Aas (1953)

Given the obsession of many bollywood films with Saas bahu (Mother in law daughter in law) relationships, the last big saas-bahu movie i can recall was Beta, but way before Beta there was the 1963 Mala Sinha/Guru Dutt starrer 'Bahurani', Reena Roy's 'Sau Din saas ke' (which i can't wait to watch) and Hema Malini's 'Jyoti' and more particularly mega Indian soap Opera's like kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kyun kii saas bhi kabhi bahu tii ( i just love the title of this one, how about a film version Ekta) it translates as 'Because a mother in law was once a daughter in law too'. I've aways wondered what the obsession many Indians have towards saas bahu relationships, and for how long exactly it has been going, Aas made me realise, that this mother in law/daughter in law cinderella style stories have long been prevalent in Indian entertainment

Ashok (Shekhar) a widower loses his son and offers up a reward to whoever finds him, Asha finds him and returns him to the police station where they both meet, he offers her the reward but Asha turns it down refusing to put a price on human life (very sweet of Asha ain't it)

When his son Kishore (Ramesh Kapoor) is in need of a governess, Asha applies and gets the job, Kishore takes a strong liking to her and not before long Ashok too falls for Asha's gentle nature and beauty too of course

But as we all know all can't be fair in love, trouble arises when Chacha-ji (Laxmibai) Ashok's guraidan since childhood who wants him to marry her own niece disapproves of Asha, bringing into question her class and family background

Chacha-ji pushes her agenda but Ashok stands his ground, he and Asha marry and not long Asha gives birth to Baby Munna

Chahca-ji still reeling from Ashoks refusal to marry her niece plots a revenge plan that will ger Asha out of the mansion

Plot No.1: Prior to a Pooja (prayer/ Religious ceremony) for Kishore, Asha is entrusted with a necklace to be used in the ceremony, Chachi goes on the sly and steals the said necklace, on the day of the ceremony when Asha is unable to find it, Ashok scolds her blaming her for being so irresponsible

Ashok forgives her but Chachi and her aide the housemaid Chand ( Chandabai) start conniving again, she starts messing with Ashok's head telling him all sorts of lies about Asha, still all this fails to have an effect

Chachi's Master Plan

She later comes up with a master plan to get Asha out of the mansion for good, she mixes poison into milk drink Asha intends serving to Kishore. Chacha-ji knocks it over just in time before Kishore can eat, the pet cat laps up the milk and dies

ahhh poor cat :0(

they convince Ashok that Asha is out to kill Kishore so that her child Munna would be the sole inheritor of Ashok's fortune, thus Asha is sent packing

Lost and confused, Asha's spirit are revitalised when Masterji (Om Prakash)comes to her rescue and urges her to fight for what is hers, thus Asha goes back to the mansion in disguise with the intention of getting Shekhar to realise the truth

Will she succeed or will her disguise be exposed, watch Aas to find out

Overall Aas is a sweet family melodrama, it started off a bit slow but once the story picks especially with the arrival of Chacha-ji as the evil mother in law, the film becomes gripping and though its somewhat predictable and soap opera-ish, there is a lot to enjoy.

Performance wise Laxmi bai as Chacha-ji gets my praise, you just want to knock her over, her character was so conniving, rude and scarily real

I also loved Kamini as Asha, she has a quietness in her acting style that i like, plus i find her really beautiful

As for Shekhar i remember finding him a bit stiff but i guess that must be a requirement when you're playing the timid male figure whose Chachi still makes most decisions for

Excellent songs from Shankar Jaikishen added to the viewing experience, golden melodies like'Itna pyar karega kaun', 'zulm ki nagari mein' to the playful 'main to tere sapnon ki rani' which takes place in Kishore's wonderful costume themed birthday party with Om Prakash dressed up as what i believe is Hitler

my favourite is the Talat Mehmood/Lata Mangeshkar number 'Pyar hoke rahega'

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
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Paisa Vasool rating: 6/10

Dus Numbri (1976)

This is a film that would have been well suited to the 70's week but due to time restraints, i couldn't get it up on time. This is classic 70's masala at its best with separated families, mental illness, greedy villains and the whole lot. Indeed it is hard for me to think about this movie without remembering my time as a child in Nigeria where Dus Numbri (Number 10) was immensley popular, the songs the film, the stars were all well loved and in fact is embedded in the minds of many Nigerian bollywood lovers, it won't be an understatement to call this film a Nigerian Cult Classic


Shivnath (Abhi Bhattacharya) is a very honest & dedicated cop with a lovely wife Radha (Kamini Kaushal) and son Arjun. When Shivnath exposes a currency fraud ring which his friend Karamchand (Om Shivpuri) runs, Shivnath is framed for murder by Karamchand


He's sentenced to jail and his wife Radha goes mental as a result of the trauma, when her friend Sundari (Hema Malini) decides to reveal her husband as the main culprit of the crime she's stabbed to death and her baby is kidnapped and given to a drunkard (it can't get any crazy than this, or can it?)



