Chhote Nawab (1961)

Continuing the theme of maybe not so remarkable films but definitely a remarkable soundtrack is 1961's Chhote Nawab (Little Master) which as i understand gave Mehmood (one of my favourite comedians) his first leading role, but the great fact about Chhote Nawab is that it marked the  music directorial debut of the great Hindi film music director R.D. Burman. According to Mehmood (via wikipedia) he appointed R.D. Burman as the music director because he got tired of R.D. Burman constantly denting his car with his constant drumming.Great Choice Mehmood I say, as I'm in love with this soundtrack but first lets get into the plot

Our Story begins in Lucknow where Bade Nawab (?) is burdened by the upcoming birthday bash of his 5 going on 20 years old son (just as well, as he was born on a leap year) son Chhote Nawab (Mehmood)

He's advised by his personal Assistant Munshi-ji (S.N. Banerjee) to keep it a low key affair but Safdar (Kumar) his son in law reminds him of his reputation which results in the Nawab taking out a loan from Bhagwati Prasad (?) who's out to exploit him, Nawab places his house as a collateral (I think we know where this is going, bad mistake Nawab)

Days after Chhote Nawab's birthday celebration when he's unable to pay back his loan, Bade Nawab suffers a hear attack when Bhagwati comes to reclaim his property.It turns out the idea to get bade Nawab to place his house as a collateral was a plan between Bhagwati and Safdar to usurp Nawabs wealth. However, Bhagwati cheats Safdar out of his share and ends up usurping Bade Nawab's property leaving Safdar penniless

Angry and frustrated at being conned by Bhagwati, Safdar starts mistreating everyone around  him including his wife (Minoo Mumtaz) and her brother Chhote Nawab. Unable to take Safdar's humiliating treatments any more Chhote Nawab escapes to Mumbai.

He's found roaming the streets of Mumbai by family friend Nawab Nazir (Nasir Hussain)  who takes him home and offers his daughter Roshan (Ameeta) as his fiancee

Chhote Nawab comes across as uncouth and after a humiliating episode Chhote Nawab subjects her to, Ameeta alongside Kanchan (Johnny walker) starts educating Chhote Nawab and transforms him from a bumpkin to a city Slicker

Alas all her hard work soon starts causing jealousy when Sophie (Helen) a night club dancer starts flirting with him

Chhote Nawab starts acting erratically and turns cold towards Roshan and her family, forgetting how they  had helped him when he was down and out (see what the beauty of Helen can cause)

If all this wasn't enough he gets in with the bad crowd when he becomes friends with Bihari (Anwar Hussain) a gambler whose company causes him to start visiting Kotha's (brothels) as well as become a raging alcoholic

The lovely Sheila Vaz

Will Nawab ever come back to his senses or will it be too late to save him from his debauched lifestyle? Watch Chhote Nawab to find out

While not being up there with my favourites, I enjoyed watching Chhote Nawab, the first half moves along rather smoothly and was very enjoyable mostly due to Mehmood's child like antics plus the general drama, but then the second half which follows his journey from Lucknow to Mumbai and which sees him transformed from country bumpkin to city slicker becomes all preachy and moralistic in that cliched modern versus traditional life manner but alas Chhhote Nawab had matured and they had to pad out the story, still though this is na enjoyable film and I'd recomend it for mehmood fans and for R.D. Burmans

Performance wise Mehmood is the scene stealer in this film which I've heard he self produced, I'd describe him as delightfully loud and annoying yet oh so lovable, his childlike mannerisms and body language are simply unmatchable see the scene below for example, I love Mehmood I really do

And Ameeta is love interest was oh so beautiful though a bit too camera conscious as I noticed numerous sceens where kept glancing directly at the camera

