Chupke Chupke

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!

This film is evenly paced throughout, though it turns out to be a Dharmendra show! Prominent among the hilarious scenes are, when Dharmendra, as a chauffeur, seeks clarification from Om Prakash as to why 'go', 'so' are pronounced in the same way and why not 'to', and the other is that Amitabh Bachchan (English Professor) is shown memorising some aspects of Botany using a college botany textbook under dim-lit table-lamp, because he has to take 'botany tuitions' for his sweetheart (Jaya Bhaduri)! Gulzar's screenplay and dialogues take the cake in this film! A must-have among the VCD collection! 'Chupke-Chupke Chal Ree Purvaiya' is the pick of songs of this film, which too are melodious.

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".

A newly married professor implements an amusing plan for getting introduced with the family of his elder brother-in-law under false pretense. It is approved by his wife and actively supported by a few friends. The couple doubly enjoys the secrecy. They continue the whole plan of joking tricks until it becomes enough. Otherwise, they enjoy the desperate love relation in a climate of adventurous hiding.

A prolonged play of secret humor--the broad connotative meaning of the title-- does not lose its relish due to the compact screenplay, the excellent performances of the casts, proper editing, wonderful music by Sachin Deb Barman and a few other supportive constituents of the film. Though the social composition of the characters, the social nature of turns and twists of the sequences focus on the educated urban Indian middle class, the lucid narrative seems to communicate a stable flow of comedian pleasure to all viewers. The final revelation of the true identities among the characters is accelerated because of the maturity of a new love relation. The narrative seems to challenge softly some insensible social norms. It also expresses its deep conviction about love and honesty of individuals and obviously its trust on the creative capacity of intelligent and humorous individual.

Any regular Indian film lover would enjoy the nice acting of at least four film stars--Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri-- in simple social images and appreciate director Hrishikesh Mukherjee for another successful experiment. The film makes the spectator reminiscent of the genre, which rarely used the very close and the very long shots and rapid cuts. In spite of a theatrical design of the screenplay it could provide the actors and the actresses with the greater scope of establishing their performing talents. The use of bright light and sustained delight of the romantic characters in the family drama--initiated by an unconventionally sensitive, urban, academic personality--makes the film a bright entertainment.

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.