Shaque (1976)

I had watched Aruna Vikas's Shaque as a young teenager. Considering that I am blessed with a

remarkable memory, I didn't really forget the plot and the characters but when I watched it yesterday I realised that my reaction to the film had undergone quite some change. The first viewing was accompanied by my father's incessant appreciation of Utpal Dutt, who plays a unique role in the film. With his commentary I ended up believing that it is a perfect suspense thriller with able performances not only by Dutt but also by the protagonists Vinod Khanna and Shabana Azmi. Understandably this teenager's impression was a tad coloured.
This time the commentary was absent. Hence, I watched the film from top to toe and realised that while the plot is fantastic, the music is apt to build up the suspense, Utpal Dutt is cut out for the role of Maan Singh, it is Vinod Khanna and Shabana Azmi who fail to grasp my attention. Both are so inconsistent in the film, to the extent of

being disinterested. Vinod Khanna's acting skills I'm not too sure of, but I know Shabana can own the screen. Here she does not. Maybe that's why Shaque for me isn't the perfect suspense thriller...
Meena Joshi receives an curious letter from some Maan Singh, while her husband, Vinod Joshi is away for work. The letter alleges that Vinod had murdered Kale after stealing money from his office and put the blame on the innocent Subramanium. The author also alleges that the Joshis' sudden rise to riches was because of that stolen money and that Vinod is actually a scheming fellow who has planned the misdeed. Meena's halcyon world comes crashing down. While she refuses to believe what the letter says, she keeps questioning Vinod's sudden contact with so much money. Eventually Vinod finds out that Meena is suspecting him and though he tells her that he earned all the property through his dealings in the share market, Meena takes it all in with a pinch of salt.

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Triangle A (Amar Akbar Anthony)

I am not too fond of Manmohan Desai films. Neither do I like Amitabh Bachchan in them. Oh yes! I really don't. The films are loud, hardly have good music, except for a feet-tapping song or two in passing and Amitabh was so in-your-face in them. The other day, I got rebuked by a dear friend for ridiculing the 'Mirror scene' in Amar Akbar Anthony which I'm told that no one else but Amitabh could have pulled off. May be. But I did not find it funny at all! And, I don't like him in these 'dhishoom dhishoom' films. I'd much rather watch him as the egoistic husband in Abhimaan, a scheming jaggery-seller in Saudagar, or the revenging husband in Ajnabi. Those are my kind of films. And I certainly like Amitabh in them.

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Behind the scenes (Guddi)

There are several scenes in Guddi that I love. For, there are several scenes in this 1971 film that you aught to love. Deftly balancing a sweet romance with a poignant take on the true life in the inner precincts of film studios in Bombay (yes, I prefer calling the place so), Hrishikesh Mukherjee spins a tale that is so didactic. Interesting anecdotes populate every moment and lovely performances make this film a roller-coaster ride. At one point you feel that it is after all a coming-of-age sage of a young girl heavily infatuated with her matinee idol, at another point it is the stark depiction of the strange world of films.

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Adventure on the holy banks (Jai Baba Felunath)

Satyajit Ray did with his films what many filmmakers of his generation didn't. He infused in his scripts the sights, sounds and smells of the places where his story is set. So, along with the characters of the film and their varied idiosyncrasies, the place attains a personality. Like how Rajasthan does in Sonar Kella, how Shundi does in Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen and Varanasi in 1979's Jai Baba Felunath.While you follow Prodosh Mitra and his party as he unravels the mystery behind the stolen Ganesha statuette, you start noticing how Ray brings Varanasi and the holy banks alive. The place adds to the fun and adventure of the sleuth's exploits. While the days are used to discover the frantic activities in the vibrant surroundings, the dark nights heighten the eerie nature of the serpentine lanes. That is the fun in Ray's Feluda films. They are detective stories as well as entertaining travelogues, something that Sandip Ray's film miss...

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Our childhood hero (Shriman Prithviraj)

If I remember correctly, it was in standard seven. One day, we all came to school with a big smile on our face. The first thing that we friends asked each other on entering the classroom after the assembly prayers were over was whether we saw Shriman Prithviraj the previous night on national television. The reply was unanimous. Yes, said all. And then it started. The dissection and bisection of every scene. The constant repetition of the funny one-liners. The feelings for the pre-pubescent Rashik were enumerated. The joys at the union of Rashik and Amalabala was pronounced. In short, an entire classroom of 58 odd students chirped and bonded over this 1973 Tarun Majumdar masterpiece. Such is the fan following of this cult classic that even today when we school friends meet over a cuppa, we relive that day in class seven when this film was the topic of discussion for an entire week.

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Watch just for the fun (Naram Garam)

Sometimes I wonder whether Utpal Dutt got pigeonholed into playing the same kind of character when he signed a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film. Look at his roles in Golmaal, Naram Garam and Kissi Se Na Kehna. You'll find that his persona borders on the same lines. He is loud and prone to committing verbal faux pas at the drop of a hat, is always suspecting people for tiny little things, is acting in the most hilarious manner and is being painfully funny without even realising it. He is lovable, silly yet so endearing. And he even looks the same. So what can be the rationale behind watching these films over and over again, when you get to see the same old Utpal Dutt in all the three films.

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Dutt drama (Kissi Se Na Kehna)

I wonder whether Kissi se na kehna would have been as memorable without Utpal Dutt. For, who would have managed to look this flummoxed, befuddled and flabbergasted at the sight of a jeans-clad modern girl spewing English lines at top speed before her prospective father-in-law??? Or, as shocked and dismayed when another such girl grooves to some popular English track, right before him!! Or look as satisfied and at peace when he hears the simple Rama sing, Dhunde yashodha chahu orh? Or as satiated when he has eaten a plateful of delectable kachoris? Or, as disappointed and hurt when he learns of Rama's truth?
No one, right? Dutt's magic is totally unmatched. No one, yes, no one could have fitted the part of Kailashpati, the large-hearted, lovable father-in-law in this rollicking 1983 Hrishikesh Mukherjee romantic comedy.

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