Mouchak

In the black-&-white era, Bengali films were of essentially 2 kinds. One would be the comedy genre which was riproarious fun; while the other would be the serious kind; devoid of any fun whatsoever! I for one, have never been a fan of the latter; but I make sure never to miss any of the former; even if it's the umpteenth rerun on TV!

The comedies churned out by Tollywood back then is undoubtedly of the finest quality around. They can simply never go wrong! So is this Arabinda Mukherjee flick. I had high expectations before sitting to watch this film; and must confess I have been satisfied to the brim!

It's amazing how the scriptwriters back then could come up with such hilarious plots almost regularly. The travesty of a good-looking young man getting 'attacked' by a host of aspiring father-in-laws, resembles a beehive attracting a swarm of bees. The film is filled with small-small hilarious sequences throughout and a dull moment is never to be found. The scenes and dialogues stay in mind long after and can generate bouts of laughter just from memory. Be it the scene of Tarun Kumar getting pelted by a stone; or a couple of kids inviting Ranjit Mullick to dance! They are simply LOL and ROWL moments!

This was the phase where Uttam Kumar was consciously passing on the baton to younger heroes. But even though a handsome looking Ranjit Mullick hogs most of the limelight, it's still 'UK' who creates the biggest impression. It's a lesson as to how one can make the audiences laugh even with simple realistic acting. This is one of the rare films featuring the comic trio of Robi-Anup-&-Chinmoy where Chinmoy manages to overshadow the other two. The others in the cast are also quite good. All the 4 songs composed by Nachiketa Ghosh were hits.

Arabinda Mukherjee, who had also delivered the other gem 'Dhanni Meye' (1971), proves his mastery over this genre. It also brings to the fore his versatility as a film-maker having delivered tearjerkers like 'Agnishwar' (1964) and 'Nishi Padma' (1970) before.

Ironically, it's classic comedies like these that expose the utter lack of entertainment in the serious films of those times. Unlike Asrani, Johny Lever, Subhashish Mukherjee or Kharaj Mukherjee, whose only job is to entertain no matter what the genre is; even comic-stars like Bhanu Bannerjee and Robi Ghosh would also do only serious roles in non-comedy films of those times. It's as if, they wanted to compensate for all the laughter they provided in comedies by making us sit with a sullen face all through in rest of those films.

Considering the comic-talent they possessed; it's simply a waste of creativity!

The perfect feel good movie. If you ever feel depressed then start watching this, guranteed you will get your mood back. It's a linear storyline without any major twist or turn. You would know what's coming next but still would want watch to get the fun. I don't know how many times I have watched it, but still never gets old.

The story is simple, a handsome bachelor with a good job being chased by dad's of wanna-be brides, and how his sreet-smart elder brother handles the situation. There is some social messaging which probably is still somewhat relevant outside the metro life. But the jouorney is hilarious. Acting could feel little over the place from some casts, but it was commonplace back in those days (even today you get overacting in masala films). So, don't complain. The real hero here is the screenplay and how flawlessly the director handles it. Songs are as ussual good. Finally the Mahanayak, he brings a charm that is unmatched. Love this flick!

The title of the review says it all. It is one of those movies where you will get immersed into the lives of the characters. The thrill of momentary uncertainty is there, but you get out of satisfied altogether.

Mouchak tells the story of an eligible bachelor in Bengal in the early 70s in a humorous way exaggerating many nuances of the 'Bangali life' back then. The most fascinating part of the movie is that you get to peek into the family lives as well as the corporate lives of Bangalis at that time when the breeze of modern thinking was taking over, yet many old values were prevalent.

Quite an enjoyable one.