Aap ke Deewane (1980)

My second entry for the ongoing Kapoor Khazana going on around the bolly blogosphere is this fun delightful movie from the 80's, yes such adjectives can be used to describe an 80's movie, there were loads of such movies from that much maligned decade which I shall keep on evangelising about on here, we need more 80's bollywood converts

Ram (Rishi Kapoor) and Rahim (Rakesh Roshan) are high achievers at college, they also happen to be the best of buddies, now If being best buddies plus the fact that they consistently top their class wasn't enough for them, they proceed on affirming their superiority in matters of the heart when they keep interfering in College bad boy (every college needs one) Kundan's love affairs

Hurray for Bromance!! And Robert Redford does indeed approve

Kundan playing his game quietly in the corner

Kundan isn't too pleased with their cock blocking ways and he gives them a good dressing down (Gotta love Ranjeet)

Lol, very well said Ranjeet

In revenge for their cock blocking ways, Kundan sets ram up to be accussed of Rape which results in Ram being expelled from college (Don't ever mess with Ranjeet people)

Seeing that his friend Ram has been expelled, Rahim not one to take matters lying down gets into a bloody fight with Kundan to try and get him to confess how he had set Ram up, but such is the fight that Rahim leaves Kundan near dead and fearing arrest he flees college

Now that Ram & Rahim are out of college the two buddies must now find a way to make a living. Ram comes across an advert for an aged Urdu teacher, as such he disguises as an old aged teacher to teach urdu to Colonel Vikram's daughter

Upon getting there a fracas breaks out between Colonel Vikram (Pran) & Inshallal Khan (Ashok Kumar) over what language their daughter should learn as they had both brought her up together (Is there something the director isn't telling us)

To ease matters between them, Mr Khan eventually decides they get a Hindi teacher for Sameera (Tina Munim) as well, which results in Rahim dragging up to play the role of the wanted female teacher

Unfortunately for Rahim Mr Vikram takes a liking to him in drag, he also comes across his daughter's Urdu teacher without his disguise and decides he wants such a man for his daughter

Of course unknown to him is the fact that this same young chap is his daughter's tutor, and when you have a daughter who looks like Sameera, its inevitable many young men will find it hard to resist her, our two college buddies can't help but fall for her

Sameera eventually finds out their secret, but they beg her to keep schtum about it but she agrees to this only if they get up on stage with Jeetendra (in a special appearance possibly Item number)

Soon the two best friends get entangled in a love triangle with Sameera? Will this threaten their relationship? Plus Who gets the girl?

And lest we forget about Kundan, he decides to avenge the scarred face given to him by Rahim, will he succeed, watch Aap ke Deewane to find out?

Cool T-Shirt Rakesh

Aap ke Deewane (Crazy About You) is a sweet, fun filled Bollywood bromance film complete with just the right amounts of romance, bromance, comedy, drama with perhaps just a bit unnecessary action but alas the bad boy had to be dealt with. Overall I'd say Indulge in this 80's film plus unlike a lot of love triangles that annoy me by killing off one character, that doesn't happen here, instead both lovers are giving the freewill to make their own choices

Performance wise everyone one is on good form here plus Rishi just looked way too adorable

Rakesh was fun especially in his drag act

And Tina what can i say, she's such a babe, and she was fun in this, what a Lovely pair she and Rishi make (though at times their Jodi she was upstaged by Rakesh & Rishi's bromance), this was one of her many films with Rishi, I think they went on to do about four more films together. I am seeking Bade Dilwala earnestly, but they also appeared together in Karz, Yeh Vaada Raha and Deedar-E-Yaar

And of course how dare I end this post without giving props to Ranjeet, what a stylish bad ass college bad boy, of course he was way past it to be playing the college bad guy but so were our heroes (well apart from Rishi) but Ranjeet pulled it off, and no one could have brought the attitude and fierceness he brought to his Kundan Character, he even rocks some Jumpsuits as well (Ranjeet Zindabad!!!)

Lovely songs by Rajesh Roshan on here from the fun bicycle song 'Ramkaren Allahkaren' (I truly love the African/Caribbean guys at the beginning of the song) to the lovely 'Tumko khush dekhar' and my utmost favourite and one of my favourite bollywood snow songs 'Mere dil mein' (Tina Munim was surely one of the hottest beauties in 80's bollywood)

Paisa Vasool Rating: 6.5/10

Meri Surat Teri Ankhen (1963)

Meri Surat Teri Ankhen based on the bengali novel 'Ulka' by Dr. Nihar Ranjan Gupta is another film i had seen ages ago that's been lying around waiting to be reviewed, plus it reminded me very much of a topic i had long wanted to delve into