When Arjun goes to visit his Baap in jail, he's told his father has escaped, poor Arjun then goes to visit his mother in a mental institution only to find other children pelting his mentally ill mother with stones, angry Arjun retaliates by stoning them back, he's arrested and sent to a reform home



Arjun grows up in and out of reform institutions as a result he's given the name Dus Numbri (defined as a history sheeter who must report to the police station regularly and can be called by the police anytime) He becomes a strong advocate for the poor as well as a fighter against injustice, he earns his living by taxing smugglers, making sure he gets a share of their shady deeds

Notice his sunglasses, beret and no.10 jacket , thats what our hero wears all through the movie

Meanwhile Sundari's stolen daughter grows up to be Rosie (Hema Malini) an exact doppleganger of her mother, and a counterfeit card gambler, Dus Numbri outsmarts her at her own game and when her plans to get him beaten up backfires, she starts developing a soft spot for him (hmmm)


While being chased for stealing one day, Rosie lands into Dus Numbri's mother's mental home, the sight of Rosie who looks so much like her friend Sundari brings back memories to Radha


the classic 70's way of letting us know she's having a flashback


The doctors notice this and Rosie is used as a test to help bring back Radha's memories and restore her mental health, Dus Numbri is very grateful to Rosie, hence they both fall in love (awwwww)


Rosie's uncanny resemblace to her mother leads to her being recognised once more by Shankar (Shyam kumar) a gang member who had murdered Sundari, he sees Rosie as the perfect opportunity to make money off her father Karamchand who had long thought Rosie dead


On his way to get Rosie to her dad to claim his R200,000 he's confronted by Dus Numbri & his aide Karan Singh (Pran), he confesses how he had murdered Sundari because she had proof to set Shivnath free, he also reveals Shivnath is alive in a jail in calcutta, when Dus Numbri presses him for more information he's shot dead by his fellow gang members



Thus the search is on to find Arjun/Dus Numbri's father, will karamchand be brought to justice? will Dus Numbri be able to get justice for his father?

Alongside all these are also a fake currency plot which leads to Karan Singh and Dus Numbri disguising as Nawabs



A corrupt policeman who'll stop at nothing to avoid being exposed


Villains in Spectacular fashions check out the belt on the guy below


A whip lashing Hema Malini



Dus Numbri is a perfect commercial masala potboiler and as i've mentioned already, you have all the elements in the right doses that makes for a hilarious masala flick, thats not to say its not without plotholes and other faults but seriously who cares about those when you're watching an entertaining film like this, and as a witty imdb commmenter puts it, you might just find yourself dressing like Dus Numbri at halloween

Its an easy look to achieve, make sure you have a beret, a t-shirt that says 10 on it
and groovy 70's shades and you're done



The film of course became a massive hit upon its release further establishing Manoj Kumar as "the uber nationalist who appealed to the masses as a sort of common man who fights India's corruptions and injustices" as rum notes on her fab 70's post on Manoj. Due to its crazy popularity and box office success Dus Numbri was remade as KD NO.1 in Telugu


Very Memorable soundtrack from Laxmikant Pyarelal, i usually don't embed more than 2 songs in my blog posts but the special memories this soundtrack hold in my mind means i shall embed all my favourites

'Duniya ek numbri' - This song was one every red blooded bollywood loving Nigerian could sing at the drop of a hat





'Prem ka rog Bada bura'- Yet another fun song that became embedded in my mind as a child especially the Yo Yo yo bit this song is such an earworm



'Mujhe dard rehta hai' - A fun peppy number with a lovesick Hema Malini


Dus Numbri - Mujhe Dard Rehta Hai
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'Dilruba Delhiwalli' - An awesome qawalli with Bindu, Manoj kumar and Pran in disguise mode



'Tune Meri Jaan' - Watch as a fierce Hema Malini lashes Dus Numbri till he bleeds


Dus Numbri - Tune Meri Jaan
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Paisa Vasool Rating: 7/10

Dus Numbri is available on dvd at Induna