 And Helen what a beauty, i loved her look in this film

Great Soundtrack from R.D. Burman, the songs on this blew me away and I couldn't help but appreciate R.D.'s talent ever more so, the songs on here are pretty remarkable for a debut. Favourites include the playful kiddie song 'aam chum tam chuum', the sweet and uplifting 'aaj hua dil matwala' and two super mujra's in the form of 'Ghar aaja ghir' with the lovely Sheila Vaz and 'chura ke dil' can anyone Id the lady in the clip (see her below)

can anyone id her?

two favourites I've chosen to embed are 'matwali ankhonwale' with Mehmood and Helen in full flamenco mode (I love this picturisation so much)


and the fun 'jeenewale muskura ke jee'  I love this composure so much and Mehmood's child like giggles added to the song makes it ever so delightful


Paisa Vasool Rating: 6/10

Jaisa Ko Taisa (1973)

When the title of a film translates into Tit for Tat, you just know there'll be lots of fun to be had, which i did while watching Jaise ko Taisa, this film mixes doppelgängers, great songs, wicked family members & lots of whipping in equal measure for a fun watchable film

Vijay(Jeetendra) a high achiever who's just been awarded medals at college has his joy cut short when is mum is diagnosed with cancer, he's told by the doctor that her illness is treatable for R3000

In a desperate bid to cure his mother Vijay breaks into a wealthy mansion in a bid to steal the money needed for his Maa's treatment, while stealing the money he's caught red handed by an exact look alike of himself who lets him have the money

The two form a friendship and are puzzled by the striking resemblance they share, however

Vinod is the subject of abuse by his cousin Pashi (Ramesh Deo) and uncle Shyamlal (Anwar Hussain) who whip him and give him drugs that will make him timid, with the hopes of them inheriting the riches his father left behind for him

When Vijay learns how Vinod is being ill treated, they swap places and its not long before Vijay now in Vinod's place starts giving Pashi a taste of his own medicine

Vinod on the other hand is revelling in the joys of motherly love and enjoying his break from his wicked family members, things take a turn for him when he stars getting haunted by the ghost of his lover Radha who had committed suicide as he had been a coward in accepting he was her lover

While living in the mansions as Vinod, Vijay meets and falls for feisty village belle Roopa

In a strange case of coincidence Roopa happens to be Radha's sister, when her father catches her romancing Vijay he mistakes him for Vinod admonishing Roopa not to see him anymore has he had caused her sister Radha's death, the R word (Revenge) is now on Roopa's mind as she hopes to get justice for her sister but will she realise in time that Vinod & Vijay are different individuals

Also how long will Vinod & Vijay go unnoticed for in their respective environments? Will they be sussed out? Is Radha really a ghost or is it all an illusion? Will the secret diary containing all the riches to Vinod's father wealth ever be found?

An enjoyable colourful camp camp extravaganza, is how i'd describe this film, its a must for all Jeetendra lovers, plus the songs are really good too, the story doesn't drag on endlessly & the acting is by all means hammy in a fun way

I loved Reena Roy in this, she had just the right amount of fierceness, this was one of her early films and i totally adored her village belle looks, check out all those colours on her outfit as well as her uber fab beehive

Some fab stately mansions

i love the art work in the background

I'm taking a picture of this cake to my bakery, i need a cake like this for my birthday

colourful and it definitely looks yummy

the songs by R.D. Burman is another reason why this film is a keeper for me, there's the haunting 'saajan kahan' , a lovely song on motherhood 'Kaun hai', the fun 'chalte chalte' & the colourful & vibrant 'Bhaiya re Bhaiya'. My two favourites are 'Ab ke sawan mein' which is one of my favourite rain songs with sensuous lyrics such as "Pitter Patter rain drops making me wet, has set my passion aflame" not to mention the sexual chemistry between Reena & Jeetendra

and the superb 'Jaise ko taise na mila' never has whipping been so much fun, and Jeetendra sure looks like he's having a blast cracking that whip

Jaise Ko Taisa - Jaise ko Taisa
Uploaded by kandigee. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Paisa Vasool rating: 6/10

