launched his production company Filmkraft, and Aap Ke Deewane was its first offering. According to the credits, the film is produced by Vimal Kumar and directed by Surendra Mohan. The movie was a flop but he achieved success later with his “K” series movies like Khoon Bhari Maang, Karan Arjun, Kaho Na Pyar Hai and Koi Mil Gaya to name a few.

Aap Ke Deewane is primarily based on the theme of friendship between the 2 leads (Rakesh Roshan and Rishi Kapoor) who belong to different religions. The strength of their friendship is tested many times and they need to overcome the obstacle every time, ensuring a win-win outcome for both of them.

The Plot

The film opens with the annual day celebrations of a college. Ram (Rishi Kapoor) and Rahim (Rakesh Roshan) are close friends. They are also the winner of multiple prizes for that year. Surprisingly, Ram is awarded for scoring the highest marks in Urdu while Rahim scores the highest in Hindi. The principal (Sudhir Dalvi) congratulates them for their consistent achievements for the past 3 years. He calls out their proficiency in the two languages which proves that a language is not affected by the barrier of a name, state, or religion.

Later, that night in the boys’ hostel, the friends are enjoying their success. Ram is busy ironing his shirt while Rahim is playing the guitar. Both are so engrossed that Ram burns his shirt and Rahim breaks the strings of his guitar. Rahim is sad as he had worked hard to collect the money for the strings. Apparently, both come from poor families and nothing is mentioned about their parents or other family members. Ram tells Rahim to look for positives. Tomorrow, they need to visit the college to complete their admissions for the new academic year. Being brilliant students, they will be successful once they complete their degrees and get a job.

One student not happy with Ram and Rahim’s success is Kundan (Ranjeet). Kundan is a spoilt rich guy (man?). He has been trying to clear his exams since 6 years and is known to have cheated a few girls. Kundan tries to help a student Meena (Shoma Anand) who is confused about the subject selection for the new academic year. Kundan steps in to guide her (and in turn flirt with her.) Ram and Rahim hear the conversation and mock Kundan, calling him uncle and highlight his multiple attempts in clearing the exam. Kundan insults both of them, talking about their dress sense and indirectly referring to their economic condition. As evident, this is a typical college grudge which may lead to serious consequences.

There are multiple incidents involving Ram, Rahim, and Kundan & his friends. And every time, Ram and Rahim manage to outwit Kundan and teach him a lesson. In between all this there is a poignant moment on their birthday. Thick friends Ram and Rahim have their birthday on the same day – 25th December. They want to give a surprise gift to each other. This scene is inspired from O Henry’s story Gift of the Magi. Rahim sells his guitar to buy a new shirt for Ram to wear with his jacket. Ram sells his jacket to buy new strings for Rahim’s guitar. But there is no guitar and no jacket!

What follows is a birthday celebration arranged by Meena and other friends. They go on a cycle ride singing about their friendship Ram kare Allah kare. But the mood is about to change.

While returning from the celebration, Ram saves a girl being chased by a rogue Yusuf (Yusuf Khan). A crowd gathers as Ram and Yusuf bash each other. Shockingly, the girl points towards Ram as the perpetrator and blames him for trying to molest her. The matter reaches the college authorities. Based on Ram’s record, the principal avoids a police case but makes it clear that Ram needs to leave the college. He is rusticated. Ram is helpless but Rahim suspects that Kundan is behind this matter.

We see Kundan talking to Yusuf and it is revealed he is the mastermind behind the scheme to trap Ram. Rahim goes to confront Kundan and pleads with him to tell the truth. There is a fight and things reach a point when Rahim may beat the heavily injured Kundan to death. Ram rushes to intervenes in time and pulls away Rahim. They collect their stuff and board a train. In short, they run away from the scene. Kundan tells the police that he got injured in an accident. But in reality, he is waiting to meet Ram and Rahim again and seek revenge. He tells his men to search for the duo at any cost and inform him. In his words – he want to recover his principal with interest.

