Woh Main Nahin (1974)

My Reviews

Woh Main Nahi is a Hindi movie adapted from Marathi writer Acharya Atre’s play To Mee Navhech (That’s Not Me). The play was inspired from a true story where the protagonist marries several woman for money and later abandons them. He was ultimately caught and presented in court for judgement. Woh Main Nahin is directed by Mohan Segal.

The Plot

The movie opens with Anju/Anjali (Rekha) driving her car recklessly and having thoughts of suicide. She can’t stay with her father and young stepmother anymore. Her stepmother has made her life hell and arranged her marriage with one Ranjit Mukherjee. Anju doesn’t agree with this forced match making and fights with her mother and decides to leave the house forever. Her father Seth Dwarkadas (Manher Desai) tries to stop her but she doesn’t relent and leaves in her car. She reaches the jungle. The car crashes and she manages to get out safely. But the jungle is not a safe place.

She encounters many animals and a human being. The human being is a forest conservator Vijay (Navin Nischol). He saves her from a lion attack and takes her to his makeshift home. She fights with him not knowing his identity. She feels he is after her money and tries to run away. She even shoots him by mistake. She encounters some goons and Vijay saves her once again.

There is a tribal celebration in the forest and Anju dances with Vijay and they fall in love. Anju returns home and introduces Vijay to her father as her prospective life partner. The parents are shocked. Vijay mentions he is an orphan and has only one friend Ranjit Mukherjee (Rakesh Pandey) whom he meets very occasionally. The parents realize Ranjit is the same man whose match has been arranged with Anju.

Vijay and Ranjit meet and realize Anju is the same girl they are seeking to marry. Vijay tries to convince Anju that Ranjit is a rich man and she will be happy with him. But Anju doesn’t relent. Ranjit convinces Anju’s father Dwarkadas that his money is Vijay’s money and they should proceed with the marriage. All is well and Vijay and Anju are about to get married. But Inspector Kapoor (Kamaldeep) suddenly arrives to stop the ceremony.

The police are accompanied by a woman (Sultana), her child and her father Shaikh Mansoor (Krishan Dhawan). The woman Sultana identifies Vijay as Salimuddin, her husband and father of her son. Vijay refutes all charges with the dialogue “Woh – main nahin” implying she is referring to a different person and that’s not him. The police find a bag containing some wigs and fake ID cards in Vijay’s hotel room. Vijay is arrested. Ranjit steps in to rescue him and the case reaches the court.

The prosecution lawyer Iftekhar tells the apparent story of Vijay alias Salimuddin and many other aliases. Vijay stays in the forest but travels to different cities under the pretext of meeting women, marrying them and fleeing some days or months later with their money and valuables. This began with Shaikh Mansoor’s family in Hyderabad. Vijay impressed the family by acting as a poor, god fearing and hardworking man. Shaikh offers him a job in his tin factory. After getting close to the family, he married Shaikh’s daughter Sultana; they had a son. One day he mortgages the factory and runs away with the money abandoning his wife and son.

The court has assigned a lawyer to Vijay but he decides to fight his case alone. He shrewdly cross examines Shaikh Mansoor and brings out some disturbing facts which make him a non-reliable prosecution witness. Again he refutes the charges stating “Woh main nahin.” But this is only the beginning. There are other women, of different religions with similar stories. Sunanda Datar (Padmini Kapila) alleges he is Diwakar Ganesh Datar. She has met him through the Happy Marriage Bureau run by Gangutai Ghotale (Nadira). Diwakar had made a story of how he is a secret officer and has 3 brothers Daji Shastri, Ashok Paranjape and Johnny Walker. Diwakar marries Sunanda. She is pregnant and he refuses to accept it as his own child. He tells her his younger brother Captain Ashok, a naval officer is getting married and needs her jewellery.

He disappears with the jewellery for a couple of months. Sunanda comes to meet Pamela (Asha Sachdev) who is now Ashok’s wife. Pamela is a cabaret dancer who had met Ashok in her hotel and they had got married. Ultimately, Ashok and Diwakar arrive (separately) to meet and convince their wives. They both cook up a story and leave. The police also arrive. Finally Pamela realizes she has been duped of her savings by Ashok. And Ashok and Diwakar go missing.

The final witness is Chandarani Chitrao. Vijay had arrived at their village posing as Radheyshyam Maharaj. Apparently he has fled with her daughter Venu’s (Nazneen’s) jewellery and murdered her. But there is no proof available.

Thus the case ends. And the court is ready to deliver the judgement. Will Vijay be pronounced guilty? Is he a cheat and fraud in reality? Is there any alternative? What happens to Anju and their marriage?