Rafoo Chakkar (1975)

I have never seen Some Like it hot which apparently inspired this movie and to what extent Rafoo Chakkar (Let's Slip Away) rips it off i do not know. But its a fun film and the producers had a sense of humour about it being a copy, this film also involves the first same sex love approval of sorts

Ranjit (Anwar Hussain) and Prakash (Madan Puri) are fraudsters, when they hear of a coming police raid they burn down their warehouse with a worker locked in. Police find them and they're arrested, Ranjit's wife Shanti (Suolchana Latkar) and their son Dev go leave with her friend Salim's mother (Mumtaz Begum)



Twenty years later when Ranjit and Prakash are released from jail, Ranjit longs for his family and hopes to be reunited but his evil and bossy friend Prakash tells him to snap out of it


Also Dev (Rishi Kapoor) and Salim (Paintal) have now grown up to become best buddies, they play in a music band to support themselves and their mothers


On Prakash's wedding day to Ritu (Neetu Singh), Salim and Dev are part of the music band players and when Ritu the bride to be escapes because she's been forced into the marriage by her wicked Aunt and uncle for R50,000, they're left stranded and unpaid



They haggle for their wages from Prakash who refuses to pay them. Unknown to Dev is the fact that Ranjit his father is Prakash's best man. Following Ritu's escape her friend gets a job with an all girl band going to Kashmir


Dev and Salim on the other hand are strapped for cash and are in need of a job, they audition for a band but they're told its a girls only band. When Sudha & Sujata a friend of theirs leave their luggage behind Dev and Salim decide to take their luggage over to them, on their way they come across Ranjit and Prakash committing murder, they're seen by Ranjit and Prakash and they become wanted


They put up a disguise wearing the clothes in the luggages of their friends Sudha & Sujata and escape from Mumbai. They change their names to Devi (Dev) and Salma (Salim)


They join the train with the girl band going to Kashmir, the band manager puts them to a song and dance test after which if they pass they'll be able to join, they pass with flying colours and are allowed into the band


They make friends with all of the other band members and Dev falls for Ritu who strikes a warm friendship with Devi, she tells him how she had escaped from a forced marriage and how she hopes to marry a rich young man


When Dev finds out she would love a rich man he starts meeting her and charms his way into her heart as the wealthy Esso, its not long before Ritu falls head over heels for him



Salma on the other hand also finds an admirer in the form of Rajinder Nath and its not long before she starts fallin for him too


Which Dev is quick to remind him of

He too tells Dev to man up and tell Ritu the truth


back in Bombay when Dev writes home to his mom she stupidly/naively hands the address over to the Goons who've been chasing them

Also included in the mix is this James Bond style Villain


Will they be Dev and Salim be found by Pakash & Ranjit's men? Will Dev reveal the truth to Ritu? Will Ranjit realsie the wanted witnesses is his son Dev? Will Salma follow her heart and return Rajinder's affections? For this and a whole lot fun reasons do watch Rafoo Chakkar

I enjoyed this very much, its highly entertaing and it holds you in all the way through. Minor complaints are from a quite choppy dvd or could it have been bad editing on the part of the director?

Rishi and Paintal were fantastic in drag and they mostly do manage to pull it off mostly Rishi though



The romance between Rishi and Neetu seemed so real and adorable, is it any wonder they're still married even till today


As i've said the producers had a sense of humour about copying or being inspired by Some like it hot but then they said this (see below)


How dare they generalise!!!

Another reason i liked this film was its approach to same sex love, indicating love is all that matters irregardless of gender, a very very bold statement for its time





Great fun music from Kalyanji Anandji i liked all the songs the romantic 'Kisi pe dil agar aa jaaye' & 'tumko mere dil ne' my top favourites are 'dil dena buri bala hai'



and the highly infectious 'Chhuk chhuk chhak chhak'



Total Score: 7/10

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