Aulad (1987)

keeping this blog is becoming more of a challenge but still, i'm committed to the cause, apologies for my short absence. The fourth film in Sridevipalooza is a remake of a bollywood classic i reviewed a while ago, follow the plot write up and see if you're able to guess correctly

Wealthy and successful Anand is under intense pressure to get married from his Uncle (Saeed Jaffrey) he takes poor street dancer Devki (Sridevi) as a pretend bride, the two fall in love and Anand marries her


Following their marriage and while on honeymoon in Kashmir, their intimate moments while romancing in a garden is cut short by torrential rainfall, both couples take refuge in a nearby house which belongs to another newly married couple Vikas (Vinod Mehra) & Yashoda (Jaya Prada), both couples become friends


Upon returning to Bombay Devki finds out she's pregnant, simultaneously in kashmir Yashoda finds out she's pregnant too. Months later and Devki gives birth, following the doctors orders to take their new born away from the hustle and bustle of Mumbai, they catch a train to Kashmir, also on their way to Mumbai are Vikas and Yashoda. In a weird case of coincidence both trains crash into each other which claims Vikas's life, Devki is also feared dead

Nevermind the accident made use of Toy train models


Anand and Yashoda end up in the same hospital, Yashoda gives birth to a still born, and Anand not wanting to break her heart further seeing she's just lost her husband decides to give her his own son, he asks the doctor (Ramesh Deo) to keep this a secret betweeen them


Years go by and Anand starts visiting Yashoda just so he'll be able to see his son, the boy is now named kishen and Anand becomes increasingly attached him and Yashoda which leads to her mother in law speculating about a possible relationship, she's warned not to drag the family's name into disrepute (but surely she's now a widow, shouldn't she be allowed to see other men na?)


She's warned not to see him again, this new decision proves difficult as kishen is already developing a strong bond with Anand whom he sees as a father figure

The sweet Baby Guddu as Kishen

Meanwhile Devki who had been feared dead turns up alive at Anand's house, its revealed the accident had left her with memory loss but she had regained them upon seeing a speeding train which clearly reminded her of her accident (easy, isn't it...lol)


Anand is shocked and equally scared as Devki asks about their child, without hesitating Anand lies saying he had died in the train accident


Poor Devki is distraught, but decides to move on, hopeful she might bear another child, but as destiny would have it, she's receives another bad news when the doctor tells her she will never be able bear another child again


Devki accepts her destiny but later becomes suspicious of Anand's clingy behaviour towards Kishen, plus she notices they seem to share some traits, she confronts Anand about this and he confirms Kishen is indeed her son


Thus begins a custody battle between Devki and Yashoda on who gets the child


If the story of this film sounds familiar, that's because it's an uncredited remake of 'Chirag kahan Roshni kahan' (1959) which i've reviewed here, Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan is by far the superior film, this 80's knock off just doesn't have the restraint & melodramatic goodness of the original plus the songs in this are nowhere as fab. Some twists have been added to the story here, but 'Chirag kahan Roshni Kahan' still comes out on top in my opinion.

Now Aulad is still a decent watch if you're in the mood for some 80's style melodrama, the perfromances are decent albeit in that melodramatic 80's kind of way, Jaya Prada definitely had big shoes to fill as she reprises Meena Kumari's role in the original, now God forbid i compare Jaya to Meena but she does a decent job, she even did the whole Lady in white sari thing a la Meena. Overall watch Aulad (Child) if you're a fan of any of the actors or if you're in the mood for some 80's style melodrama


Some More Screencap goodness


bahut khoob bahut khoob


Stunning Jaya


Ramesh Deo still so handsome despite all that Grey hair



Rather average songs from Laxmikant Pyarelal, but as i said they just couldn't match Ravi's outstanding soundtrack in Chirag kahan Roshni Kahan, highlights are 'Tan tan ghadie main' a nursery rhyme style song clearly modeled after 'Tim tin karte taare' from Chirag kahan Roshni kahan' and 'Raste kamal saste' my favourites of all the songs is 'Dhak dhak dhadke jiya'




Paisa Vasool rating: 5/10

Aulad is available with English Subtitles in 21 parts on Youtube

Anokhi Ada (1973)

My second film for Khanna O-Rama week is Anokhi Ada, while it has most of the ingredients for a great masala it doesn't quite have those 'squishy dil' moments that would make it qualify as a classic, there's enough goodness still though

