Thursday, January 17, 2008

Sharada (1981) :A Comedy that tries too hard to be a Family Drama

I am sure you guys must be thinking that i have lost it completely, especially because this is going to be the first Mainstream hindi film i am reviewing on this blog..that too from 1981, and its not Sholey either. So what really lead me to make my mind up for reviewing this particular film which people from my generation might have never even heard of.. Honestly, I have no idea, it could be lot of things, maybe starting from- me having absolutely no idea of what i am getting into when i started watching it or the fact that the film was so bad that it was good..you just cant imagine how exhilarated and amused i was when the events started to unfold..i was laughing , choking, throwing up ,sallowing my puke and laughing again and i kept doing the same thing over and over again for the next two hours or so (yes ..even while the songs).

Picture this, Inder (jitender) is a hard working and god fearing simpleton who lives with his mother and works for Lalima Lipsticks. His mother is a conservative and over protective person, who has seen some really difficult times owing to the early demise of her husband. Inder, due to his hard work soon starts to climb the corporate ladder and becomes the favorite of his Chairman Mr.Kohili (Madan Puri) who looks at him as a prospective son in law. Jagdish (Jagdeep) is Inder's hyperactive and street smart secretary who believes in getting promoted by hook or by crook. In an important meeting with the companies agents Jadish offers female escorts in order to entertain the clients, All the agents get drunk including Inder (first time for him) and indulge in a night of debauchery leaving Inder estranged with a woman called Sharada(Rameshwari) who is a rookie in the profession (First time for her too).. Inder who is completly drunk and overly emotional by now and Sharda who has already declined a advance made by one of the agents ,strike a conversation leading to some of the most hilarious lines in the history of Indian Cinema :

Inder : Chi..tum aisa kam kyon karti ho ?
Sharda : Kyonki mai aanath hoon ..aur ek anath ladki ke duniya fayada uthati hai
Inder : Kyaaah... tum Anath Ho..!!?? ( Bursts into tears) Mai tumhara dard samajh Sakta hoon..!

and the Conversation leads to Inder getting married to Sharda in the same hotel while the rest of the escorts and the agents plays best men and brides maid respectively.(of which Inder has no memory of the next morning..of course, he was drunk..wasnt he!!)

Shit hits the fan when Mr.Kohili meets Inders mother and tells her his intention of getting his daughter married to her son..for which the mother readily agrees cause after all he is the Chairman who has recently promoted her son, a conversation that leads to the second most hilarious line in the history of Indian Cinema:

Mr Kohili : Mai AApko Inder ke promotion ke liye Mubarak baad dena Chahata tha
Mother : Promotion..!! MAtlab pagar me sau ek rupiyaa to badega na..??
Mr:Kohili : SAu Ek Rupiyaa nahin ..pure Derh Hazaar , Ab Inder ki Pagar poorey teen Hazaar ho gayi hai
Mother : (Gasps in Disbelief) Hai raam..Itney Paise hum Rakhheygey kahan..!!??

whats follows is a completly bizarre set of events which includes fixing grill on the windows, scheme of a murder, attempted poisoning,suicidal mother, a wife who is a absolute pile on,a VAT 69 scotch whiskey that looks like Rum, a dream sequence which goes too far, regular trips between Pune and Mumbai (both of whom seems to be in a different time zone in 1981.),an overly long horse leash (100 yards at least.), a Blackmailer getting Blackmailed and One Final showdown in Haridwaar. Oh yes in the middle of all that ..you also have Raj Babbar in a "blink and you miss" appearance.

Most of time me and Chetan( My Ex Girlfrnd and my Present Roomie) were baffled and perplexed cause we were not able to figure ,if the director (Lekh Tondon) intended to make this a comedy or a family drama..then Chetan pointed out that since the scenes in which i was laughing hardest had a low and extremly sad background score ..it must be family drama..!! Its just that the socio economical and cultural changes in past 26 years have turned it into one of the best comedies of present time.

I was lucky enough to watch it on Television, but its a rare film cause there is nothing written about it over the internet as well..therefore i wasnt able to get the film poster from anywhere. But try not missing this little gem from 1981 if you get a chance today..especially if you enjoyed reading this review and have a similar sense of humor like mine.

In a flurry of recent remakes i guess this film has a lot of potential , only if Mr.David Dhawan is listening..!!

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Sir, i would definitely love to watch this movie, its making me laugh while reading.

Sheetal said...

HiIi..

As you said the movie depicts the socio-economic and cultural aura of yeaterday's film industry.The Director,Lekh Tandon's achievement in bringing in entirely two different emotions with the same subject on different audience(of difft generation )is to be appreciated.HOLD ON!!!!!! FOR THE GENERATION TO COME,,WHAT WOULD BE THE GENRE OF DAVID DAWAN MOVIES ????

aroop said...

@ Amit..i am glad that you liked it..and the film..its a must watch..only if i knew how to get it..!!

@ Sheetal..ha..ha..ha..David Dhawan films might end up as best comedies in the years to come..cause nobody laughs at his jokes as now..

R Kamal said...

Happy Birthday Buddy!Cheers

aroop said...

Thanks kamal...cheers to you too..;)

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