In 1979, Hrishikesh Mukherjee presented Golmaal. A delightful comedy, the story was about a boss Bhavani Shankar (Utpal Dutt) and his employee Ram Prasad (Amol Palekar). The boss is a quirky character with his list of do’s and dont’s and his employee has to go to great lengths to keep him happy; all for the sake of his job. Hrishikesh Mukherjee borrows the same theme in his next offering Naram Garam. The film is quite entertaining but surprisingly was not successful as Golmaal.

Utpal Dutt’s death anniversary falls on 19 August, so this post is a way of remembering the great actor.

---

The Plot

Naram Garam begins with Ram Prasad (Amol Palekar) visiting his village. Vishnu Prasad known as Masterji (A.K. Hangal) has written to him to come urgently. Apparently, their families were quite close to each other when Ram Prasad’s family lived in the village. Later, Ram Prasad sold everything and left the village for better prospects. Masterji welcomes Ram Prasad and updates him about his sorry state of affairs (read financial troubles). Masterji has been borrowing money from the moneylender. He had to mortgage his house when his wife was unwell (who passed away later). He is unable to repay the money and will have to vacate the house in the near future. It seems he does not have any assured source of income.

Masterji has a daughter – the beautiful Kusum (Swaroop Sampat). Kusum or Kusi is an educated girl, intelligent and has learnt music. She is of marriageable age but he is in no position to pay the required dowry. This is his second worry.

His final worry is his son Birjoo (Anand) who has joined a drama company. He considers Birjoo a good for nothing son who is not able to support his family in their time of need. With all this background, he requests Ram Prasad to marry Kusum and take her with him. But Ram Prasad politely refuses. He works for a paltry Rs 140 and his own condition is pathetic. He apologizes but he really cannot fulfil Masterji’s wishes.

As expected, Ram Prasad and Kusum share romantic feelings but unfortunately marriage looks a distant dream for them. That night Birjoo comes to meet Kusum secretly. He tells her how much he cares for them. He will be successful in his work and make his father proud. Kusum requests him to come back soon but he says acting is his future. He cannot stay for long. He works in a drama company (owner played by Nilu Phule) and the company is scheduled to depart for its next destination soon. Next day, Ram Prasad leaves too.

Thus we know the situation of Ram Prasad and Kusum. It’s time to meet Ram Prasad’s boss. The terror called Bhavani Shankar Bajpai (Utpal Dutt). Bhavani Shankar is a miser and highly superstitious man. His wife Ahilya had passed away 12 years back. Since then he spends a lot of time chasing holy men and blindly follow their advice (read superstitions). For example, he will avoid stepping out if there is rahu kaalam (a specific period of time each day considered inauspicious) and expect others to follow the same. This behaviour irritates his employees as well as his family members. His weakness in nariyal ki mithai (sweet made from coconut).

His younger brother is Kali Shankar alias Babua (Shatrughan Sinha). He owns a garage and is happy in the company of his cars and their repairing. He hates tea and prefers chana-gud. He worships women with a strong character such as Rani Padmini, Jhansi ki Rani etc. He expects his would be wife to be of the same calibre. He would rather remain a bachelor than marry a “weak” girl. Unfortunately, Babua’s elder brother has fixed his marriage, much to his displeasure.

Bhavani Shankar has a 16 year old daughter Sumitra alias Sumi (Kiran Vairale). Sumi stays with her maternal grandmother Naniji (played by Dina Pathak). She has to stay there until her father’s so called inauspicious phase passes on in a few months. Naniji does not approve of Bhavani Shankar’s over reliance on astrologer advice and wants him to think practically.

Sumi has come to visit her father, accompanied by her grandmother. Sumi shares a special bond with her uncle Babua and teases him on his would be wife. They sing a song Ek baat suni hai chachaji batlaane waali hai.

Bhavani Shankar has another brother (a distant relative) called Gajanan (Suresh Chatwal) who works as his estate manager. Bhavani Shankar does not consider Gajanan an efficient employee and reprimands him frequently. On the other hand, he is impressed by Ram Prasad, who apparently understands his inclination for superstitions and follows his instructions precisely.

He has assigned a task to Ram Prasad. The Bajpai family owns a property called Bagicha wali kothi in Allahabad. There was an ownership dispute and the court case has been ongoing for 53 years. Bhavani Shankar’s grandfather had filed the case. The property is worth 2 lakh rupees, and his family have spent more than 4 lakhs to fight the case. This will be the last hearing and he is deputing Ramprasad to go to Allahabad. Ram Prasad has to meet with the current lawyer (the seventh, the earlier six have died defending the case!), attend the hearing and come back with the result.

Bhavani Shankar had gone to Banaras to seek his astrologer’s advice on the hearing. He has been advised that the lawyer’s name should start with the letter “R”, the hearing should not happen before 2.30 p.m. and so on. Bhavani Shankar is aghast to hear that the lawyer’s name is Narayan Pandey. However Ram Prasad cooks up a story that his actual name is Raj Narayan Pandey and the first name had to be dropped for some reason. Bhavani Shankar is relieved to hear this. Ram Prasad reaches Allahabad and luckily the court rules in the Bajpai family’s favour.

Bhavani Shankar is overjoyed to hear the news. He gives an increment of “5 rupees” to Ram Prasad for his hard work. Ram Prasad was hoping for a higher rise as he hasn’t forgotten Kusum and the marriage proposal.

