Padosan (1968)

I had to bring my V. Shantaram week to an end as the notes i made on Geet Gaaya Pattharone (1965) made no sense, its one i feel i'll need to re-watch before i can do write up. Anyway moving on from V.Shantaram week, and just before i get my Rekhatober posts ready i thought i'd do a short post on one of my favourite movies Padosan (Neighbour) an adaptation of 'Pasher Bari' a bengali book by Arun Chowdhury, rumour has it that a remake is in the works with Sanjay Dutt and Katrina Kaif in the lead roles but in honesty i 'd prefer it if this film was left alone

Bhola (Sunil Dutt) decides he's comes of age at the ripe old age of 26, and decides his days of celibacy are over

He meets and falls for a young, energetic lass Bindu, following his decision to move of of his uncle's house into his aunt's, he finds out that none other but Bindu his newly found love is his neighbour

Bhola is eager to win Bindu's love but soon finds out he has competition in the form of Bindu's dance master Pillai (Mehmood) noticing she's in awe of her masters dance and music

Not to be left behind, Bhola enlists the help of his Guru(Kishore Kumar) and other friends to help him in wooing Bindu. In a rather clever use of the filmi idea of playback singing which involves Guru singing while Bhola mouths the words, Bindu is in awe of his talent and falls for him

Now that Bindu seems to have fallen for Bhola, things take a turn when his fake singing act is outed

Overall i enjoyed this rather silly and over the top but undeniably fun comedy (depending on your sensibilities). For me the exaggerated facial expressions and histrionics of the characters of Kishore Kumar as Guru, as well as Sunil Dutt's 'Bhola' act kept me entertained and had me in stitches.

On a deeper level (if you so wish to delve that deep), filmi philosopher 'Philip Lutgendorf' notes on his write up of the movie that Mehmood's character as Pillai the Tamil Brahmin dance instructor "invokes every politically incorrect North Indian stereotype of southerners". As interesting an observation it sounds, I really couldn't take this on board as i'm not aware of what these perceived stereotypes are in the first place

Also interesting is the way the film uses framed voyeuristic style shots from the perspective of Bhola and his friends while spying on Bindu

Performance wise everyone is on their fun, playful hammy best, i loved Sunil Dutt as always and Saira is really one of my favourite Bollywood diva's, i love how she was styled in this, in fact i always love Saira's style in all her movies

love the head scarf and cherry blouse, very Parisian chic

Leopard Print Salwar kameez with matching scarf,. she pulls it off so well


perfectly lined eyes and pouty lips, You go Saira

The songs by R.D. Burman made this film a favourite of mine and one i can watch over and over again, i can go on and on about them forver but my favourites are 'Mere samne waali khidiki' 'kehna hai', 'main chali main chali', love Manna Dey's lingering vocals on 'sanwariya sanwariya' the song i've chosen to embed is the flirty 'Bhai bathur', Lata sounds ever so lovely and i love the fun picturisation, this song pretty much sums up Saira Banu

So fab was the picturisation of 'Bhai Bathur' that The 1981 telugu adaptation of this story 'Pakkinti Ammayi' literally copies it frame by frame. Saira Banu wins hands down for me

Now head over and I can't wait to do so myself to My Movies Music and Mutterings blog for a write up of the soundtrack as well as to get the music for free, trust me this is a classic bollywood soundtrack album you don't want to miss getting your hands on

Paisa Vasool Rating: 7/10

Buy the dvd here

Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani (1970)

Usually films with kids can either fall into two categories, that of the super annoying kid a la 'Ginny aur Johnny' or adorable like those in social movies like Boot Polish. Ghar Ghar ki kahani is a lot more like the latter

Shankarnath (Balraj Sahni) a honest and hardworking family man is seen as a miser by his son Raju (Ramesh Kumar), when he refuses to pay for a trip to Ajanta & Elora

Its not only Raju has a problem with their dad's tight hand, his daughter Rupa (Neetu Singh credited as Baby Sonia) isn't too happy about not getting money for her dance costume, so is her little brother Ravi (Master Ripple) over not getting a new bike. Their mother Padma (Nirupa Roy) tries to appease them but these kids are having none of it

Neetu is so cute i see bits of Ranbir in her

They all go on hunger strike as a protest against their father whom they consider to be a miser. Their father eventually cuts a deal with Raju when he decides to allow him run the household on his salary for 6 months, promising they can have all their wishes if he (Raju) manages to save.A delighted Raju accepts the deal

 Ravi soon finds out that what a challenge saving is, and over time the kids soon realise the value of R600 and how hard it is to stretch. Thus they begin making cuts by sacking the maid, helping to do household chores and changing other bits of their lifestyles just to save money so they can each get what they want

But life isn't that easy and various obstacles spring up when their mother falls ill and they have to buy medicines which weren't written in their budgets. Also uninvited free loading relatives turn up for Diwali, all of which eat into their savings

While Raju and his siblings are living on a budget and doing their very best to make their father's measly income stretch, a co-worker of their father Sadhuram (Om Prakash) lives a flashy lifestyle (which is funded by the money he receives from bribes, all of which help cater to his family's rather high taste)

Also living lavishly is spoilt brat Gopi (Mehmood Jr.) who gambles away his wealthy parents money

So will Raju manage to save enough to pay for his trip to Ajanta as well as pay for his sister's dance costume and his brother's bike? Will Sadhuram ever learn to live within his means and not accept bribes?

Ghar Ghar Ki kahani ended up being a sweet film with cute performances all around. I especially appreciated the child actors in this film, usually child actors tend to be very annoying in hindi films, but here they were restrained and I enjoyed the gradual change in their behaviour and attitudes towards  the value of money. Infact the morale of the film seems centred around the whole idea of living within your means and not 'keeping up with the Joneses'.

