Tag Archives: Leela Mishra

Baton Baton Mein

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Made in 1979, I found Basu Chatterjee’s Baton Baton Mein more interesting as a portrait of generational change than as a somewhat dated romantic comedy.

Apologies – the DVD and my laptop are refusing to communicate so there are no screencaps forthcoming. I will over compensate with video clips. Anyway, seeing the polyester in motion really lets you know it’s the 70s!

Nancy (Tina Munim) lives with her widowed mother Rosie (Pearl Padamsee) and little brother Sabhi (Ranjit Choudhary). She catches the train to her office job each morning, commuting from Bandra with Uncle Tom (David Abraham). Nancy is a modern girl, wearing immaculate 70s fashions and makeup. One morning, Uncle Tom notices an equally stylish young man noticing Nancy. Tony Braganza (Amol Palekar) is a caricaturist at a city advertising agency. Tony and Uncle Tom pass notes back and forth to Nancy’s embarrassment and the delight of fellow commuters. Tom decides they should all be introduced and they hop off the train at Churchgate and chat over cool drinks.

Nancy lives mostly in her own head. She spends her time listening to western music and reading in her room. She has been disappointed in love before, having been jilted by a co-worker. I am not sure I really bought that prior relationship as it seemed fairly one sided and may have been exaggerated in her imagination. But Nancy is determined she will hold out for the right kind of man, which she says is no man at all. She is caught between being her mother’s little girl and being a more independent young woman. Tina Munim is very pretty and often that seems to be all that she needed. She does try to show the tension between the judgemental and childish side of Nancy and the warmer and more spontaneous young woman she could be, so I warmed to her character over time. Her rapport with Amol Palekar is nice and in the scenes where Nancy is less reserved, Tina lights up with her beautiful smile.

Tony is a bit weak, self-centred and unwilling to commit or work too hard at anything it seems. He is plausible and charming, much like a used car salesman, and breezes by on a smile and a compliment. His mother is domineering and thinks her son is both too good for anyone and not good enough by half and that undermines Tony’s ability to get motivated. Amol Palekar hits a perfect mix of average guy and dude who has tickets on himself. He can’t believe Nancy would fail to fall for him but at the same time he won’t take their relationship beyond seeing each other at her family home. Tony’s brash confidence sparks some fun moments, especially when Philomena Aunty (Leela Mishra) has him in her sights. But he is all mouth and trousers, and when it comes to making a commitment he is found wanting. If Tony wants Nancy he has to grow up a bit and say so, but he shies away from marriage. Will he ever grow up? Not if his Ma can help it. Tony’s dad (Arvind Deshpande) is the quiet henpecked type, but offers his son some advice when he most needs it. Please enjoy Tony moping around in his PJs to Kishore Kumar’s lovely vocal.

The romance didn’t really interest me that much, but the family tensions and arguments rang true. The younger generation were trying to be more independent while still respecting their elders’ wishes and traditions, and struggled to articulate what they wanted. Rosie wanted Nancy to get married, Tom thought Nancy at 19 or so was already leaving her run a bit late, Tony’s parents had an eye to social status in their future daughter-in-law and Nancy’s aunt Philomena was just scandalised by everything. Rosie was a blabbermouth, vulgar but kind, and Mrs Braganza (Piloo J Wadia) wasn’t impressed with her son’s duplicity or her potential in-laws. Snobbery and social rules caused all manner of drama, some very funny and some quite moving. It was deftly done, and the good natured feel of the film carried through even in the confrontational scenes. The ladies in particular carry off their characters with great humour and excellent comic timing.

Both Nancy and Sabhi belittle Rosie in many ways. They find their Ma embarrassing and vulgar and often tell her not to make a fool of herself. It isn’t motivated by spite, but it shows the change from Rosie’s homemaker generation to the younger educated ones who have different aspirations and challenges. And Nancy and Sabhi are teenagers after all. But when the chips are down, family rallies for family and they have that rock to rest upon. Basu Chatterjee shows the negative aspects of his characters but doesn’t judge them harshly. It adds a welcome tang of realism in what is otherwise a very sweet film.

Sabhi is one of my favourite characters. He is such a boy; grumpy, self absorbed and so very dramatic. He observes the goings on and can’t see why people make such a big deal of things. He adds sarcastic commentary, sometimes via his violin, and the odd theatrical tantrum. His gig at a local hotel provides an excuse for this parade of 70s style and terrible dancing (to the tune of ‘When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again’).

Often when a girl is introduced as a Christian in modern Hindi films it is code for ‘slut’, which I find quite peculiar. Or alternatively a Christian girl might be portrayed as so sheltered that she is virtually a nun. Again – bizarre to me. I enjoyed this depiction of Bombay Christians as middle class people with lives in which religion was one of many factors.

