Chupke Chupke

Today is 14th September, known as Hindi Day as per the Indian constitutional provisions. On this occasion, I am reviewing a classic comedy whose theme is the usage of the two languages - Hindi and English whose propagators are mostly seen at loggerheads in India. Yes, no prizes for guessing. It is Chupke Chupke (1975) which is unarguably one of the best Bollywood commedies of all times.

Chupke Chupke (quietly) is the story of Parimal Tripathi (Dharmendra), the professor of Botany who falls in love with a student of Botany - Surekha (Sharmila Tagore). After marriage, he comes to know of her fondness towards her brother-in-law or Jijaji (elder sister's husband) - Raghavendra (Om Prakash) who has not been able to attend their marriage. Just to prove himself before his wife, he masquerades as a driver speaking pure Hindi (without any use of English words) and enters Raghavendra's household. What follows is a two hours long laugh-riot for the audience in which, in addition to the mentioned ones, several characters get involved viz. Parimal's friend - Sukumar (Amitabh Bachchan), his another friend - Prashant (Asrani), Prashant's sister-in-law (wife's sister) - Vasudha (Jaya Bhaduri) and many more. Comic situations keep on coming before the spectators till the finale is reached with the truth being revealed before Raghavendra who acknowledges the wittiness of his brother-in-law, i.e., Parimal.

Legendary director - Hrishikesh Mukherjee has directed this movie whose script and dialogues have been written by another Bollywood legend - Gulzaar. It's not a slapstick comedy. It's a situational one whose brilliant script makes it a winner. Right from the very start to the very finish, there is no dearth of laughs for the audience. And the perfect comic timings of the lead characters, especially Dharmendra complement the script to serve its purpose to make the audience laugh again and again.

The inherent message is no less useful and worth remembering. No language is superior or inferior to any other one. Language is a medium of communication for the human-beings who have no business making fun of any language. The way Hindi is respectable, the same way English is. Each one of the two has its own positives (and negatives too) and it's in the interest of the Indians to appreciate the worth of both without mocking any of them.

Sachin Da (S.D. Burman) has composed pretty good music for the movie. The best song is - Abke Sajan Saawaan Mein sung by Lata. Other songs are also apt according to the mood of the movie. Anand Bakshi has penned appropriate lyrics for them.

Performance wise talking, this movie is definitely one of the best movies of Dharmendra. This versatile actor has proved quite emphatically that he is not only skilled in serious roles but he has no match in comedy also. Interestingly, Bollywood's most popular movie -Sholay which contains Dharmendra's another memorable comic performance was released in the same year. Dharmendra has left no stone unturned in making the audience laugh right from the beginning to the end. Om Prakash is the second best and Amitabh Bachchan is the third best in this work. Asrani, Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bhaduri, David, Keshto Mukherjee etc. all have done their parts well and generated showers of laughter for the viewers.

The technical and production value aspects of the movie adhere to the simplicity doctrine of Hrishi Da. Editing is good. Length is also perfect. Summing up, Chupke Chupke is a flawless movie.

Surprisingly, Chupke Chupke was not a box office hit when released. However, now it is considered a classic comedy which has unlimited repeat value. The way, the admirers of Sholay can watch it umpteen number of times, the same way Chupke Chupke can also be watched countless number of times and every time the laughter is guaranteed for the viewer.

Decades before David Dhawan and Priyadarshan rediscovered comedy in Indian Cinema and began their barrage of outings, the undisputed emperors in this genre were Hrishikesh Mukhejee and Basu Chatterjee.

Both relied heavily on creating a natural humour as opposed to what we witness today ie. mindless comedy/ situational comedy/ tongue-in-cheek comedy. And this very natural humour gives USP for "Chupke Chupke" repeat viewings.

Dharmendra:: Dharmendra gets the lions share in "Chupke Chupke". He proves his versatility as an actor by doing comedy effortlessly.

Om Prakash:: "Chupke Chupke" rests heavily on the performance from two actors namely Dharmendra and Om Prakash. If there was any short-coming from either, the entire proceedings would have fallen like a pack of cards. It goes without saying that it was fantastic performance from Mr. Om Prakash.

