Chhoti Si Baat

A light and funny movie about a very simple and shy man going to a love-guru to learn the tactics of how to impress a female. A pretty nice comedy. Moreover, it also brings up the question about how fair it is to use pre-thought/learnt techniques to get the love of one's life. Can't one just be natural and still get one???

The year was 1975 and Bollywood was enjoying with a lot of masterpices like Deewar,Chupke Chupke,Mili,Sholay,Juli,Aandhi. In the midst of all them a film was released which might not get that much attention but which is equally deserving called "Choti si baat".

I remember watching that movie for the first time on TV when I was in my 10th standard but i din't able to see the complete movie So, recently (after 10 years) i downloaded and watched it again and came with the Conclusion -> "Choti si baat" is perhaps the best Comedy movie of that(70's) decade and What makes it Class apart is it's simplycity. It masterfully tells one of the most important stories of the 70's which is about middle class.

I normally do not write about movies and I do not think movie like this should be critiqued.it should just be appreciated. Choti si baat is the most impressive movie by the director "Basu Chatterjee" his other movies like "Rajnigandha" "Manzil" and "Ek ruka hua Faisla" that also shows his directional sensitivity. But this is a movie which speaks more than it scripts. It tells us more than its characters narrates the story.

Choti si baat is set to give the audience an intimate look at the very soul of Arun's Character.Ashok kumar is fantastic as Col. Julius Nagendranath, You cannot think of any other actor in this role.Asrani is also very impressive and according to me this is his finest performance. Vidya Sinha was better in Rajnigandha but it does not mean she is not Good in this, She Performed the character of Prabha very well.But it's actually Amol palekar who set aside everyone in the acting department,he played the role of Arun exceptionally.

"Choti si baat" tells us how a man decided not to live like a Coward. The music of the movie is its another strongest part. I don't remember how many times I have watched this movie since then but each time is an experience in itself.Choti si baat belongs to the genre of movies which gives you more than what you expect in the 120 minutes.

Undoubtedly one of the funniest Hindi films of all time, giving a nostalgic look at young and urbane 70s Bombay. Palekar is brilliant as the quintessential idiot in love with Vidya Sinha, but unable to express his love for her. Asrani is an excellent rival, sliming his way into the girl's heart. But there's a trump card - up in the hills is a learned oldie Ashok Kumar who has a devious plan of action in mind - to give Palekar the one-up on Asrani. Few have seen this film, and I'm yet to come across anyone who disputes that this rates as one of the best comedies to ever come out on the Indian silver screen.

Okay.First off a disclaimer.I am from the other side of the divide.The faction that believes that Bollywood comedies are sparse and stilted. But this movie is different.Coming from someone who is steeped in the tremendous comic timings of the southern movies this is indeed a very formidable feat.

The setting,Mumbai in the early 70s I think,is nostalgic.One does not have to be born there nor have experienced it to get this feeling.It is plain nostalgic.Take a 1970 Reader's Digest and flip through the pages. The bell bottomed Male models,the polka dotted saris and the large ortem fans are what one sees in the movie.

Amol Palekar and the lead heroine(I think Someone named Vidhya) are delightful to watch as the quintessential young shy middle class people with a feeling towards each other.The villain/comic Nasrani is also irritating to the right degree and begging for a comeuppance from the meek hero.Amol Palekar's "revenge dreams" are awesome in their humour. This movie is a must for everyone who likes classic clean comedy.Amazing stuff.Why don't they make such movies now in Bollywod?

Firstly, this movie for me was a great 70s nostalgia trip: The Fort district of Bombay, Dadar Hindu Colony, Scooters, Flora Restaurant (The Best and probably the only Chinese Restaurant in Bombay those days- But I've never used chopsticks there!), the old BEST Double-Deckers, the bell-bottoms, Amol Palekars' glasses, Jehangir Art Gallery, and Samovar. They missed out Rhythm House, Flora Fountain, and Chetana, but well, it didn't matter. Whatever was served, was enough. Secondly, the nostalgia was not in stark B & W of Guru Dutt's 50s, but in glorious Color, which brought out even the shiny, worn flagstones on the footpath in a unique, fresh, perspective, a unique shade of gray that only color could do. All this to say that my youth was re-lived, real-life. Thirdly, the protagonists: Young, Fresh-Faced, Natural, Lovely, Naive, in love- yet shy enough to express it, and how they get together, it was all so simple, and the contrast is yet so apparent when compared to todays' Bollywood Kitsch. Fourthly, to realize that Nostalgia dies with the death of a Generation; How Col. Singh has his own deep memories of an age that would have been ancient for the protagonists themselves! I never realised then, but right now, I'm old(er) and the young 'uns cannot 'get it' when I'm nostalgic. Fifthly, This movie is about Bombay, and the spirit of Bombay, and kudos to Basu-da and Salil-da for their glorious effort.