The Music

Sonik Omi are the music directors. They had composed hit music for Mohan Segal’s earlier movie Saawan Bhado (1970) which also starred Navin Nischol and Rekha. However, the music of Woh Main Nahin is fairly forgettable.

My Thoughts

To Mee Navhech was a classic play. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about Woh Main Nahin. Navin Nischol displays his abilities through the multiple roles and is convincing. The rest of the cast don’t have much to do. There are some seasoned supporting actors who appear to be under utilized. The problem is with the beginning and ending. The first half and hour is dedicated to the Vijay-Anju romance but it fails to click. The jungle scenes are stretched and the romance forced. They could have shown that the couple is already in love with a flashback explaining how they met etc. The original story is altered for the movie audience but doesn’t work as desired. The court scenes which form the crux of the story are less engaging. And the ending is twisted and falls apart.

Overall, the movie is a wasted effort. There was a Tamil movie Naan Avanillai starring Gemini Ganesan adapted from the same play and released in the same year. It would be worth watching if it is closer to the inspiration or a celebration of cinematic liberties.

Return Of Jewel Thief (1996)

My Reviews,

A mention of Jewel Thief immediately brings into mind the Vijay Anand directed 1967 movie. Starring Dev Anand, Vyjanthimala, Ashok Kumar and others, it was a suspense movie with good direction, performances and music. Inspired from this movie, someone decided to make a sequel after almost 30 years. The result is a disaster called Return of Jewel Thief, directed by Ashok Tyagi.

The Plot

You are warned at the start that you are entering a world of fantasy, whatever it means. The film opens with the release of the villain of the prequel i.e. jewel thief Prince Arjun (Ashok Kumar). He is an angry old man seeking revenge from Vinay Kumar (Dev Anand). Prince had tried to blame Vinay for all the robberies he had committed. Vinay had turned the tables and Prince and his associates had landed in jail. What happened to the associates is not revealed. Prince returns home where he has some gang members including Vishakha/ Sheetal (Anu Aggarwal).

Vinay has followed his passion and set up a jewellery collection. His only remaining wish is to bring the Kohinoor diamond to India. He is in talks with the chief minister Neelkanth (Prem Chopra) and the British authorities to make this happen.

Then you have 2 more jewel thieves. Jucaso (Sadashiv Amrapurkar) and Johnny (Jackie Shroff). Jackie’s character reminds you of Johnny from Johnny Mera Naam (1970), another Dev Anand film. He has a girlfriend Soni (Shilpa Shirodkar).

Another important character is Commissioner Surya Dev Singh (Dharmendra). He behaves as if he is the commissioner of the whole country. His mission is to capture all jewel thieves. It is later revealed he is Prince Arjun’s son which adds a twist to the already twisted tale.

Vinay and Neelkanth reach an agreement with the British authorities to bring the Kohinoor to India as an exhibit for a few weeks. The diamond will be displayed in Vinay’s musuem. For this, Vinay has to keep his whole jewellery collection of Rs 50,000 crore as guarantee. If something happens to the Kohinoor, the British will confiscate his collection. Surya Dev will be looking after the security arrangements.

So the Kohinoor arrives in India. There is a celebration song by Vinay and Surya Dev. The villains Prince, Jucaso and Johnny also visit the museum to look at the diamond and the security arrangements. All are aiming to steal to diamond. But the security is tight. There are laser lights and alarms. The security is changed every 15 minutes. Prince sends Vishakha to seduce Vinay and get the security plans and blueprints. She succeeds and Prince kills her abruptly because she was double crossing him!

Ramdom things continue to happen. Prince tries to make a deal with Jucaso for stealing the diamond but fails. Then Prince kidnap’s Johnny’s girlfriend Soni and forces him to work with him to make the robbery successful. Meanwhile Neelkanth is also making plans to steal the diamond and become the Prime Minister. He will put the blame on Surya Dev who is the security incharge. There is also a diamond expert character played by Madhoo whose only mission is to sign romantic songs with Johnny.

Ultimately Johnny succeeds in the mission. But there are multiple fake diamonds passing around and there is confusion as to who has the real diamond and who is the real jewel thief. The suspects include Prince, Jucaso, Johnny and even Surya Dev & Vinay and the mystery is revealed in a ridiculous climax.

The Music

Jatin Lalit give some peppy music. The songs are not bad but too many and placed inappropriately. They dont add much to the movie and you are reminded of the original movie songs which are still memorable.

My Thoughts

Ashok Kumar was 80+ when he did the movie and doesn’t add much value to his character. A 70+ Dev Anand’s dialogue delivery and mannerisms are unintentionally funny. Dharmendra, Jackie and others act on similar lines. The three ladies have absolutely nothing to do except look beautiful and participate in songs.