Lalaji (Nazir Hussain) & Gupta (Manmohan Krishan) are best of friends as well as business partners, their kids Lalaji's son Rakesh (Jeetendra) & Gupta's daughter Neeta (Rekha) are also in love with one another (talk about keeping it all in the family)

All is well in both households until a certain man named Gopal is found unconscious by the village sea, Lalaji pays for his healthcare and nurses him back to health

When he awakes from his coma, he tells a sob story on how he has no one left in the world,Lalaji and his son Rakesh being the kind-hearted fellows they are, give him a job in the family company, in fact Rakesh is so trusting that he puts him in charge of the family business (Rakesh is clearly lazy and doesn't have time for business, all he wants to do is romance Neeta)

Gopal on the other hand is a man on a mission and its not long till he starts showing his true colours, his greed as well as his desire to gain his hands on Lalaji's property cause him to destroy Lalaji and Gupta's friendship by setting them up against one another with the help of Kushiram (Jeevan) an employee of Lalaji

Gopal's plans to destroy the entire family and gain the wealth all to himself comes under threat when Rakesh hears of his schemes, Gopal outsmarts him and before he can even make a move he orders his men to dump him in the sea

Now that Rakesh is out of the game, Gopal feels closer and is more confident of inheriting Lalaji's millions, but his plans are threatened when a Rakesh lookalike in the form of Kishan turns up, winning Lalaji's affection with Lalaji even adopting him as his own son

What schemes will Gopal come up with to ensure he ends up with the millions? Why does Kishan look so much like Rakesh, plus is Rakesh really dead? Will Lalalji & Gupta ever be friends again? Will Gopal be able to make away with the family's fortunes or will he be stopped

Anokhi Ada is a very much a product of 70's bollywood, escapist fare that's very watchable and charming but as i've said at the beginning of this post, it just doesn't have that 'squishy dil' angle that could have made it a classic, i guess the directors favoured camp entertainer rather than a message laden masala flick.

vah! great use of colour Vinod & never has a Villain looked so hot

This film made me think how versatile an actor Vinod is, I just loved him so much as the vilian here, such a stylish villain might i add, here are few of his amazing fashion statements but as i'm dissecting Vinod's fashion sensibilities in a later post i don't want to give to much away

A major fashion trend i picked out were lots of belts worn over tight t shirts complete with neckerchief (that's a styling tip for all you partygoers/clubbers who are stuck for inspiration on funky 70's bollywood outfits)

gotta love that eyeliner

As for Rekha she doesn't have much to do but she was charming and gave me the right amount of eye candy i could have wanted from her. I loved her looks in this, from her 70's style chiffon sari's to her eyeliners, she was uber cute

Like most early 70's film the feistiness the heroine lacked was made up for by a feisty Village belle played by Padma Khanna in this. Unlike most other films of the time like 'Caravan' and 'Mera Gaon mera desh' that gave the supporting actress much to do, Padma doesn't have as much screen time as i would have liked

Good soundtrack from Laxmikant Pyarelal not on the same level as some of their top soundtracks like Loafer or Nagin but there are enough goodies like the lovely romantci duet 'tere sil mein', playful 'sundari hai hai' my two favourites are 'Goom gayi Goom Gayi' with Padma Khanna in full on Village belle mode & an awesome qawalli 'Hal kya hai dilon ka'

Paisa Vasool Rating: 5/10

Dhool Ka Phool (1959)

My favourite diva becomes Yash Chopra's first heroine in his directorial debut Dhool ka Phool (Flowers of the dust) This film also earned Mala her first filmfare nomination for best actress alongside Meena Kumari for Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan and Nutan for Sujata, Mala was upstaged by Nutan who won for Sujata

Mahesh (Rajendra Kumar) and Meena (Mala Sinha) meet and fall in love after a bicycle collision accident at their college campus
They start dating and on a barsaat ki raat (a rainy night) if you've been watching lots of hindi films you should be able to guess what happens next, they both get horny and succumb to do that which only 'married couples do'


