"Nothing pains me more than to hear my wife extolling the praises of her brother-in-law (her Dracula like sister’s Frankenstein husband) while simultaneously berating me for slights seen and unseen.
The cold rage that seethes within me, at such times, is sometimes so immense that the poor guy would die of sheer terror, had we been face to face at that moment in time. I mean, I would prefer that at least one of the fair sex feels I am Superman so what if I have still not mastered the art of eating with chopsticks (Seriously I believe eating with chopsticks should be introduced to train people in the art of throwing the javelin, after all every time I attempt it, I end up with the remnants of my dish on the well-creased shirts of people sitting on the remote corners of the same room, without making any serious efforts to that end) and wear my tie in a more discreet and acceptable fashion."
Let’s face it, guys, every married man alive will concur with me when I say that he wants to be the sole object of perfection in his wife’s esteem and if he finds that position threatened by another, he will do all in his powers to convince her that he indeed is much better in all respects. After all, it’s his life at stake and he has no other choice, either he can go down whimpering chupke chupke;or he can plan a move to unsettle the Challenger, again;chupke chupke!
These are subjects with which the man on the streets of India can identify but which fail to find space in the minds of the great artistes of the Hindi Cinematic world. Maybe it does not provide scope to the creative instincts of a great director and hence the audience waits; film for the common audience is hardly ever made. This is where Hrishikesh Mukherjee stood heads and shoulders above his contemporaries, in making classics out of inane, everyday subjects.It was to his credit that the man from the middle class could also point out and say, “Hey that’s me”
Chupke Chupke is a brilliant movie that teaches us to laugh at ourselves, without trying to make it look larger than life. The travails of Dr. Parimal Tripathi is something every husband can identify with; whether anybody would actually go to those lengths to convince his wife of his capabilities is debatable.
Dharmendra as Dr. Parimal looks ravishing and acts brilliantly. The actor is in full control of his emotions and shows a rare flair for comedy. He is absolutely brilliant as the prankster out to reclaim his wife’s trust and confidence and his interactions with the sophisticated Om as a rustic Hindi perfectionist is simply mind-blowing. In fact, I learnt more about Hindi by watching his performance than I did by studying in my entire matriculation years. In my wildest dreams, I never thought a ‘Ghaas-Patti Ka Doctor’ would know so much about Hindi...
Amitabh Bachchan…. Now what does one say about Amitabh Bachchan? Suffice it to say that the guy is in full control of his role… At a time when people used to equate him with the Angry Young Man, the actor delivers a flawless performance and is definitely one of the brighter stars of the movie. What else do I say about him as he effortlessly keeps repeating … “Aap Log To Kucch Samajhte Hi Nahin Naa…”
Sharmila Tagore adds her own brand of sophisticated realism to the movie. She is the perfect counterfoil to Dharmendra’s antics and appears completely chilled out throughout the movie. In contrast, Jaya Bhaduri is guile personified and plays the role of the confused girl to perfection. See her getting confused between ’Karela’ and ’Corolla’. I never expected to find such an outstanding pair of actresses together but the film appears to be a complete picnic with each and every character having a ball performing. David, Asrani and Keshto Mukherjee play their roles with the regular aplomb.
But it’s Om Prakash who actually is the man out in the pack.The actor has landed an enviable role and performs it to perfection. The role of the senior and much-admired brother-in-law who vouches for purity of language and chafes at mediocrity, faced with an idiosyncratic gift, one that can neither be wished away nor be thrown away opens itself to many interpretations and is a challenge for any actor. To the credit of Om, the actor performs as if he was born to be Barrister Raghavendra Sharma… One of his best performances ever
Music by S D Burman is as melodious as ever… Lata Mangeshkar is mischief personified as she croons ‘Abke Sajan Saawan Mein’ while the title song finds her in a totally different mellow mood. Mukesh and Lata combine well in the romantic ‘Baagon Mein Kaise’ but the song that makes all of us go bombastic is the Mohammed Rafi-Kishore Kumar duet “Sa Re Ga Ma”. The song is as hilarious as can be and when two maestros go at each other, the effort is well worth listening. Although when compared with Abhimaan, the score is not that melodious still it retains a charm of its own.
What do I say about Hrishikesh Mukherjee…. The director has time and again proved that even the simple things in life could be turned intoa beautiful movie. It’s to his credit that he could make a serious film like Abhimaan on the concept of Male ego and again take the same concept and make a light-hearted movie on the same, without letting the concept down. Chupke Chupke is a brilliant example of how a film should be made…. My deepest respects to the common man’s director
Do watch this movie and enjoy it Chupke Chupke….. It’s a grim reminder of an era gone by…. We all miss you Hrishida….
And to my friends; Kejal, Bhavtesh and all ..... God Bless you.... These are one of the few times, when I can smile and say: Better to be single, than to mingle ....
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