The sets created a strong sense of how people lived. Rosie was a widow but kept her own neat, comfortable home. No one seemed to pity her or think she was just waiting to join her husband in the hereafter. The Braganzas were a bit more affluent, but not really posh. The issue of money came up when it was revealed that Nancy was currently earning more than Tony, but he had greater earning potential down the track so that was dealt with. People were pragmatic without being greedy or grasping. It was all very relatable.

The supporting actors are well cast although I couldn’t see the point of a couple of characters. Asrani makes a very small appearance. Uday Chandra plays poor Henry, a boy who pines after Nancy for the whole film. Tun Tun appears in an imagined sequence and is her usual over the top self. They don’t add much but neither do they detract from the story.

The soundtrack is perfectly in keeping with the styles of music the characters listen to, which means lots of western influenced easy listening sounds and nothing terribly exciting.  I don’t know how Rajesh Roshan got the idea of using ‘Polly Wolly Doodle’ as the basis for Uthe Sabke Kadam, but it left me giggling and singing along, almost as tunelessly as Rosie.

Baton Baton Mein is a sweet slice of life romantic comedy that gives a nice sense of Bombay back in the day. See it for the charming performances, the glimpse of 70s public transport, and as a pleasant and engaging comedy. 3 ½  stars!

Chashme Buddoor (1981)

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There is a joyful goodness in Chashme Buddoor that I don’t think would seem commercial enough nowadays when film comedy about female/male relationships seems to be mostly titillating or sleazy. Writer director Sai Paranjape has an eye for facets of speech and behaviour that she layers cleverly to make a slight story into a satisfying film. I can relate to the characters, their dilemmas and their sense of humour. There are filmi jokes, parodies and genuinely funny moments galore, plus a really nice love story.

Two clueless friends, Omi (Rakesh Bedi) and Jai (Ravi Baswani) think that romance happens just like it does in the films, and remain resolutely impractical in their approach to love. Their misadventures and air of genial cluelessness is a foil for the more serious Siddharth (Farooq Shaikh). And the filmi tropes they swear by – stalking, harassment, loitering in parks –  all fail. It is genuine interest and getting to know another person that might just win the girl. Eventually.

The three men share a small apartment, with all the usual trappings of bachelordom – a big empty kitchen, wall ‘art’ and the bare minimum in comforts. There are many enjoyable details in how they share cigarettes, their routine and schedules, their reliance on Siddharth to start the sole motorcycle. The male actors work beautifully in the ensemble scenes and each has a distinct style that suits their characters. It’s such a typical student household and they are each other’s family. Most of their experience with women is derived from ogling the rare female passerby from the balcony. Constantly in debt to Lalan Mian (Saeed Jaffrey) for their smokes, they alternate between bluff and avoidance as they try and get on with the important things. Like girls.

Neha (Deepti Naval) is one of the few real girls the boys meet. Omi and Jai set out to woo her, and despite having brilliantly scripted plans based on current best practice from the movies, both are sent packing.

Omi fancies himself a poet and Jai pretends to be the younger brother of a film producer. Each gets a song showing their version of events, and I am especially fond of this parody medley.

Quiet studious Siddharth meets Neha when she is working in door to door marketing, demonstrating Chamko washing powder. They have a shy stilted conversation in which Neha carefully tells Siddharth where she can be found in the evenings and he just as carefully listens and remembers. Obviously this is a fantasy.

Their relationship grows through conversation and vast amounts of ice cream. Siddharth occasionally tries to act like his friends tell him to, but Neha challenges him and he immediately drops the posturing and admits he has no clue. It’s a nice unremarkable romance that grows unnoticed by friends and family. Until Siddharth gets his money order and decides to splurge on some fancy clothes. Blue velour? I know it was the 80s but still!

He is pleasant, abstracted but not anti-social and seems content to be the butt of his friends’ jokes. Unlike many other filmi heroes he can, and does, change course when he realises he needs to think of Neha as well himself. Farooq Shaikh is perfectly cast as the introverted and essentially good natured Siddharth, and also delivers the broad comedic scenes with playfulness.

Neha isn’t just sitting around waiting for a husband – she wants to study, has notions about her future and raises the subject of Siddharth with her dad to prevent him arranging an unwanted marriage. She is also quite clear on telling Siddharth that being a wife is not her immediate priority. Deepti plays her as a nice girl-next-door with a good amount of common sense, a dash of fun, and a smile that lights up the screen. She has a nice chemistry with Farooq too.

When the couple have the inevitable setback, Neha goes on despite her sadness and confusion. Siddharth is the one who loses his motivation, and unfortunately his friends decide to help him. And you will have to see the film to find out if they succeeded.

