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

Milan (1967)

Milan is one of the films I've picked out as part of my Nutan Birthday Special, i saw this film last December but thought it'd be more ideal to review it around the time of her birthday. It won Nutan her last ever filmfare Best Actress gong, she was famous for getting these, till today she holds the record for having won five of the black Lady back then when i guess they were still somewhat credible, Milan (Union) is also the director Adurthi Subba Rao's remake of his 1963 Tollywood reincarnation themed film Mooga Manasulu

While on their way to honeymoon after getting married, Gopinath (Sunil Dutt) & Radha (Nutan) start getting flashbacks/memories of a previous life, they arrive at an old haunted house where an old man who confirms most of his questions Gopi has about a possible previous life

The flashbacks reveal life with Gopi as a boatman who is an orphan & Radha as the daughter of a wealthy Zamindar (land owner)



Gopi takes Radha across the river to her college, the two seem to like each other a lot with Gopi bringing/gifting her flowers always, she's taken by his kindness & seems to be very fond of him too

Also smitten by Gopi is Gauri (Jamuna) a local village girl, Gopi however sees her just as a friend

A prince named Ram Babu (Deven verma) takes a liking to Radha


when Rajender (Pran) who is Radha's uncle finds out wealthy Ram Babu is, the fact he can make money out of exploiting Ram's love leads him to pulls strings culminating in Ram & Radha's marriage much to Gopi & Radha's sadness

Now we all know as a lead character Gopi has to get the sympathy card somehow, you know according to bollywood both of them have to end up together, as such Ram Babu dies leaving Radha as a widow, as a result she moves back to the village

When Gopi hears about Radha's widowhood, he's sympathetic and during his many visits to comfort her for her loss, his visits are treated with suspicious notions by Gauri as well as the fellow villagers due to Rajendra's false stories about both of them

Gopi willing to spare Radha the embarrassment and dishonour decides on leaving the village, Radha follows after him, Rajender on the other hand is after both couples to kill them

What will be the outcome of Radha and Gopi? Will Rajender succeed in his plan?

Milan is my no means up there with the reincarnation classics like Madhumati (which i'm yet to see) but somehow i just know it isn't, due to all the reviews and cult following Madhumati has. What ticked me off about Milan was that it takes a full 1.5 hours for the plot to settle in, thereby giving the film a slow and quite boring feel, watch it just for the songs if anything.

Performance wise Nutan is lovely as Radha but somehow perhaps due to the slow story i just couldn't sympathise with her character as Radha and Sunil Dutt one of my favourute actors was just ok here, i felt he overdid his simpleton act just a bit too much in this, i remember feeling quite irritated by his Gopi character, he's watchable and quite adorable yet still though. I also remember being dissatisfied that Pran was somewhat wasted in this film

Jamuna was likable as Gauri, but like Radha i couldn't really sympathise with her Gauri character, she too was awarded the best supporting actress gong, seems everyone was just winning awards right left and centre for this film

Laxmiaknt Pyarelal too won their second best Music director award for their fab songs in Milan, in fact the songs are what makes this film very memorable for me, from the vibrant 'Bol Gori Bol' the wonderful 'Hum tum yug yug se' the lovely 'tohe sawariya' two wonderful ballads 'main to deewana' & 'Ram kare aise ho jaye' and my utter favourite 'Sawan ka mahina' which some of you might remember as one of the songs featured on the extensive and wonderful Laxmikant Pyarelal medley from Mr India

now lets compare this song and picturization with one from the Telugu original 'Mooga Manasulu', they both look so similar, only difference being the different songs, actors and black and white picture. i would like to see the Telugu version just to see how it compare but telugu classics seem to be so rare to come across on Dvd with English Subs



Paisa Vasool Rating: 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

Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974)

