Down ''memory lane''........... Review on Chhoti Si Baat

There are three DIRECTORS in BOLLYWOOD,whom I have always admired and loved................for the kind of films they made.HRISHIKESH MUKHERJI,SAI PARENJPE and BASU CHATTERJI.....................they made films which were so simple real and natural with such beleivable and humanistic characters.They made good clean and very entertaining cinema based on middle class characters..............and I don't think anybody could make better comedies than them..............very subtle,classy,cute and intelligent,never crass or over the top....................great directors and a great asset to INDIAN CINEMA.Here I am going to review one of those ...................classic comedy,CHOTI SI BAAT,which just was so simple and beautifully directed by BASU CHATTERJI,that you could watch this film any number of times without getting bored...................CHOTI SI BAAT,is one of my all time favourite film...................and the film had most of my favourite actors too,AMOL PALEKAR,ASHOK KUMAR,ASRANI and VIDYA SINHA.

STORY................The film is about ARUN(AMOL PALEKAR)who is a very simple and shy man,working as a accountant in a office in MUMBAI,he dreams and falls in love with PRABHA(VIDYA SINHA)who works somewhere else,but he is soo shy that he just doesn;t have the courage to go and speak to her.On the other hand there is NAGESH(ASRANI)who is sauve and smart or so as he thinks..................and he is a table tennis champion,he and Prabha are great freinds................and he often makes fun of Arun,for his shyness,all this prompts ARUN to go meet JULIUS NAGENDRANATH(ASHOK KUMAR),who is a retired curnal and lives in a far of place....................he is a love-guru,and how he helps and trains ARUN to win over PRABHA...........and help him be confident about himself,is done in just a funny and endearing way................that you'll just love it.

ACTING.......................

''AMOL PALEKAR''...................IMO is a great but very under-rated actor,he had such a natural flair for acting and his comic timing was just brilliant.As ARUN in this film he steals the show,first with his shy performance and then the smart and confident ARUN................i simply loved his acting in the second half,when he comes back after taking training ftrom ASHOK KUMAR..................it was brilliant.''VIDYA SINHA'' as PRABHA was very natural too and looked extremely pretty and adorable...................her scenes with AMOL PALEKAR throughout were great.''ASRANI'' as NAGESH...................was his usual self..................he was perfectly cast,and he did a great job as a over-smart,jealous man..................''ASHOK KUMAR'' ,well what do I say for him....................he is a gifted actor and he did a flawless job in this film too................as JULIUS NAGENDRANATH.There were special appearances by AMITABH BACHCHAN,DHARMENDRA and HEMA MALINI..................too.CHOTI SI BAAT had a perfect cast..................and there were very few characters,which made everyone give there best.

MUSIC....................i

SALIL CHOWDHRY was the music director of the film..................and he composed some memorable songs for this film.There are three songs in the film..................JAANE MAN JAANE MAN,NA JANE KYON HOTA HAI YE ZINDAGI KE SAATH and my favourite song fom the film YE DIN KYA AAYE,LAGE PHOOL HASNE,DEKHO BASANTI BASANTI,HONE LAGE,SAPNE...................lovely songs,very sweet and melodious.Also like the picturisation of all of the songs..................

DIRECTION...............

CHOTI SI BAAT is a perfectly directed film.There are no flaws................in its execution.The film moves on just one track...................and potrays a very realstic life and characters of the middle class living in BOMBAY.The film also is must watch for people to know how humour can be used in a film,in such a simple and classy way..................there is nothing fairy tale or senseless in the film...................and BASU CHATTERJI can take all credit for this.Also the film in a way shows that if you are not confident about yourself..................there is no harm in taking help from somebody coz not everyone knows everything.

MEMORABLE SCENES..................

''The one where Arun spots Prabha near the bus stand,and tries to follow her,but the moment she looks back at him,he gets so scared..................that he runs away.Very natural''.

''When the garage mechanic cheats Arun,by fooling him..................and makes him sell his scooter for a very little amount''.

''When Arun meets ASHOK KUMAR FOR THE FIRST TIME AND he asks him to shake hands with him...............and the whole training sessions''.

And ''my most favourite scene is wHEN aRUN COMES BACK AND ONE DAY INVITES pRABHA and Nagesh for lunch...............and there he orders chinese food,and Asrani is just not able to use the chopstics................the whole Ye din kya aaya song''.

So people if you haven't seen CHOTI SI BAAT..................just rent or buy a VCD\DVD,and watch this film............................its a must-watch for all those who enjoy clean,fun comedies..........................and also to know how clean and good humour can be in INDIAN CINEMA....................