Sequels are tricky especially when the original is a 1960s classic movie. And this sequel is an avoidable movie. The editing is patchy. The unwanted songs appear randomly. There is no cohesive story which heightens the suspense leading to the robbery and the final reveal. The climax is badly done. Overall, this fantasy world doesn’t work and the result is a flop and forgettable movie.

Ek Unaad Divas (2006)

My Reviews,

Ek Unaad Divas is a simple Marathi movie showing the events occurring in the life of the protagonist played by Ashok Saraf. The way he turns truant (unaad) for a day and its impact forms the essence of the story.

The Plot

The movie opens with a fresh morning. Its Vishwas Dabholkar’s (Ashok Saraf’s) birthday. He is a workaholic and highly disciplined person. A stickler of manners and etiquette, he expects others (mainly his family) to follow his line. His wife (Ila Bhate) and college going son Manoj (Omkar Karve) greet him and accompany him for breakfast. His wife has arranged a birthday party in the evening. She asks him if Manoj can go to college a bit late today. But Vishwas gives a lecture on why the college needs to be bunked on his birthday. Manoj then gives him the birthday gift – a colorful shirt which Vishwas rejects immediately. He only wears light colored shirts and admonishes his wife and Manoj for their choice.

His wife mentions an article in Time magazine which says that spending your day differently by breaking the routine can increase your life by 5 years. But Vishwas is in no mood to listen. For him work is worship and he gets ready to leave for office. He is further incensed when the driver arrives 10 minutes late. He reprimands the driver and asks him to stay home for the day. An angry Vishwas gets into the driver’s seat and drives to the office himself. Thus begins his birthday on a not so cheerful note.

He arrives in the office and is kept waiting by his client Mohanlal (Viju Khote) from Delhi. A corrupt and pleasure loving Mohanlal finally arrives and after some irritable actions (in Vishwas’s view), confirms the deal of Rs. 5 crores with the company. Mr Dinesh Agarwal (Vishwas’s senior) joins and congratulates them on the deal. Vishwas decides to accompany Mohanlal for lunch. Mohanlal is satisfied with the lunch and asks Vishwas if he can keep his car for the day. While Vishwas may not like the man, he has to keep in mind the Rs 5 crore deal. Vishwas reluctantly agrees and Mohanlal is impressed with the favour.

A happy Mohanlal departs with the car and Vishwas searches for a taxi to take him back to the office. But there is no taxi on the road as the taxi union has announced a strike from 1.00 p.m. Vishwas feels helpless and tries to get on a bus. But he is not used to public transport and handling the crowd of commuters. He has no option but to keep walking and decide how to face this unexpected turn of events. He even manages to lose his mobile.

And thus begins his off the routine “journey.” During the next few hours he meets some known and unknown characters. One of them is his school classmate Govinda Khadap. Govinda earns much lesser than Vishwas. He cannot afford to call his wife and children to stay with him. But he is contented with his achievements. Vishwas listens to him and contemplates if one can be happy in the smaller joys and successes that life offers.

Meanwhile his bad luck continues. Circumstances make him change his spoiled white “routine” shirt and wear a colorful shirt (which he totally despises). But this also helps to change his outlook and become more accepting for the rest of the day. He decides to just let go and face things as they come.

This leads to some funny interactions with the people he meets. Some masks come off too enabling Vishwas to view some harsh realities.

Of course, he manages to return home on time for the party. But his close ones are surprised to see the apparent change not only in his attire but his attitude towards life.

The Music

There is only one song which appears naturally in the flow of the story. Vishwas comes across an old singer Miss Chandrika (Faiyyaz). He is her fan. She had sung a few songs and disappeared from the profession due to rivalry, politics etc. He requests her to sing his favorite song and she fulfils his request wholeheartedly. The song is Hur hur asate tich uri, sung by Shubha Joshi and lyrics by Saumitra. Salil Kulkarni is the composer of this beautiful number.

My Thoughts

The film’s story is offbeat and does not have the regular hero, heroine, villain pattern. Credit to actor Vijay Patkar who makes his debut with a different genre. While evidently low budget in places, the casting and the acting cover up the shortcomings.

Ashok Saraf plays the middle aged protagonist who wants to stick to his principles at all costs. The unpredictability of the day brings out the transition in his character. He becomes mild, accepting, and someone enjoying the situation. While his sudden change may seem a fantasy, he tries to make the character and the situation believable. His interaction with various characters are effective. And he keeps receiving some form of wisdom from the  people he meets with. Most of the supporting actors are veterans and seasoned performers who pitch in perfectly.