Chitchor

Chitchor is a wonderful comedy directed by the great Basu Chatterjee, and as you would already predict, it is one small and authentic picture which tells its story through its presentation of everyday realism and its ability to captivate without ever overdoing its story. There is something in this simplicity that is really engaging. Chitchor is a light, musically-abundant tale of a village couple who want to marry their growing daughter Geeta to a young successful engineer named Sunil, only that for quite some time they mistake him for his supervisor, Vinod, who comes to the village several days before. The story deepens upon the arrival of Sunil and follows the proceedings when Geeta is already very much in love with Vinod.

Chitchor is aided in equal parts by Chatterjee's wonderful direction, the great cast, and of course the classic soundtrack composed by Ravindra Jain. K. J. Yesudas and Hemalata perform brilliantly their numbers. Eash song is totally melodious and pleasant. Do take a listen to "Gori Tera Gaon", "Aaj Se Pehle", "Jab Deep Jale Aana", and my personal favourite "Tu Jo Mere Sur Mein". Where acting goes, every actor does well. A.K. Hangal and Dina Pathak are excellent as the loving parents. Amol Palekar is fantastic as the kindhearted and talented Vinod. Zarina Wahab is outstanding in a restrained performance which is mostly non-verbal. Vijayendra Ghatge lends adequate support and child actor Raju Shrestha also does exceedingly well.

There's one aspect in the film that really struck me and it's the running time. At a little more than one hour and a half, Chitchor is one of the shortest movies, and it's great because so many Hindi movies are too long for the story they tell, and here's a nice exception. The word "chitchor" means "a heart stealer", and the movie lives up to the premise. It is enjoyable, simple and heartwarming, and is without a doubt an amusing tale worth revisiting. Go for it.

"Chitchor" is a beautiful film with excellent music – a typical Rajshri Productions movie. Amol Palekar visits Zareena Wahab's village in connection with the construction of a new bridge. Zarina's family thinks he is Vijayendra Ghatge, the engineer with whom they are planning to marry Zarina off. They are very pleased with the simple Amol. He becomes close to the family and Zarina. But when they come to know about the truth they avoid Amol and wants Zarina to forget Amol and marry Vijayendra. But a happy ending ensues with Vijayendra sacrificing his love in favor of Amol. A family drama which never loses its freshness despite repeated viewings. The script was well written with all the characters beautifully etched. Chitchor contains some of Ravindra Jain's best music compositions. And the songs made Yesudas famous.

I read other user comments and felt like commenting on them. Sure it is a simple movie, but is that everything what a good movie demands. It may have been nicely directed but I failed to notice any brilliance. Sure it was a movie which felt like real life, but honestly there should be something more than small subtle pleasures that one gets in seeing people's gestures, mannerisms...

Anyhow, on the whole the movie lacked strongly in the idea and the story aspect. It failed to give a clear message about the intention of the movie. It was no doubt much better than any commercial venture because of its music, narration and acting. But I would have expected more from such a brilliant director.

This is one of those movies which leaves you feeling good and on a high. The simple setting of a village with absolutely real-life characters make this movie a viewing pleasure.

The plot is very simple. Vijayendra Ghatage is an engineer who is about to come to a village for some construction work. A.K. Hangal and Dina Pathak want to marry off their daughter Zarina Wahab to him. But instead of the engineer, the supervisor Amol Palekar lands up and is mistaken for the engineer. The parents encourage the meetings of Zarina and Amol. Amol is a lover of music. He teaches Zarina music and in the process they fall in love. But then Vijayendra comes on the scene and he is ready to marry Zarina....

It is the presentation, characterisation and acting where the movie really shines. Amol is great as ever. Dina Pathak is delightful as the mother who is in a dilemma over allowing her daughter to meet Amol openly. Zarina also gives an excellent performance.

The movie has excellent songs which are largely based on classical Indian music, notable being "Jab Deep Jale Aana", "Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara", "Aaj Se Pahle" etc. Yesudas enthralls with his rich mellifluous voice in these songs. You can't find a Best of Yesudas album without these songs from this film.

All in all, a light, heart-warming movie which is a must-see for every hindi film buff. It is a far cry from the regular stuff churned out by Bollywood. Excellent stuff!!

One of the best Indian movies. Simple love story with melodious songs. I have seen this movie several times & each time I watch I feel I am watching it for the first time. Another good movie by the same director is Swami.