The friends are discussing their future. Ram comments that they will have to sell their awards and medals to arrange some money. Rahim is perusing the newspaper for some job opportunities and gives him good news. There is a job of a Urdu tutor in Srinagar with a monthly salary of Rs. 1,000. Ram being the Urdu scholar has to go for it. Ram points out the age criteria is mentioned as 50+ years. But Rahim tells him that can be “arranged” with a disguise. Ram agrees reluctantly.

The scene shifts to Srinagar. We again have 2 friends from different religions – retired Colonel Thakur Vikram Singh/ TVK (Pran) and retired SP Inshallah Khan/ IK (Ashok Kumar). They are arguing about the welfare of their daughter. Their caretaker cum butler is Idea (Deven Verma) whose full name is Ishwar Damodar Eknath Acharekar (IDEA). Idea informs IK that some men are waiting for him in the guesthouse. IK realises he is referring to the the applicants for the post of the Urdu tutor. So it was IK who had published the advertisement without informing TVK. IK explains that he would want their daughter to learn Urdu etc..

IK and a miffed TVK go to meet the applicants. They inform the post is for teaching Urdu to their daughter Sameera. The applicants are surprised to hear that both claim to be the father of the same girl. How is this even possible? Confused, they refuse to consider the job and leave. The only person remaining is Ram (in disguise) who readily accepts the position. Idea takes Ram to Sameera’s room. Ram questions him about Sameera’s background – who exactly is her father – TVK or IK? Idea informs he doesn’t know the truth and strangely, there is a court case going on where both IK & TVK are claiming to be Sameera’s father. So, it’s up to the judge to make the decision.

The first meeting between Sameera (Tina Munim) and Ram is on expected lines. She has no inclination to learn Urdu, that too from a boring old man but he is insistent. She also tells him that there will be no class tomorrow as she needs to attend the court hearing.

There is a funny court scene involving the 2 fathers and their lawyers (Gulshan Bawra and Keshto Mukherjee). We come to know that Sameera as a baby had been found in Pahalgam. There is no trace of her parents and they decide to bring her home and raise her as “their” daughter. Sameera grows up and loves her caring fathers. They are highly protective of her. The latest friction point between the two is the appointment of the Urdu tutor. IK offers to appoint a Hindi lady tutor to balance the matter. Sameera is not amused.

Predictably, there is a Hindi expert available in the form of Rahim. Ram hatches a plan to introduce him as the Hindi tutor by disguising him as an old woman. But Rahim is not convinced. Disguising as an old man is different but a woman, no way.

But being a Hindi film, Ram has his way and Rahim is all dressed up to meet Sameera and her fathers. He bumps into TVK, who falls for the cute Hindi teacher and “she” gets the job.

After that, there are some predictable comedy scenes involving the 2 teachers and the 2 fathers. Further, the Urdu tutor introduces (the real) Rahim as his son while the Hindi lady introduces Ram as her son. The fathers are impressed by both the young men – they are so cultured and good looking and want Sameera to be friendly with them.

The track continues for some time. IK is supportive of Rahim while TVK of Ram. They want Sameera to select one of them as her husband. She likes both of them too but is in a dilemma to make the decision.

So, who will make it? And will the decision impact the friendship of Ram – Rahim as well as TVK – IK?

The Music

The songs have lyrics by Anand Bakshi and music by Rajesh Roshan. The memorable songs are Tauba tera jalwa hai (Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar) and Mere dil mein jo hota hai (Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar). Jeetendra plays a special appearance as a dancer called Rocky. He performs the title song with Ram and Rahim Hum to aap ke deewane hai (sung by Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar and Mohammed Rafi).

My Thoughts

The plot is entertaining in parts but predictable. It might have worked if a proper love triangle had been shown with lesser interference from the 2 father characters. Sameera’s decision in the climax is too abrupt. Rishi Kapoor is impressive as Ram. Rakesh Roshan is more impactful as the Hindi tutor and looks comfortable in the comedy track with Pran. What can we say about Ashok Kumar and Pran? The roles could have been better written but they are hilarious in their constant bickering and give and take. Deven Verma is equally impressive in the small role of the butler. Tina Munim looks beautiful and plays the confused girl convincingly. Not an easy role as she needs to deal with 2 fathers and 2 suitors at the same time! Ranjeet is as usual good as the stereotype villain.