Victoria No. 203

Well-respected rich guy is also a crime lord. He gets his goons to orchestrate a diamond heist, in which he gets double-crossed. As a result, bodies stack up, the diamonds are missing (and hidden in the titular Mumbai horse carriage Victoria No. 203), an innocent man is in jail for a crime he didn't commit, and now his daughter has to fend for herself. Oh, yeah, and there's tension between the rich guy and his son, and then his son meets the daughter of the innocent man...

All sounds very typical, right? All sounds cliché and predictable, right? So why am I rating this move 8/10? Quite simply, this movie belongs to Ashok Kumar and Pran. If there's one thing that none of the characters in this film predict, it's that they would have to deal with the fast-talking fresh-out-of-jail bumbling old crooks Raja and Rana. Pran's Rana, who is funny in his own right, plays the straight man to Ashok Kumar's Raja, a perpetually drunk skirt-chasing buffoon, and these two make up perhaps my favorite comedic duo in all of Bollywood history. (I have actually come to refer to any hilarious comedic duo as "Raja and Rana".) When these two get thrown into the mix, this standard thriller plot suddenly takes a dramatic turn and sheer hilarity ensues.

This movie simply could not have worked without Raja and Rana and I don't think Raja and Rana could have worked if they hadn't been cast properly. This is especially true for Raja, as he is played by Ashok Kumar, an actor known for playing wise grandfatherly figures or strong authority figures (think Judge Badri Prasad in "Kanoon"). For him to play Raja, who goes chasing after women half his age and looks utterly ridiculous doing so, is a complete inversion of expectations, and that is exactly what is needed in solid comedy. And, here he is paired up with Rana, known in Bollywood for playing cheesy villains (not to mention the wise and elderly Malan-chaha from Manoj Kumar's classic "Upkar"). The duo's antics and especially their fast-paced dialogue (not to mention their classic musical number "Do Bichare Bina Sahare") bring a smile to my face just remembering them.

Raja and Rana are still supporting characters in this story, with the plot being driven by Navin Nischol as Kumar, the rich villain's good-guy son, Saira Banu as Rekha, the daughter-turned-carriage-driver, and Anwar Hussain as Durgadas, the rich villain. These performances would be considered weak for a thriller, but they are perfect for a comic thriller (or, perhaps, a comedy-masquerading-as-a-thriller) like this movie.

You don't watch this movie for the plot or for a thrill. You watch it because you get to see two of Bollywood's most serious actors do a complete inversion and become geniuses of comedy.

I have felt that many Bollywood movies became outstanding or simply very good not by deliberate effort but by default. Sholay is a great example in my opinion. Neither its writers (Salim-Javed), nor its director (Ramesh Sippy) had thought during its making that they were going to make a timeless classic. They were only making a multi-starrer formula movie whose plot was also not original. However by default, everything fell just in place in the movie and it became something outstanding. A similar thing seems to have happened with Victoria No. 203 which had been made by the director Brij Sadanaah in 1972, taking Navin Nischal and Saira Banu in romantic leads.

Director Brij had perhaps a fancy for involvement of diamonds in the plot of his movies as many of his movies are regarding theft of diamond or diamonds. Anyway, there was a set pattern in several Bollywood movies of the sixties and the seventies that a crime based story was taken, showing triumph of good over evil in the end, inter-mixing one comedy plot and one romantic plot (with some songs) in between plus applying a Tadka of some emotion and some action to the dish and then supposing it to be delicious for two and half hours entertainment for the Indian audience who was supposed to be habituated of seeing such so called social thrillers. Victoria No. 203 was no exception but the comedy track interwoven in the crime based plot superseded everything else by default and that played magic with this ordinary movie.

I am not trying to take away the credit from the director. In fact, the intelligent casting of the comedians was that x-factor which made the movie extra-ordinary. While making selection for the pair of two aged friends, getting in and out of jail every now and then, the director made a very intelligent decision, virtually a masterstroke which made this movie a winner. The first selection was Ashok Kumar, the legendary Dada Muni of Bollywood who was always kept in such high esteem by the filmmakers that whosoever might be in the lead roles, his name was displayed first in the credits. And the second one was Pran, the quintessential Bollywood villain who was so much hated by the audience due to his baddie roles that for around two decades, people had stopped keeping the name of a newborn as Pran. Comedy ! By these two ! Something beyond imagination at that time. But it happened and it became the USP of this movie forever.