Bhavani Shankar asks Ram Prasad to repair and set up the Bagicha wali kothi, so he can stay there occasionally. Ram Prasad completes the job and Bhavani Shankar is impressed. But tragedy strikes for Masterji and in turn Ram Prasad. Masterji has to give up his house as he was unable to pay back the loan. Left with no choice, he comes and occupies the kothi without any prior intimation to Ram Prasad. Ram Prasad doesn’t know how to react to this development. On one hand he would like to help Masterji but he is only a servant, answerable to Bhavani Shankar. If Bhavani Shankar comes to know, it will be a disaster.

But the secret is soon out. News about the illegal occupation of the kothi by an old man and his daughter reach the manager Gajanan and he personally goes to investigate. He confronts Masterji who tells him their sorry tale. However Kusum’s entry and her beauty melts Gajanan’s heart. He voices his thoughts of getting married to Kusum. Masterji can continue to occupy the kothi. Ram Prasad is not amused and escalates the matter to Babua, who confronts Gajanan. Gajanan is shown his place and Ram Prasad is relieved.

However things take an unexpected turn when Babua goes to meet Masterji with the intention of throwing him out of the house and ending the matter. He tries to tackle Masterji physically but an angry Kusum steps in and lectures him about his wild behaviour. Her demeanour impresses Babua. She is the strong character he was hoping to meet some day. She would be the perfect wife for him. To Ram Prasad’s disappointment, Babua softens up and voices his feelings about Kusum. Realising his plan has again failed, he needs to highlight the matter to the elder brother Bhavani Shankar for his intervention.

Bhavani Shankar has been visiting his astrologer Shastriji (Om Prakash in a special appearance). Shastriji has advised him to marry again to settle all his (so called) problems. Once he is married, all the stars and planets will be perfectly aligned and end his worries. (This is a plan of Shastriji. He has another client who has an unmarried daughter called Kalyani. He plans to get her married to Bhavani Shankar.) Shastriji informs Bhavani Shankar that the girl’s name should start with “K.”

Ram Prasad informs Bhavani Shankar about the situation of the kothi and Babua’s intention to marry the daughter of the illegal occupier of the kothi. Bhavani Shankar is furious to hear this. He takes his rifle and goes to meet Masterji.

Meanwhile, Ram Prasad has made plans with Masterji and Kusum to ensure Bhavani Shankar is suitably impressed by their behaviour and the matter will be settled amicably. He even arranges his boss’s favourite nariyal ki mithai, which can be served to pacify him further. Just before his arrival, he gets Kusum to sing a song Mere angana aaye hai Ghanshyam and Bhavani Shankar is impressed by her sweet voice. Bhavani Shankar meets Masterji. When Kusum arrives and serves his favourite mithai, he is taken in by the sweet as well as her looks. He is further convinced when he hears her name. Seems his astrologer was right. There is nothing wrong in considering marriage when someone like Kusum can be the perfect choice for wife number 2. Who cares of the difference in their ages.

Bhavani Shankar proposes marriage. Ram Prasad feels defeated. All his plans have failed. First the manager, then the younger brother and now the boss. All have fallen for Kusum. Bhavani Shankar looks forward to spending his life with Kusum. But he wants to keep the marriage a secret. He has no plans to inform Sumi or his mother in law of his second marriage. He intends to keep Kusum in the Bagicha wali kothi till Sumi gets married and things settle down. A weird scheme but there is no stopping for him.

And the day of the wedding arrives. Will Bhavani Shankar marry Kusum? What about her relationship with Ram Prasad? Will Bhavani Shankar realize the truth and what will be the outcome? Things get funnier as the movie nears its climax. By the way, Birjoo finds a new job on his terms in a drama company run by Ratnabai (Padma Chavan).

The Music

Similar to Golmaal. the songs were written by Gulzar and composed by R.D. Burman. Unfortunately, they are not that memorable today. Ek baat suni hai chachaji and Mere angana aaye hai are sweet. Another song that stands out but did not become popular is Hamein raaston ki zaroorat nahi hai. This is possibly the most reused tune in Hindi cinema! Some of the songs sharing this tune are Thandi hawayein leherake aaye from Naujawan (1951), Tera dil kaha hai from Chandni Chowk (1954), Yahi hai tamanna tere ghar ke samne from Aap ki Parchhaiyan (1964), Rahe na rahe hum from Mamta (1966) and Sagar Kinare Dil Ye Pukaare from Saagar (1985).

My Thoughts

While watching Naram Garam you are constantly reminded of Golmaal. Mainly because of Utpal Dutt’s and Amol Palekar’s characters. Right from their names to their character traits and acting style which are so similar to Golmaal. But they deliver magnificently. It is fun to watch how Ram Parasad makes desperate efforts to stay one step ahead of his boss and manage his expectations every time. Utpal Dutt is amusing as he transforms after meeting Kusum. His reactions are hilarious as on one hand he has to be mindful of his age and position but on the other hand he dreams of his future with his much younger wife. You can only admire the performance of this veteran actor. You have to give credit to Hrishikesh Mukherjee on the way he manages to create comedy through simple dialogues and seemingly normal actions and reactions.

The surprise package is Shatrughan Sinha. He proves his command over dialogue delivery and more importantly his comfort with the comedy genre in all the scenes. While he displays an aggressive personality overall, he is forced to tone down in front of his elder brother. This makes the situation more comical to watch.

This was Swaroop Sampat’s debut movie. For some reason her voice is dubbed (by Farida Jalal(?)). A. K. Hangal, Dina Pathak, Kiran Vairale are all impressive in their minor roles. The side plot involving Anand, Nilu Phule and Padma Chavan doesn’t add much to the main story.