The ending left me a bit cold though, as I just couldn't help but feel dissatisfied that despite their sacrifices and well disciplined acts to cut costs, the lovely kids all  chose to forgo their wants all out of pity for their Dad's meagre income and living within their means. Yes all that is nice and fair but the poor kids worked hard too, and made considerable changes to their lifestyle just so they could save. Still though, don't let that put you off the film, if you enjoy your 70's style family dramas then definitely give this one a go

This film also had Rakesh Roshan in his first film role , he looked so handsome and I've finally seen where Hrithik gets his good looks from

very Dapper hai na?

Kannada film legend Bharathi Vishnuvardan played his love interest, she reminded me a bit of Reena Roy/Vyjayanthimala

Lovely songs from Kalyanji Anandji, not up there with their classics but they're good and fitted the premise of the plot, there's a lovely parody song by Mehmood Jr. 'Aisa Banoonga' (Great performance from Mehmood Jr.) the beautiful 'aise na dekho' and 'suno sunata hoon' my favourite of the bunch and perhaps the best song in a mostly forgotten soundtrack is the wonderful 'Samaa hai suhana'

Paisa Vasool rating: 6/10

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

Loafer (1973)

Sweet escapist 70's bollywood fare with a super gorgeous Mumtaz, Handsome Dharmendra and perhaps the most flamboyant use of balloons ever in a bollywood movie

Ranjit is a naughty school boy, when a prank goes wrong at school, Mohan is forced to out Ranjit as the culprit. After school the two boys are involved in a fight where Ranjit tosses Mohan off the building by accident thereby leading to Mohan's death


Mohan runs for his life and falls into the hands of Mr Sinha (K.N. Singh) a shady criminal, he promises to take care of him


Ranjit (Dharmendra) grows up as a thief under Mr Sinha's shadow, he steals but he also runs a nightclub called playboy



when a stealing operation goes wrong Ranjit realises one of his staff is dishonest, the dishonest staff turns out to be Rakesh (Roopesh Kumar) who had been sent to spy on Ranjit by Pratap (Premnath) a rival thief who is jealous of Ranjit's success. When Ranjit discovers this, he lets Pratap know he's aware of his deeds



An angry Pratap plots to kill Rakesh but his sister Anju (Mumtaz) pleads for his life and Pratap sees her as the perfect opportunity to spy on Ranjit he recruits her saying if she works for him her brother will be spared from dying


Ranjit also forms a close relationship with fruit seller Mr Gopinath (Om prakash) who had helped him during a police chase

Mr Gopinath also has a daughter Rupa (Farida Jalal) whom he had sent to Private school in Shimla, he keeps the fact that he's poor from his daughter as he had gone bankrupt after falling into depression when he had lost his son Mohan and wife


When he goes over to Shimla to see his daughter Rupa (Farida Jalal) he lies about his status and manages to woo Mr Rajandranath Mehra (Raj Mehra) his daughter's guardians while at boarding school


Back in bombay Anju realises ranjit is falling for her, she too starts falling in love with him but she's racked by endless guilt and as a result finds it hard to continue Pratap's spy work. As a result Pratap threatens her and she manages to set Ranjit up to be beaten by Pratap's men

Ranjit is beaten so hard that he ends up in hospital, when he gets well Anju tells him the truth andreveals she had only spied on him to save her brothers life, he's taken aback by her honesty and promises to help free her brother


When an Exhibition of rare jewels come to town Plans are made to rob it.

Ranjit despite strict security manages to clean the place out, police start chasing and he runs into Gopinath's house for safety, there he spots Mohan's picture, and then realises Mohan's father whom he had killed by accident aas a kid is indeeed Mr Gopinath, he's racked by guilt


Mr Gopinath on the other hand starts drinking heavily after Mr Rajendranath asks for his daughter's hand in marriage, he's afraid his status a s a poor fruit seller would be found out which would lead to his daughters being disgraced


How will he overcome this? Will he ever find out that his son Mohan was killed Ranjit? Will Panjit reveal the truth to him? What would be Mr Gopinath's reaction

Overall Loafer (Ruffian) is a sweet movie about guilt and forgiveness dipped in a mish mash of romance, action and goood ol' romance, its well worth watching and definitely entertaining. i really can't say a bad word about this film, okay there were some silly comic side plots but overall Loafer is a well packaged commercial drama with the right elements of just about everything

Mumtaz was cute in this, she gave me some serious funkalicious fashions


I really love Om Prakash he was or should i say is always adorable


I loved this retro flask thing, so sleek


Dharmendra was on major form as well, his pairing with Mumtaz made for a cute couple


Superb soundtrack by Laxmikant Pyarelal all the songs on here are winners which makes me think if i had to pick my all time favourite music directors Laxmikant Pyarelal will be in my top 5. There's the seductive 'Motiyon ka ladki hoon main', the melodious 'main tere ishq main' which just makes you appreciate Lata's voice enough to even drown in it, another romantic one number by Mohammed Rafi 'aaj mausam bada' and Asha sizzles on the funky 'kahan hai woh' with so many colourful ballons, something tells me the art director for this dance sequence must have had a huge balloon fetish

Padma Khanna putting many a Cheerleader to shame with her balloon pom poms



Another favorite of mine is the beaiutiful 'Koi Shahiri babu' with some Male impersonator action going on very much like that in the 'didi tera devar deewana' song in 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun'





Total Score: 7/10 ( a highly enjoyable escapist fare)

Loafer is available on Youtube with English Subtitles

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