Wealthy and vain Raj Kumar (Ishwarlal) is expecting his first child with his wife Kamla (Achala Sachdev)

the arrogant and vain Raj kumar

When the child is born, it turns out to be of a dark complexion, Raj rejects the child as he considers dark complexion ugly, he then lies to his wife that she gave birth to a still born child

chi chi look at the look on his face

he tells Dr Mathur (Tarun Bose) his friend to keep the incident a secret, Mathur is disgusted by his friends actions but agrees none the less, Dr mathur is left with the baby, he gives the baby to Rahmat Mijan (Ishwarlal) and his wife who are a childless muslim couple

Years go by and Raj and Kamla have another child, this time the baby turns out to be very fair and is considered the epitome of beauty by Raj Kumar. The fair child named Sudhir (Pradeep Kumar) grows up to be a womaniser and a hotel manager

On the other hand Pyare (Ashok Kumar) his long lost dark skinned brother grows up to be a singer under training from Rahmat his adoptive father, he also suffers severe shyness due to people's reactions to his dark skin which is considered ugly

Following Rahmat's death Pyare goes to Mumbai to meet Dr Mathur, he's tormented by his ugliness and Dr Mathur decides its time to right some wrongs and then promises to introduce him to his real family

The taunts Pyare has been subjected to over the years leads him to favour living in darkness, when Dr Mathur's daughter kavita (Asha Parekh) takes a liking to his voice and approves of his beauty, Pyare starts feeling good about himself and its not long before he starts falling for her

Trouble though is the fact that kavita is the love interest of his unknown younger brother Sudhir, Kavita is fond of him too, and they hope to get married. When kavita notices his affection towards her she makes it known to Sudhir which breaks Pyare's heart

Following a performance at Sudhir's birthday party, Raj Kumar is taken aback by Pyare's talent , Dr Mathur lets him know that Pyare is none other than the son he had rejected years ago

Raj Kumar meets Pyare and decides to offer him money to stay out of his life. which Pyare rejects, when Pyare confronts him over his act he eventually approves of him as his son but reveals the shame he feels towards his ugliness, and the taint he might bring on his honour. He begs Pyare not to tell his mother the truth which Pyare agrees to for some weird melodramatic reason

Meanwhile Sudhir becomes the subject of blackmail by his friend Prakash (Iftekhar) when he's accused of violating Bela's (Indira) honour, he must pay to avoid his family's honour being tainted plus there's the danger of his marriage to Kavita being called off

Will Sudhir give in? Will Pyare see sense and reveal the truth about himself to his mother? What will be her reaction when she realises her husband lied to her about the still born child?

Despite descending into a chaotic melodrama of sorts and dragging on towards the end a fair bit, the message of the movie was clearly that of true beauty being inner beauty, the film also raises the issue of honour and looks especially that of dark skin and how it's considered ugly and a taint on one's honour.

The performances are ok all around but I felt Ashok Kumar hammy in parts and a bit too old for the part of Pyare, plus the fact that Achala Sachdev played his mother seemed very out of place, something just didn't feel right with that combination.

Of course its interesting to draw parallels with the whole beauty is skin deep that the film advocates and the prevalent issue of skin bleaching which so many bollywood stars are pedalling these days

I've long wanted to weigh in on this matter on here but always somehow felt it was a question of choice, I myself have long known about the prevalence of such creams during my formative years in Africa, however back then people who openly admitted bleaching often got dirty looks, bleaching creams were in no way advertised on a massive scale, there was an element of shame to them, in fact there was a popular quote drummed into us at Primary School, about people not proud of their colour being shamed or something along those lines, i really don't remember clearly. Still though I always felt it was a question of choice until I saw the documentary below (please take time out to watch the mini documentary below)

Skin Bleach Doc

I really do hope bollywood stars stop promoting the use of fairness creams, as can be seen from the documentary above, these creams can have a long lasting psychological effect, and are so not needed, given all the current stress and pressures of modern society, an individuals skin tone or complexion need not be an extra burden to carry.

And indeed if there's a gripe i have about bollywood, its the whole fairness equals beauty mantra, one only has to look at the prevalent use of white dancers in bollywood numbers plus numerous song down the years that praise fair skinned beauty. Indian Supermodel Lakshi menon has called the whole bleaching cream thing schizophrenia on a very large scale, i've embedded the interview below

Anyway enough of my ranting i'll end with this quote from Known Turf about the power of celebrity

"Perhaps, the trouble with too many artists is that they forget their own power. The power of media. Films and books are as much a tool for challenging social ideas as they are tools for emotional discovery or just plain storytelling. You can break stereotypes. You can stretch limited imaginations. You can help others become less judgmental human beings. You can save children. But you have to want to"