Meena gets pregnant ( a big Lol at the way Meena finds out about her pregnancy through a baby picture on the wall, I was in fits of laughter for this scene)

spooky picture which confirms Meena's pregnancy



Mahesh meanwhile lands a high paid job with his father's friend, when Meena tells him about her pregnancy, he's shocked and Meena begs him to marry her as this would lessen the stigma of her giving birth out of wedlock. Mahesh promises they would marry after he comes back from a trip to his fathers, Meena believes his word and promises to wait for him
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Nooo.... Meena..... Nooooo

When Mahesh gets to his father, who insists he marries Rai Saheb's daughter Malti (Nanda) Mahesh conveniently forgets about Meena and agrees to marry Malti


After waiting for weeks on end without any sighting of Mahesh, Meena travels to meet him in his father's town, there she is confronted by his marriage ceremony to Malti, Meena is disheartend and returns back home (No Girl, you should Speak Up but i also believe shame on breaking the moral code of the time must have made her keep silent!!!)
Back at home Meena's uncle and aunty find out about her pregnancy and as a result she's considered a taint to the family's honour and sent out of the house. Meena who now sees herself as a mistake and a blemish to society attempts throwing herself off a cliff only to be stopped by their house maid Gangu Bai (Leela Chitnis) who holds her back arguing that women shouldn't bear the brunt only, but men should suffer and called out as well, thus Meena goes to live with Gangu Bai
Meena gives birth to a son and is concerned about her child's fate and the prejudices he might face from society,Mahesh & Malti also have a son of their own. Gangu Bai also passes away after getting injured in an accident
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>this baby was so cute

Following Gangu Bai's death and lack of support from anyone, Meena goes to confront Mahesh, he treats her coldly saying he has his honour to protect & when she threatens to out him as the father of her baby, he asks how she would prove this (no DNA tests back then :0(


Meena in a bid of frustration and helplessness drops her baby in the jungle (applause to Mala for pulling off that cold scene)



When Meena goes back to get her baby, he's no more there and has been rescued by a muslim Abdul Rashid (Manmohan Krishna). Abdul Rashid adopts the baby and names him Roshan but he faces opposition from neighbours and friends who contend what the child's actual religious origin might be, Abdul Rashid seeing the way people react to Roshan moves away to the city


Meanwhile Meena goes looking for work and lands a job as a secretary at a barrister's office (Ashok Kumar), he takes a liking to her and asks her to marry him, Meena is reluctant at first but later agrees, she keeps her past life a secret from him


Roshan however faces a difficult time in school as questions about his illegitimacy cause him to be treated as an outsider and bullied by other kids, he forms a deep friendship with Rakesh (Daisy Irani) who happens to be the son of his biological father

yup thats right Ramesh wants no excuses not to be friends with Roshan

Would Meena ever find her son again? What proof will she have? Watch how events unfold in Dhool Ka Phool? Will Mahesh and Meena ever meet again? Will Ramesh & Roshan ever find out they're rothers from the same Daddy?

Overall a beautiful and well crafted Melodrama, i enjoyed watching Dhool ka phool very much, of course the film was a social commentary on the issue of children born out of wedlock, i admire the director for focusing on the man's irresponsibility, mostly and even till today the woman bears all the disgrace or is the one called the slut. I also liked Dhool ka Phool for being sensitive and trying to address the fact that it wasn't so much the fact that they had sex before marriage that was wrong but Mahesh's failure to be a man and stand up to be a father. This film is also portrays an interesting study on the phenomena of labelling theory as can be seen through Roshan who after numerous name calling becomes that which has been ascribed to him.


Great Performance from all the cast Rajendra Kumar plays Mahesh with such conviction that you have nothing but hate for him

Manmohan Krishan is adorable as ever in his portrayal of the kind hearted muslim he won the filmfare best supporting actor for his role and Mala gives an excellent performance as the mother who finds herself at the cross roads of her own emotions and societies prejudice

I love this child actor who plays Roshan a lot, can anyone confirm if his name is Sujit Kumar or Sushil Kumar (Imdb is unclear about this)


Fabulous soundtrack from N.Dutta the music of dhool ka phool has become one of my favourite soundtracks from 50's bollywood, there's the beautiful mushaira 'tere pyar ka aasra' the fun 'Apne jeena khatir hai' the wonderful 'tu hindu banega' and quiet ballad 'Tu mera pyar ka' my favourites however are 'Jo tum muskura do'



and Asha's beautiful vocals on the breezy 'Jukti Ghata'



Paisa Vasool rating: 7/10



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