Gol Maal

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!

This is the best comedy I have seen so far. Neither has such a comedy ever been produced again, not it will be. Utpal dutt is just great and so is Amol Palekar. Two great actors and very well supported by Dina Pathak. Bollywood, why have you stopped making such excellent movies. I have seen it 20 times and each time I see it, I like it even more. I know almost all main dialogues of the movie now. Wondeful film and must watch. I would give it a 10/10.

This has got to be one of the best movies I have, and will ever, see. It's comedy at its best.

The casting is superb, with Amul Palekar, Dina Pathak, Utpal Dutt, Manju Singh, and of course, a whole lot of special appearances.

The story is quite ridiculous at times, but the acting and music more than makes up for it. Some of the sequences such as Ramprasad's interview with Utpal Dutt and the scene where Dina Pathack comes into their house through the window, are out of this world. It makes me wonder, what ever happened to good Indian comedies?? The story resolves quite nicely, and all well that ends well. Basically, a thoroughly enjoyable film.

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.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee directs another comedy movie involving simple middle-class people and presents it through their everyday struggle. The entire picture is simple, authentic and fun. The concept of a young guy who would go to any extent to not lose his job is very interesting, and Mukherjee handles it with great success. Gol Maal is a comedy of errors and it's wonderfully developed and narrated. It's not a complex story, but it's not a silly one either, and the simplicity works in its favour. The film benefits from its genuinely lifelike sets and costumes, its script, and its proceedings, which grow from humorous to amusing to suspenseful to hilarious. It gets funnier and funnier as it goes along, as the conflict gets more complicated, the obstacles are doubled, and the irony grows. But the movie also has soul, and that's one of its high-points. The characters are colourful and memorable, but they also have depth which makes them easy to identify with. The relationships are also very impressively portrayed and it's nice to see how united families and relatives can be and how they care for each other and help each other in times of need.

Gol Maal is very well cast, and for me, there are three actors who totally nail their parts: Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt and Dina Pathak. Palekar is excellent in the role of a simpleton who is forced to live a double life in order to save his job. He displays the differences between the two roles his character has to play brilliantly, with just subtle change in body language and a few nuances here and there. Dutt is hilarious, skillfully creating a memorable persona of a strict boss with a soft heart. His is the funniest performance in the film. Dina Pathak, one of Hindi cinema's greatest character actresses, is awesome as she is in all the films I've seen her in. She comes across as a vivacious, fun-loving and kind woman and, like Palekar, wonderfully plays her 'two' roles. Among the supporting cast, David stands out and is as always likable as the kind uncle. The film also has fantastic music by maestro R.D. Burman. "Aane Wala Pal" is my favourite number, and it is performed to perfection by the great Kishore Kumar. Gol Maal is overall a lighthearted and heartwarming comedy but it has the power to captivate, and it can always provide a fun watch for the entire family.