Chashme Buddoor

A gem of a film that has simplicity rare to find in cinema these days.

It has a charm that is now seldom or rather not present. Look at that one scene in which the detergent Chamku is being sold. That one scene speaks volumes about how innocent and silly the ways to impress were. In a similar vein, this film has many moments that make us woo for it. The characters are affable, the dialogs are simple and the treatment is just down to earth.

Setup in an apartment are 3 friends who have to go through so many hurdles to pay their rent. A girl comes in their community and all the 3 try to woo here in their own ways. She decides who is the right one for her. All through the film, it's never boring or tiring on brain. You can simply have a smile and at times laugh out loud too. The best part indeed is that the film does not itself too seriously.

Sai Paranjpe was a brave woman director who was considered to be ahead of her times. She has extracted brilliant performances from brilliant actors. Farooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval set a precedent of brining common man stories into the film domain. They were simplistic and endearing. Chashme Baddoor stand the test of time and it is relevant even now. Most of the credit can be attributed to the writing of characters by Sai Paranjpe herself.

The characters of Omi, Jai, Siddharth and Lallan Miyan will stay etched in the memory after we have seen this. Lallan Miyan comes at few times only, but is witty and makes a mark for himself. Except Farooq, I remember others by their character names only. That's the impact this film had on me. Not to forget Neha superbly acted by Deepti Naval.

The cinematography may be age-old and simplistic, but it works. The editing is fine too, though some songs might have done away with but they add charm. Listen to Kahan Se Aaye Badra sung by Yesudas and it's wonderful.

I am going with 4/5 for this film.

this is a brilliant comedy from the 80's. A very dramatically non-dramatic story done in a manner not re-emphasizing any crux. THe movie is done in a very laid back fashion (or this is the impression it'll give you). Each character is very simply but very artistically portrayed that immediately give their own ..very candid introduction (like omi and jai's pin-up clad wall). A very simple comedy talking to the common man.

as a special note - it's easy to fall in love with Deepti Naval in this movie .. the innocent.. vulnerable.. sweet and the very 'girl next door'..who actually IS the girl next door ! also.. Delhi in late 70'z... early 80's ! if you haven't watched it already... tch tch tch.

I'm amazed at the tepid review given by commenter Naam Gum Jayega to this film. The commenter does not know what he's talking about, and knows nothing about Delhi in the 80s. I grew up in Delhi in the 80s and this is wonderful nostalgic little trip back to those days of wide and empty streets, lush green springs, and a leisurely life style.

Faroque and Deepti share an incredible chemistry in the movie, and Rakesh Bedi, Ravi Baswani and Saeed Jaffrey provide able support to their characters. Those who knew Delhi Doordarshan from the 80s would recognize such Delhi theatre regulars as Vinod Nagpal and Keemti Anand doing bit roles.

Absolutely Love this movie!

I have seen it 10 times within a month! Its Hilarious, original ..reminds me of my old college days.

A must see for everyone. (Wonder why there aren't other movies like this one. I guess the closest match is Katha. If anyone can find an equivalent Hindi movie, I would love to hear about it).

The storyline, acting, direction are totally superb. . Deepti Naval and Farooq Sheikh are great. Saeed Jaffrey's acting as the paaanwaala is too good to believe. Note his typical Agra'ite language.

Another good point: You can also see the Delhi of yesteryears - how it looked like in 1981, pollution free and without the ubiquitous Maruti. Wide roads, with few people.

This is entirely charming. A simple and amusing romantic comedy story provides the structure for a lovely movie about the conventions, tropes, whatever you would like to call them, of the Bollywood movie (i.e. popular Hindi language movies made in Bombay). The story's fun on its own, but the real anticipatory pleasure has to do with getting the jokes and looking forward to the next one.

Two of three guys sharing a room in university days have their eye on a pretty neighbor girl - the third is too serious a student to bother. You can guess which one gets the girl.

Each of the first two makes a try at getting to know her by visiting her house on some ruse. Neither succeeds - one runs away, one is beaten up by her brother - but both tell tales of their success which are picturized entirely in Bollywod "love story" conventions:

• In the first guy's story, he takes her on a romantic boatride (singing, of course), which is filmed with every Hindi movie boy-girl-boat-on-river cliché you can think of, including flights of birds, light glistening on water, cows going for a dip -- and also a non-clichéd real bite, done by the pretty teeth of Deepti Naval - and the movie lets you see the actors having fun doing it. I wonder if it was even in the script - in any event it's "actually" sexual, and so not Bollywood-y at all! --

-In the second guy's story, which culminates in a filmi-style fight of hero and random guys, at least eight very very well-known film songs are picturized, among them the main song from Mughul-E-Azam, with our guy as Dilip Kumar (costume included), and Aap Jaise Koi, with Deepti in a delirious disco setting.

And when the true couple gets together in a park in Delhi, they comment that in a movie, they'd be singing and swinging around trees - and then they do, in a third supremely terrific loving parody song. Oh, and look out for the (real) trained bear.

The two jerk roommates wreck the relationship and then have to help their friend repair it, so they contrive a situation in which he can "rescue" her the way our heroes rescue their movie heroines.