Lovely soundtrack from S.D. Burman, a lovely Mukesh & Suman Kalyanpur duet 'yeh kissne geet cheda' the beautiful 'teri khalayon mein' & 'tere bin sune' and the wonderful Rafi number (be sure to check out Asha's lovely dance moves in this) 'nache man mora magan' & a smooth Manna Dey number 'Poocho na kaise' my favourite of the bunch is the jazzy 'Tujse Nazar' with Indira as the Vamp

Paisa Vasool rating: 5.5/10

Gumrah (1963)

This is a somewhat flawed but highly enjoyable suspense drama, i watched it on a lovely friday evening and was so mesmerised by the music and Mala of course. This is one of the early bollywood films that dealt with the subject of adultery

The film starts with the hindu tale of Laxmanrekha where Sita asks her partner Ram to fetch her a deer, following his delayed return she enquires his brother Laxman to check if his brother Ram is ok, Laxman agrees but before he goes he creates a line outside of which Sita mustn't step out of


We're then introduced to a modern tale of a woman who stepped outside of such a boundary

Rajendra (Sunil Dutt) & Meena are lovers who hope to get married, things take a turn when Meena's sister Kamla (Nirupa Roy) and her two kids Pappu & Dolly (funny names right) comes to visit them from Mumbai



Tragedy strikes when Kamla dies after falling off a hill


Meena's father (Nana Palsikar) suggests Meena marry her sister's husband Barrister Ashok (Ashok Kumar) since a new woman might not take to the kids


Meena disagrees but when she notices the kids attachment to her she agrees to marry Ashok and then moves down with him to Mumbai, all this happens without her even informing Rajendra



Down in Mumbai Ashok turns out to be a workaholic and is even unable to attend their first wedding anniversary organised by Meena's father in Naintal he fails to turn up, surprisingly Rajendra her former lover turns up to entertain the guests


He and Meena are reunited and he tells about her how she had broken his heart and left him without even a word of warning, Meena explains things to him and they soon start meeting each other secretly to get busy between the sheets



When Ashok and Rajender meet each other randomly in Naintal, Ashok is taken aback by Rajendra's talent as a painter, and is surprised when one of his paintings look very much like his wife Meena, he buys the painting


Ashok gets friendly with Rajender and suggests a move to Mumbai which Rajendra is reluctant to do at first but when a film company offers him a singing job in Mumbai he accepts and moves down, thus Rajendra and Ashok get very friendly which puts Meena at great unease


However she and Rajendra keep meeting up secretly until one day a woman called 'Leela' (Shashikala) who claimsto be Rajendra's wife, she accuses Meena of cheating and threatens to blow her cover, thus begins a series of blackmail and terror which would drive Meena off the rails


Who is this woman? is she really married to Rajendra, If so why didn't he tell Meena about her? Will she tell Meena's husband even after all the bribe, What will happen to Meena's marriage should her husband find out?

A thoroughly engrossing drama, i loved each and every moment of this film, just when i thought it was a standard drama the film takes a suspenseful drive that kept me at the edge of my seat right till the very end. The ending was a bit of a letdown or should i say seemed a bit too easy, going by the moral lessons in lots of bollywood films i've watched, i was a little surprised by the ending in this, it seemed a bit too fair

Also some aspects of the film can be regarded as quite sexist, the film makes the point of the woman being the moral centre point of the family, if the 'woman strays the whole family strays' is the argument the film presents, the feminist in me then questions 'How about the man, if he strays surely the whole family strays too?' Asides from the above stated quips, this is a highly enjoyable film and its one i'll be watching over and over again, if not the whole film then for the songs at least. Gumrah was remade into the 2005 Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar starrer Bewafaa, i have no idea how it compare but from the reviews i've read its no way as fab as this


Fabulous performance from Mala, i just loved her so much in this film, from her chemistry with the kids to her agony as the cheating wife who's being sussed out you feel her frustration as she's being frustrated to the point of insanity. I loved her style and the way she swishes her Sari around when she's about to go and do her deeds with Rajendra


Shahsikala only has a few screen time but she makes an impact, you just want to hate her, roles where Shashikala seemed to be so annoying to the point of wanting you the viewer to pull her out seemed to be her forte, she was awarded the filmfare best supporting actress for her performance


fab interior decoration, i love that sofa on the left

This is one of my favourite soundtracks from 60's bollywood all the songs are hauntingly beautiful, 'chalo ek baar phir se', the beautiful arrangements and melodies in 'aap aaye' the haunting 'aa bhi ja' wonderful kiddies song 'Ek thi Ladki and my favourite one 'tujhko mera pyar pukare' where we're treated to lovely shots of Naintal



Total paisa Vasool rating: 7/10