Chupke Chupke vs Chhadmabeshi

Game for some fun? Watch Agradoot's 1971 comic caper, Chhadmabeshi. But, don't stop at that. Move on to Chupke Chupke, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's inspired version of Chhadmabeshi. And, see the fun multiplying. A carbon copy of its Bengali predecessor, this 1975 comedy is a bomb. It explodes to hit you with action, entertainment and gags. And then, you suddenly realise how the Bengali version, though is enjoyable and has Uttam Kumar, the be-all-and-end-all of Bengali cinema, lacks punch and speed.

To the Bengali original then. Abanish Sen (Uttam Kumar), a professor of Botany, plays a practical prank on his brother-in-law, Barrister Prasanta Ghosh (Bikash Ray), who stays in Allahabad.
He charades as a driver and seeks employment under Ghosh. Since Ghosh is a stickler for good manners and impeccable prowess over Bengali, Sen presents a blemish-free profile. The Ghoshs are happy with him, mainly because Moshaheblal, their other driver, is cheeky and inept. He robs his employer of petty sums complaining of niggling techninal motor problems. So, Gourhari appears a Godsend.

Well, not for long. Soon he drives Ghosh and his wife, Sumitra (Anubha Gupta) to exasperation with his verbose nature. He keeps pelting them with silly queries, raising questions on the funniness of the English language (read the redundancy of 'p' in 'pneumonia' and 'ph' in 'phthysis') and brazenly retaliates to every small admonishment. When rapped a bit harder, he softens his voice to say, "Gorib boley apni amon korchen." (I'm poor hence you are behaving like this). Soon Ghosh and his wife loose their peace, thanks to Gourhari's comical grind.

Then comes the news that Abanish's wife, Sulekha, will be soon visiting the Ghoshs. (she is Sumitra's sister). Gourhari's eyes brighten, much to the irritation of the Ghoshs, who find a servant's joy at Sulekha's arrival highly inappropriate. But, Gourhari cooks up a story of his acquaintance with Sulekha and says that, "I like her very much and she loves me too!"

Sulekha arrives and makes herself comfortable in the charade. She pretends to know Gourhari and hardly talks of Abanish, her boring husband. The Ghoshs are further annoyed when she talks to him endlessly, sings with him, sits with him in the front seat in the car and has only pleasant things to say about this unnerving irritant. The Ghoshs keep worrying that when Abanish will come to Allahabad, he will get extremely angry seeing his wife getting cozy with this servant! Then suddenly one day Sulekha elopes with Gourhari, increasing our fun and the Ghoshs' worries...

The comedy increases when Abanish's friend, Subimal presents himself as Abanish, and pretends to be very hurt and angry with Sulekha when he arrives at Allahabad. He puts up at Binoy's place (Binoy is Abanish's dear friend and a party to the charade) and happily falls in love with Boshudha, his cousin! Much to the displeasure of Binoy's wife, Latika, played very well by Samita Biswas. (The Hindi one had the cute Lily Chakraborty in this role). The Ghoshs are now dumbstruck and we are left in splits...

The hindi version is the same, with a few tiny changes here and there (Hindi is stressed on instead of Bengali and the action shifts from Allahabad to Mumbai). But, the major difference is in the execution. Well, I won't say that the Bengali one is bad. In fact, it is very good. You cannot go wrong if you have Uttam Kumar with a bundle of comic tricks up his sleeves. It is infact Bikash Ray who disappoints. While you laugh away at Om Prakash's expressions as Raghavendra Sharma, the baffled brother-in-law who is at the receiving end of Pyare's antics, you keep wondering why Ray does not emote enough. He is a bit stiff. His chemistry with his fellow actors lacks steam. When Om Prakash tells Sumitra, "E Sumi, tu is tarha mere samne use Pyare Pyare mat bulaya kar, mujhey lagta hain mera patta kat gaya..." I find myself chuckling at his cute self. Prakash is crazily funny. His slur is so hilarious that you will your find your eyes moistening. And, when he has those verbal duels with Pyaremohan Illahabadi, you will find sitting straight difficult! When Sulekha elopes with Pyare, he suggests to Sumitra that they should elope too, ha ha...

Chhadmabeshi does not have Sharmila Tagore. The scores come down instantly. Not that Madhabi Mukherjee as Sulekha is bad. She is highly adequate. Everytime Gourhari opens his mouth to drill the Ghoshs with another of his verbal weapons, Sulekha chuckles. She plays on with Gourhari. She sings some brilliant songs and looks nice. But, again she is not the gorgeous Sharmila Tagore. It is not for nothing that Professor Parimal Tripathi is smitten. In fact, the Hindi one lays the ground for the fun, in a more convincing way. The blooming of Sulekha and the professor's romance is so sweet and salty that you can expect gags later. And, Sharmila looks perfect with Dharmendra. In the song Bagon mein kaise yeh phool khiltey hain, she is the epitomy of beauty in her red chiffon saree. As she romances Dharmendra (who looks killingly handsome in his driver's costume), you seem to lose yourself in the halcyon atmosphere. Sharmila has great comic timing, too.

