Gol Maal

Well first thing's first. If you liked 'Chupke Chupke' (another comedy of error by Mr. Mukherjee) then you'll almost certainly enjoy 'Gol Maal'. Mukherjee does what he's very specialized in doing: telling the simple story of the common man and this time again he does it with comedy. The film opens with the hilarious title song and the story slightly falls on the same line of Mukherjee's 'Chupke Chupke' but the humour and the actors make the moments their own and 'Gol Maal' is very much its own film. Amol Palekar as the simpleton who is 'forced' to live a double life, Utpal Dutt as the opinionated boss and Dina Pathak as the vivacious mother/aunt create a wonderful comic team. Lending support are Manju Singh as the happy-go-lucky sister, Deven Verma as...himself and a cute Bindiya Goswami as the love interest. One will notice several cameos by stars like Rekha, Amitabh Bachchan etc. 'Gol Maal' presents several situations of confusion, suspense, and drama - all of it with a touch of comedy. The only thing that slightly irritated me was the poor cinematography as the camera was a little too shaky at times. I was watching it really late at night (a time during which most normal people have already entered REM sleep) and couldn't stop laughing. I think it would have been a lot more entertaining had I watched it with my parents (as was the case with 'Chupke Chupke'). Perhaps thats because there's the additional comedy of watching them laugh out loud.

A comedy of errors in which a lie and a mistaken identity sets into motion a domino effect of such proportions that every time a character faces an obstacle your heart leaps into your mouth, only to fall back with a thud because you continuously feel the urge to laugh uncontrollably.

Like any Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie, Gol Maal tells the story of next door people in the most heart-warming manner with a good dose of clean and genuine humor that takes a clean bite at the culture and traditions of middle-class India. Ramprasad Sharma (Amol Palekar), a chartered accountant by profession, is a colorful personality who is a sports junkie in the afternoons and an amateur singer in the evenings. With the help of his uncle he lands up a job at a trading firm and embarks on a mission to please his boss Bhavani Shankar (Uttpal Dutt in a hilarious turn) because his whole identity is fake considering his boss disapproves fashion, vehemently opposes the obsession of sports among the youth (although he is a secret sports fan himself), dislikes people who abbreviate their names and use recommendation to get a job, encourages purity of language, and sees mustache as a symbol of pride and a window to the soul. Ramprasad has none of the "good" qualities sans the mustache, his only saving grace, which he ends up losing in an attempt to save his skin after being spotted at a Hockey match by his boss. Remembering the plot of a movie an actor friend of his is doing, he manages to convince Bhavani Shankar that it was not him whom he had seen at the stadium but his jobless, good-for-nothing, clean shaven identical twin Laxmanprasad Sharma aka Lucky. So, during the day Ramprasad works as a straight-as-a-reed worker bee quoting quasi intellectual teachings of his imaginary father and in the evening takes on the role of his mustacheless notorious twin brother who teaches music to the boss's daughter and also romances her on the sly.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee, once again succeeds in creating a complex story around some simple and some quirky characters like Mrs. Kamala Srivastav (Dina Pathak) – a reluctant mother for hire and Bade Babu (Yunus Parvez), a not so bright colleague of Ramprasad whose favorite pastime is pulling hair out of his nostrils. He went so far as to mount this broad satire on the platform of Bollywood itself wherein an actor friend of Ramprasad Deven (Deven Varma as himself) mouthpieces the idea that life indeed is stranger than fiction as depicted in the movies and does the humble job of furnishing the fake mustache to the protagonist, the complex results of which sets the whole hanky-panky business into motion.

The rest of the cast is mediocre except for Shobha Khote and David in minor roles. Bindiya Goswami as the love interest only shines in her introduction scene and has nothing better to do except look lovelorn. Needless to say, it is the comic timing between Uttpal Dutt and Amol Palekar that is the star of the movie and the two went on to do three more films together with mixed results.

One of the best comedies of all time in Hindi cinema. Gone are the days when comedy used to be clean and without loud expressions or stupid facial gestures. Golmaal comes out to be one of the favorite comedies of all times. As an adamant businessman, Utpal Dutt excels in his performance. This is probably his best role in Hindi movies. Amol Palekar outrightly describes that why he is renowned as an actor of extraordinary caliber. The supporting cast viz. Deven Verma, Dina Pathak and David have added pinch of flavor to the outcome. Keshto and Om Prakash have done well in a small cameo. Salute to the great director, Hrishikesh Mukherjee who has given loads of humor with excellent movies viz. Chupke Chupke and Anand. Golmaal is the best and will be ever remembered for it's hummable number like "Aanewala Pal". Truly Outstanding!!!

This classic 70's flick is regarded by many as undoubtedly the greatest Bollywood comedy movie of all times. Utpal Dutt is mostly remembered for his role as a strict boss and a person who holds the qualities of the Raj era to his heart, and in the process creating a generation gap between himself and the entire world. The "Double Role" played by the next door boy Amol Palekar in order to cover his real colors in front of his boss and his girlfriend makes a riot of a script such that you will remember for a long time. R D Burman's "Golmaal" and Kishore Kumar's "Aane Waala Pal" are songs that render the heart with unsurpassed happiness and sorrow. All this has made this movie the greatest Hindi comedy flick of all times. A must watch movie!

A must Recommend movie for all generation of people. The situations of the movie are so comic that it does not matter who is actor,one has to enjoy the movie.Truly Great. A must watch movie. I would suggest every body to go and watch this movie. Every character was so amazingly suits the different characters. I see it as a lifetime achievement for all those who were a part of it,not intending to undermine their other accomplishments.The photography,art direction and production of the movie sets it apart from other movies of its era and at the same time puts it right up there on a different level.undoubtedly, one of the finest examples of film-making.This film is an absolutely original, Indian story, and does not owe anything to the west.Every aspect of the film is top-notch.10/10.