The original MPKDH. Review on Chitchor

Reading a number of reviews on the recent release “Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon”, one gets the impression that this is an over-hyped, sexed up remake of the 1977 classic by the same movie-house Rajshri, “Chitchor”. And I was quite disappointed to see not a single review of the original, which is definitely much more worthy of viewing and commenting upon. So here goes….

Year of release: 1977

Director: Basu Chatterjee

Cast: Amol Palekar, Zarina Wahab, Vijayendra Ghatge, A.K. Hangal, Dina Pathak, Master Raju.

Music: Ravindra Jain

The plot:

Geeta (Zarina Wahab) is a simple, fun loving girl with simple dreams living in a small town/ village, Madhupur, with her mother (Dina Pathak) and father, Pitamber Chaudhri, (A.K. Hangal), who is a school headmaster. Her elder sister, ,Meera is married and settled in Mumbai..

One day, Meera writes to her father that one of their acquaintances, a young qualified engineer, is scheduled to come to Madhupur to work on a bridge project. She hints that she has had a word with him regarding Geeta and that he would make an ideal match for her. She tells him that they should try to win him over by being nice to him

The entire family enthusiastically gets on to the task and the young engineer Vinod (Amol Palekar) is made to feel at home in this new place. Geeta, along with her neighbour’s son, Master Raju, frequent the engineer’s quarters with flowers and food. Very soon, Vinod wins over the hearts of the entire family. He is also a good singer and begins to train Geeta singing lessons. Geeta and Vinod soon fall in love with each other.

A few days later, Geeta’s father receives another letter from Meera saying that the engineer she was referring to earlier, could not make it to Madhupur earlier, but would be reaching there in a few days. Geeta’s parents realize the blunder they have committed, but are aftraid that it might have been too late.

Nevertheless, Geeta’s father goes to the station to receive the new engineer, when he finds Vinod already there to receive the newcomer, Sunil (Vijayendra Ghatge), who he says is his boss and friend.

Geeta’s parents inform Geeta about the faux pas and order her not to see Vinod anymore but focus on Sunil instead. But, Geeta has already given her heart to Vinod and on some pretext she continues to meet him. However, she is a simple girl and does not do anything to upset her parents. Geeta’s parents finally open the topic of matrimony formally with Sunil, who agrees to wed her. Vinod finally realizes the situation that Sunil and Geeta are arranged to get married and decides to move out of the frame, to avoid any embarrassment to anybody. In the end, of course, true love emerges victorious.

The performances:

Impeccable performances by the entire cast. Amol Palekar as the simple, genteel and likeable Vinod manages to win over the audience’s hearts as well. Zarina Wahab plays the simple village girl convincingly. Her almost nil make-up and simple cotton fabrics are a fresh change from the garish, loud mouthed village belle routines, so common to Bollywood. Vijayendra Ghatge plays a suave and refined character with ease. In a small role, he leaves a quiet impact. A.K. Hangal and Dina Pathak as Geeta’s parents play well-etched characters effortlessly as can be expected from such veteran performers. And last but not the least, Master Raju, as the kid-next-door, adds to the cuteness of the film.

The music:

Ravindra Jain’s music is brilliant with a touch of classical, and the songs of Chitchor are remembered till today, over 25 years after they were first heard (Doubt the same feat can be achieved by MPKDH’s songs). Yesudas was introduced for the first time to Hindi audiences and made a memorable debut with 4 songs. The resident Ravindra Jain favorite, Hemalata, provided the female playback. Songs such as “Gori tera gaon bada pyara”, “Jab deep jale aana”, “Tu jo mere sur mein” and “Aaj se pehle, aaj se jyada” have been loved by generations of Indians.

Conclusion:

Chitchor represented a middle-of-the-road cinema which was making its presence felt in the late 70s. In contrast to extravagance seen in usual Bollywood masala films, movies such as Chitchor relied on a strong plot, effective characterizations, smooth narrative and

hummable tunes. Director Basu Chatterje intersperses the main plot with small incidents which help to portray the various dimensions and shades in the characters. The simple treatment is embellished by small instances of comic incidents which are subtly introduced. (One instance is Master Raju, who always accompanies the couple during their courting, is one day sent on an errand only so that the couple can make a quick getaway. And when they come back, they find the kid standing at the door fuming at being outwitted!) (Another instance is when Geeta, who has been learning music from Vinod, is to give a performance to her parents – on the same day that the parents learn of the misunderstanding. The parents are in an awkward position and this awkwardness has been brought out very well).

Such scenes and many others leave a sense of warmth which remains with the viewer long after the end of the movie.

….Comments are welcome….