Usha Kiran is Sumitra in Chupke Chupke. She is good but not better than Anubha Gupta, a class performer. She just walks away with the winner's crown against Usha Kiran. Watch her scenes with Gourhari. You'll know what I mean. Another blotch (sorry to offend her fans) is Jaya Bhaduri as Vasudha. She looks bad and is plain disinterested in this film from the start. Perhaps her medical condition is to be blamed for this (she was pregnant during the making of Chupke Chupke). Gone is the ebullience of Mili and Guddi and the quiet beauty of Abhimaan. In fact, Jyotsna Biswas was better as Boshudha. Though not much to look at, she paints a pretty picture of a shy girl who is attracted to a dashing professor, with much more elan.

Chupke Chupke starts very well. It shows Professor Tripathi duping a batch of college girls at a hill station during an educational excursion. He is uproarious as the chowkidaar, with his shawl and monkey cap. Everytime the fat teacher calls, Chowkidaaarrr", Dharmendra goes, "Ayaaa Memshaaaabbb." Very funny. In an attempt to pull off the charade better he even extorts petty bribes from the teacher with a giggle. And then tells her, "Bhagwan ne jitna bada jism diya hain utni badi dil bhi di hain!"

In fact, it is because if this dupe that we know that Professor Tripathi has a knack for pranks. And, he can pull them off with panache. With the help of Sulekha and Haripad Bhaiyya (David). In Chhadmabeshi the prank was too sudden. But, in Chupke Chupke, Sulekha's constant idolisation of Raghavendra Sharma, impinged on Parimal so much that he wanted to fool his brother-in-law. Just once, so that Sulekha admits that her husband is a master also.

In the Bengali film however, Subimal and Boshudha's story was much subtler and hence sweeter. Subhendu Chatterjee's act was understated and restrained. And, as the two fall in love, you smile with the realisation that at last Subimal will find happines with his darling Boshudha. In comparison, Amitabh Bachchan was loud (Ooops!). In an attempt to be funny, he was outright foolish. In fact, there was a disparity between his earlier persona in the Sa re ga ma sequence and during his gotup act. Constantly adjusting his spectacles, he tries to woo Vasudha. Totally lacklustre this Bachchan, compared to the superior act of Dharmendra.

I've written about the prowess of Jahar Ray in the post on Dhanni Meye . In Chhadmabeshi too, Ray has a very funny, though itsy bitsy, role. He plays Moshaheblal, Prashanta Ghosh's cheeky driver. He speaks funny Hindi and gloats with pride when Gourhari calls him ustadji. But he is stupid enough to believe Gourhari's bunkums. Watch him being fooled in the 'letter to God' sequence. Then there is the hilarious 'Mora hati lakh taka" scene. The best is of course Chhi chhi bade sharam ki baat, the song (sung by Anup Ghoshal) where Moshaheblal makes fun of Sulekha's elopement with Gourhari! Ray's wierd expressions are riotous! This comic effect Keshto Mukherjee could not achieve in Chupke Chupke.

There are some great songs in both the films. In that, there's no competition between Sudhin Dasgupta and SD Burman. The Bengali film has Ami kon pothey je choli , Bachao ke acho morechi je prem korey, both sung by Manna Dey (Uttam Kumar looks every bit the pining lover singing this song under Sulekha's window), Amar din katey na and Bohu durey cholo jai. The later two songs are lovely romantic ballads sung by Asha Bhonsle. The Hindi film has the haunting Chupke chupke chaldi purbaiyya (picturised on Jaya Bhaduri), Bagon mein kaise phool khiltey hain (Mukesh sings for Dharmendra here) and Ab se sajan sawan mein by Lata Mangeshkar. Personally I love Ab ke sajan sawan, for its mischievous picturisation. Sharmila is singing this teasing ditty remembering her lover. Dharmendra surreptitiously stands behind the curtain and holds on to her hand while Om Prakash is smelling things fishy! Awesome...

Last but not the least, the lead. Uttam Kumar and Dharmendra. Kumar is great. I can't refute that. But, there is something about Dharmendra! He is heartbreakingly handsome and stupendously funny. His act is effortless. His eye wrinkles are cute. In short, if drivers are like this, then God should make more of them!

Dharmendra's nasal twang makes the comedy even more ribtickling. His sudden squint, stammer and tricks trebble the fun quotient. Uttam Kumar is great, I repeat, but Dharmendra is just so much better. Watch him in the robber scene, in the brushing teeth scene and the "chugalkhor rumaal' scene, you will simply gasp for breath. And, there is a strong chemistry between him and Sharmila. You cannot escape that...

A suggestion. Watch Chhadmabeshi first. Then graduate to Chupke Chupke. Soon, you will realise that the Bengali one is just a trailor to the actual entertainer. Never a dull moment, it will pull you into its comic folds from the first scene itself...