Category Archives: My Reviews

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.

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.