I'm not familiar with many of the dacoit movies produced in 60's-70's bollywood, Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (Lay down your life if needed for fulfilling your promise) is among the last few ones produced in the 70's i think, i bought it out of curiosity and i ended up loving it so much. I've watched it twice since buying ( trust me, that's a big deal as i only have time to watch most movies once due to the insane amount of movies i have to get through) So anyway we have a dashing Sunil Dutt as the daku and a young Rekha as the feisty courtesan Janiya as well as superb music by O.P. Nayyar

Raj Thakur (Sunil Dutt) is a dacoit who believes and fights for the safety of the oppressed and women in his village. When he calls the local courtesan Janiya a naachnewale she gives up her dancing and rumours spread all through the region of him being married to Janiya (Rekha)

Raj Thakur considers this a taint to his self respect and he makes plans to get Janiya married publicly to a chosen fellow so that his name can be cleared

Janiya however isn't a courtesan entirely by choice, she had been kidnapped from her father by her wicked uncle (Madan Puri) and then sold to Chanda a pimp who then raised her up as a courtesan

Janiya is arrested for being a call girl and news reaches her father Dharaj (Iftekhar) in the city that his long lost daughter daughter Sheetal now called Janiya (Rekha) is still alive


Dhanraj rushes to the town to meet his supposed daughter, but by the time he gets there she has been captured by Raj Thakur who hopes to get her married so his name can be cleared. He falls in love with her but he is unable to admit his feelings to himself. Things take a turn when police gatecrash the weddding preparations and Raja Thakur escapes with Janiya

When Sheetal's father finds out she's been captured by Raja Thakur he approaches Raja Thakur's mother for help, asking her to help persuade her son to give him back his daughter


She assures him her son Raj Thakur means no harm and that he would get his daughter back the next day

Raj Thakur obeys his mother and hands Janiya over to her, just when her father is about to meet his daughter, she's kidnapped by Mangal Singh's (Premnath) henchmen.


Mangal Singh (Premnath) threatens her father to pay 25 lakhs if he wants to see daughter again

Raj's mum is injured during the kidnap and when he finally his dying mother, she makes him promise to reunite Janiya back to her father

Raj goes into town and then makes plans of how he would rescue Janiya from Mangal Singh


What follows are a series of disguise with Raja Thakur in some seriously funky 70's fashion

i want that green jacket in my wardrobe


A villain's den that looks so much like a discotheque


And an aide who had been sent to kill him joining him in his quest to bring down Mangal Singh

Will he be able to rescue Janiya? What obstacles will he face?

Overall a fun masala-ish flick, attempting to highlight the humanity/kindness of dacoits, at the heart of the film is the somewhat atypical message which became quite popular in a number of dacoit films trying to show dacoits as humans with emotions too, much like the 1963 Sunil Dutt starrer Mujhe Jeene Do (someone please put this on dvd with subtitles)

the film makes us believe Raja is a dacoit not by chance but as result of Raja witnessing his fathers death on the hands of Loan Sharks, Raja grows up robbing and helping the oppressed as a result of the materialist greed which had casued his father's death

Enjoyable performances from all the cast, Sunil Dutt is one of my favourite actors and he delivers a highly watchcable camp act in this, and what a transformation Rekha later went through, i had to do a double take to ensure it was really her


a young dusky toned Rekha

Great music from O.P Nayyar i had long heard of the wonders or should i say magic of O.P Nayyar but this was the film that brought it home for me, Asha Bhosle sang all the songs in this, from the super hot mujra 'Ek tu na piya' the seductive 'Aapke dard jawan hai', the cabaret-esque 'dekho are dilbar' and the beautiful ballad 'chain se humko kabhie' (audio only) which wasn't picturised in the film itself for some reason, the song won Asha Bhosle her 6th Filmfare 'Best female playback award'

my favourites have to be 'Bikaner ki chunri' with a feisty Jayshree T telling us where she got all her wares from



another favourite is 'dekho raja dekho' for the stringy instruments and drum beats infused with Asha's sweet vocals



Total Score: 7/10 ( Entertaining dacoit fare)

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