Das Hemd des Dieners

This movie focuses on Santu, a young low level clerk in a small town government office who is trying to maintain his social standing, resisting efforts of his boss, landlord and landlord's wife to make him into a servant. He is a bit of a dweeb and his wife and he do a lot of verbal sparring. Nice portrayal by the wife who, though exasperated with him, maintains the marriage and provides some good common sense for the partnership. There is a lot of witty wordplay among the numerous characters that is hard to follow in the subtitles. I found it less funny and less compelling than the Indians in the audience.

The original book 'Naukar ki kameez' on which the movie is based is one of my favourites. Mani Kaul manages to capture the essence of book in his film.

The film showcases the small time clerk working in a government office and doing small works at his officer's house. The film depicts how a common man does 'yes sir' for living and gets exploited by the upper class.

Mani Kaul, who is known to portray litreature on big screen does a fine job as a director in the movie.