The story is regarding the theft of diamonds from a museum which due to multiple crosses taken place between the criminals, led to hiding of the diamonds by the dying thief in a Victoria (horse-driven rickshaw in Mumbai in those times) numbered as 203. The mastermind behind the theft is after them with his gang but destiny pulls two regular jail-birds of old age also into this crime-dynamics. In the end, the main villain is caught, the diamonds which are the national property, are found; the innocent father of our heroine who owns this Victoria is released from jail and one of the two aged friends (Pran) gets his lost son (our hero) who has been fostered by the villain for years. But in between, we have a two hours and odd minutes long laugh riot alongwith murders, chases and thrill.

Ashok Kumar plays a skirt-chasing alcoholic with Pran as his somewhat sensible buddy. These two play so much with the funny bone of the audience during the movie that you just forget about the main plot and keep on laughing and enjoying with these two. The chemistry between these two aged protagonists is so amazing that it can only be felt by seeing on the screen, cannot be explained in words. Every now and then, you start laughing. The screenplay writer deserves full marks for writing genuine laughter-generating scenes for them and the director has demonstrated his better judgment by giving ample footage to this comedian duo. The full length song - Do Bechare, Bina Sahare is simply great to hear and more so to watch. This song itself is just like a short laughter show presented by Ashok Kumar and Pran.

When I see slapstick comedies made in India, I start thinking about this movie which is a lesson in making comedy movies though category wise talking, it is a crime thriller. All the laughters generated are genuine and arise straight from your heart. Only this aspect has given this movie a repeat value and it can be watched for any number of times just for the laughing stock.

Other than Ashok Kumar and Pran whose already decorated caps got another feather added by this movie, Naveen Nischal and Saira Banu have done well as the lead romantic pair. The baddies are OK alongwith the character and the child artists. Other than the already mentioned - Do Bechare, Bina Sahare; the songs of the movie are OK. The song in which Saira Banu induces Ranjeet, gives an erotic effect. The editor could not have done a better job as the regular formula movies were made in those times in such a way as to expand the plot on a two and half hours long canvas. Art direction and other technical aspects are also OK.

Brij Sadanaah committed suicide in 1990 after allegedly killing his wife and daughter. His son Kamal remade Victoria No. 203 by taking Anupam Kher and Om Puri in the roles of Ashok Kumar and Pran but it did not work.

My verdict is - please watch this crime thriller for laughters of a life time. If you have not watched it, you are missing a very big laughter-treat.

Victoria No 203 review :

Produced and directed by Brij Sadanah, Victoria No 203 was a fun thriller featuring Ashok Kumar and Pran as two petty thieves who stumble upon a diamond heist gone wrong.

Saira Banu, playing the female lead, looked absolutely ravishing in her seduction scene with Ranjeet. Navin Nishchol was the main hero per se but the entire focus was on antics of Raja (Ashok Kumar) and Rana (Pran) who literally brought the house down with their amazing camaraderie and superb comic timing. You could call their characters an inspiration for Amar Prem duo in the cult classic Andaaz Apna Apna (1994) and probably, they would've aged as Raja aur Rana.

Talking of Andaz Apna Apna, its climax is heavily borrowed from this film; the only difference being Crimemaster Gogo is replaced by the sinister looking Anwar Hussain Saahab here. A very yong Ranjeet (in a small role) and MB Shetty played his henchmen.

Victoria No 203 makes for a fun watch on a lazy weekend afternoon. The film was a superhit of its time and even spewed a namesake remake in 2007 which was made by Brij's son Kamal Sadanah. The remake didnt succeed like the original. Well, as they say, Old is Gold!!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

This is pure escapist entertainment. A handful of diamonds are hidden in a Victoria (horse cart) and world goes mad about it. All the cast is perfect with a absolutely amazing chemistry between Pran and Ashok Kumar. Film also has a sultry Saira Bano.

Such 70s films were made with keeping a popular appeal in mind. That was also the time when Hollywood started to cast its giant shadow over Hindi films. The escapist art is all right if it is not a direct takeoff from any other source. This is certainly the original one. Many films on a similar plot have been made but none comes anywhere near to this one. See it on a holiday and it will be a time worth spending.