All the actors look right for their roles. There is no excess of glamour, or inappropriate wardrobe as far as I can tell. Saeed Jaffrey is lots of fun as Lalan Mian, the local paan stall owner and father figure. He can switch from berating Jai to lending him a bike so he can go chase a girl without pausing for a breath.

I loved his philosophical ruminations on debt and love, and he has such a twinkle in his eye. Leela Mishra as Neha’s grandmother seems to have a filmi streak like the boys, and has some very funny scenes. Vinod Doshi and Ranjan Grewal play Neha’s father and brother, and help show her as a girl with a sense of self worth and a warm and loving home. Even the waiter at Neha and Siddharth’s regular cafe approves with a smile. It’s all so likeable.

I mentioned the sly filmi references and tricks Sai Paranjape includes in her script. Whether she is having a character announce a flashback or using snippets of famous songs, she has a great instinct for comedy. I really enjoyed the special appearance by Amitabh in a demonstration of how to be suave as he sweeps Rekha off her feet.

I like the soundtrack by Raj Kamal a lot. The songs ‘Kali Ghodi Dwar Khadi’ and ‘Kahan Se Aaye Badra’ are used beautifully to show hope and disappointment, and Yesudas’ vocals are very expressive. There is also a song in which Neha and Siddharth sing in a park about people who sing songs in parks. And the onlookers actually do react as though the couple are a bit mad. Although I think these kids may have been given conflicting instructions.

The upbeat love songs are not really remarkable, but I enjoy seeing ordinary people act in filmi ways and how that would play out in a real environment. Another thing that made me oddly nostalgic was a very silly kidnapping subplot. Thinking on all the news from Delhi of late about women being abducted and assaulted, it did make me wonder about whether the 80s were really more innocent times. There was certainly a lot less traffic.

I’ll tell you now I am horrified by the idea of David Dhawan remaking Chashme Buddoor. I cannot imagine him making a scene with an overweight grandma accidentally flicking through Playboy seem funny. I can certainly imagine him believing he can, but the execution is the key. I don’t think it is just because Sai Paranjape is female that I can relate more to this story. After all, a woman wrote the recent Ranbir Kapoor vehicle, Bachna Ae Haseeno, and I thought that was mostly male wish fulfilment rubbish. But I do think she has an understanding of the internal emotional life of her characters that makes for a more interesting film, especially when the people are the focus.

Sai Paranjape is smart without being too clever, makes fun of her characters but doesn’t humiliate them, and as befits a romantic comedy, there is a lot of affection and happiness. The actors are charming, and I laughed all the way through the film.

A full 5 stars!

Katherine at Totally Filmi is coordinating a month long celebration of women in Indian cinema. Links will be collated at Delicious so keep an eye on that page for lots of other articles and blog posts to be added throughout March.

Heather says: Chashme Buddoor is a very sweet film with realistic, likeable characters and a simple but effective story. I found it amusing rather than flat-out funny, but it did make me smile almost all the way through. The three flatmates are all well cast and it was great to see actors that I tend to associate more with smaller character roles get the screen-time they deserve.  I particularly liked Rakesh Bedi in this and his expressions alone were enough to make me start smiling before he even said anything. I think it’s the relaxed nature of the conversations between the friends and the way they interact with each other, but in many ways this film reminds me of the old British sitcoms of the seventies. I grew up watching (and loving) these and I got the same sort of ‘comfortable comedy’ feeling here.

As Temple has mentioned, a lot of the humour comes from the way many classic Bollywood conventions are parodied and there are many references to other films, although I’m quite sure that I didn’t catch them all. The parody song with Neha and Jai is just brilliant and I did enjoy playing’ spot the song’ as it went along. The main characters are all allowed to develop at their own pace and each has little quirks that make them seem like real people rather than conventional ‘filmi’ characters.  They’re also not at all glamorous and the guys either shop in the same store or seem to share shirts, which again falls in well with the whole student lifestyle portrayed. The splitting up of their room into three distinct areas by the various pictures on the wall was also something I remembered from my own days as a student in a shared room and was another very realistic touch.

I enjoyed all the music, especially the more classically based songs Kahan Se Aaye Badra and Kali Ghodi Dwar Khadi and agree that Yesudas’ voice works perfectly for these. The songs are all very well pictured as well, although there is a rather disturbing appearance by a bear in the song in the park which I really didn’t enjoy. All the actors were uniformly excellent and I particularly loved Deepti Naval as Neha. I was perhaps a little disappointed that she didn’t take more umbrage to Siddharth’s suggestion that she give up her washing powder job when they got married, but I could also see his point of view – it was a very good way to meet him after all! Chahsme Budoor is a very well made film with clever comedy and excellent performances. I cannot imagine a remake by David Dhawan being anywhere near the same quality or have any of the same subtlety. Much better to watch the original and step back to a simpler time. 4 stars from me.