Big B:: An extended special appearance compared to Dharmendra. The panic-attack prone professor and his inability to hold his nerves is brilliantly breathed to life by Amitabh. Lets not forget that this movie got released in the same year as "Sholay" and "Deewar" which casted his image of angry young man in stone. Talk about chalk-and-cheese!

The rest of the star-cast namely Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bhaduri, Asrani, David and Keshto lend adequate support. S D Burman's composition to Anand Bakshi's lyrics are a music for ears. As with most successful outings of Hrishda, Gulzar's gets involved to contribute his two-cents in the department of screenplay and dialogues and needless to say makes the movie flow seamlessly.

Verdict:: Anytime is "Chupke Chupke" time!

The performance of Amitabh Bachchan stands out amongst some of the greatest names of the 70s.Hrishikesh Mukherjee yet again shows that he is capable of presenting comedy in as sublime manner as he does emotions.Right through the movie not a single scene seems to be out of place.Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore keep you spellbound for the initial part of the movie while Amitabh steals the show in the later.Dharmendra does well in his disguise as a gatekeeper earlier and as a driver for the most part of the movie.Actually this brings out of him his comic talent which would not have been possible with his real character of a serious botany professor.Keshto Mukherjee,Jaya Bhaduri and David are full of energy whenever they appear.The scenes which are bound to make the viewer laugh are the ones in which Dharmendra as the driver Pyare Mohan first meets Raghav and the final climax of the movie in the temple where Amitabh and Jaya are getting married.The music of Sachin Dev Burman is superb as usual.Needless to mention is the brilliance of Lata Mangeshkar in the songs "Ab ke Sajan Sawan Mein" and "Chupke Chupke Chal Re purwaiya".

I have watched this movie so many times that i may have lost count. This is definitely one of the best comedies to come out of Indian Cinema.

The movie scores at almost every level, Direction..Hrishi Da at his best, he has used the same trick (a character pretending to play someone else) in many movies but this time he took everything to another level, the way he handled the complex story in such a simple way, its commendable, you never feel bored,Kudos to the Great Screenplay....Music, Chupke Chupke has one of my fav song..."Ab Ke Sanam Sawan Main", watch out for the naughty looks given by Sharmila Ji in this song and obviously Lata ji adds Gem to this composition..Also the "Chupke Chupke" song is wonderful. Lets come to the Acting Department...This was one of the first movies, where Dharmendra plays a comic role, one of the best in his acting career, with right amount of everything without overdoing anything or adding unnecessary gimmicks. He has always given his best with Hrishi Da(movies like Satyakaam, Anupama). Sharmila Tagore played her part really well, looks pretty and mischievous. Om Prakash is amazing, note some of his expressions even in some small scenes, thats how an actor registers screen presence. Amitabh and Jaya ji have smaller but memorable roles.

Overall a great movie, a lesson to some new age Directors that how a simple movie can be so entertaining.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee known for his simple and yet excellent movies gives us a comedy which is so delightful, it is remembered even today

The film has several hilarious moments, especially between Dharmendra-Om Prakash and will make you die laughing especially their Hindi vs English scenes

The film has all ingredients well balanced, comedy, romance and it makes for an entertaining film something we miss from today's comedies especially Rohit Shetty type of rubbish comedies

The first half has several hilarious moments which make you die laughing while even the second half have several hilarious moments and you'll keep waiting for more

Direction by Hrishikesh Mukherjee is classic Music by S.D.Burman is superb, Sare Gamapa sung by Kishore/Rafi is superb while Ab ke Sawan is superb and rest are superb

Dharmendra shows his range as a comedian and does a brilliant job, often known for his action roles, Dharmendra was superb in 70s in all genres sadly post 80's his comedy became terrible But here he excels Amitabh in a supporting role excels in his comic part perhaps his first comic role,his expressions and dialogue delivery are flawless Both appeared together in SHOLAY and their chemistry is fabulous Surprisingly both diverse films in the same year Amitabh and Hrishikesh made several classic films like ANAND(1971), ABHIMAAN(1973), MILI(1975), ALAAP and BEMISAAL(1982) Sharmila is a natural and does a brilliant job Jaya Bachchan too leaves a mark in a smaller role Om Prakash is hilarious in his role, his role is the important part in the film and he excels in his part Amongst rest Asrani in a small role does well and rest are okay