Chashme buddoor (1981)

चशमे बद दूर

Sai Paranjpe's Chashme buddoor ("begone, evil eye") is perhaps as close to perfect as a film can be.  It is a delicate romantic comedy peppered with affectionate parodies of filmi stereotypes, and there is nothing about it that is less than delightful. 

Three bachelors share a one room apartment in Delhi.  Omi (Rakesh Bedi) and Jai (Ravi Baswani) are a pair of slacker clowns fully devoted to their favorite activity:  chasing girls.  Their studious roommate Siddharth (Farooq Shaikh), in contrast, rarely raises his head from his books.  He professes no interest in girls at all.  One day Jai and Omi spy Neha (Deepti Naval), a pretty girl who has moved into the neighborhood.  Each makes a play for her - unsuccessfully of course - and that seems to be the end of it.  But soon Neha turns up at their door selling washing powder; she encounters Siddharth, and the two are instantly smitten.  Their romance proceeds apace, and soon Siddharth gets himself an office job and starts thinking about marriage.  His roommates, though, can't forget their wounded pride, and they can't bear to see him succeed where they have failed - so they can't resist throwing a monkey wrench into the works.

One of the charms of Chashme buddoor is its picture of simple student life in the city.  The three young men live in a kind of equilibrium in their cramped home, each decorating the wall over his bed - Jai and Omi cover theirs with sexy pinups and clippings from film magazines, while Siddharth's wall sports only a dignified portrait of Gandhi - and, later, one of Neha.  Outside the apartment, their principal social interaction is with an avuncular shopkeeper, Lalan (Saeed Jaffrey), who hassles them to settle the tab they've run up on cigarettes and magazines, but can't help indulging them in their romantic adventures.  And although the boys represent broad archetypes - the horn-dog loafers, the humorless bookworm - they are nevertheless charmingly portrayed.  It's irresistibly sweet, for example, that as clueless and bumbling as Jai and Omi are, Siddharth himself is only marginally less hapless.  While it's clear from the opening scenes that he is the one who will get the girl, there is nothing slick about him.  Both Farooq Shaikh's performance and Deepti Naval's as Neha share an unease, an uncertainty that is very charming, very natural, and very real. 

Chashme buddoor is also just flat out funny.  From running gags such as Jai's inability to start his moped (he stomps on the kick-start again and again to no avail, before Siddharth takes over and succeeds on his first try), to situational humor like Jai and Omi climbing out the window in a panic when Neha turns up at their door, the movie offers up one giggle after another.  Even jokes that you can see coming are smartly executed and satisfying, and the film strikes just the right balance between clever, brainy humor, and goofy gags. 

Finally, Chashme buddoor's riffs on filmi conventions add another layer to the fun.  One of the songs, as Jai recounts a tall tale about his attempt to woo Neha, parodies a selection of famous film songs.  In another, Neha and Siddharth  spin poetry and romance in classic filmi style, only to be laughed at by onlookers for singing in the park.  There's even a quickie guest appearance by Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, demonstrating the workings of filmi romance.  And the film's climax adds a distinctly masala touch to this sweet and wonderful film.   

Comments

[maxqnz]

A thoroughly evil review, carla. I think you must be modelling yourself on Shabana's witch in Makdee. Your review has totally enchanted me, and now I have no choice but to add yet another old and hard to find movie to my must-get list. Mastercard and purveyors of arcane DVDs may thank you, but I'm ambivalent. :-)

Seriously, this does sound like my kind of movie, so thanks.

[Meera]

Hi Carla

I am really glad you liked this movie. I was hoping that you would like it. It is one of my favourite movies.

The songs in the movie are also quite melodious esp "Kahan Se Aaye Badraa, dhultha jayey Kajra" which is very apt for the situation Deepti and Farukh are in at that point in time.

btw, if my memory is right, didn't I recommended this movie?

Meera

[Maajhi]

An evergreen classic movie. My favorite scene from the movie that's still stuck in my head after some 20 odd years of seeing the movie is the washing powder scene. Still laughing recalling the dialogs, especially Neha's little blurb that she insists on saying: ..wala zhagwala chamko.. bladeeblah. Hilarious! Also remember the early scenes you mention, that sort of introduce the characters. One of the actors is the same one as in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, in case you didn't notice.

[yves]

Hi Carla,
What a nice review of an obviously very nice film. I wonder: Bollywood does have a tradition of threesomes falling in love with threesomes, hasn't it? There's Chalti ka naam gaadi, Dil Chahta hai, Mohabbatein, Yuva... that I can think of, offhand, on top of this one: is it something you've noticed too?

[Arun]

Hi Carla

Thanks for bringing up this film!! Wonderful review. It is one of my favorites. I wish more such nice, simple films are made :-(.

Arun

[daddy's girl]

I'd never heard of this movie before reading this. It sounds delightful - one more for the list!

[carla]

Thanks for the comments, folks.

maxqnz: beg, borrow, steal, or knock people over the head for this one - it's worth it, just a wonderful film all around. It is available here from the usual mail-order suspects but I know that's a pricey proposition for you given your antipodal whereabouts.

Meera: I think you probably did recommended it; others did, too. Thanks!

Maajhi: That scene is lovably cute; both Deepti and Farooq are so sweet in it. And yep, Ravi Baswani, the bachelor Jai, was also in JBDY - I spotted him right away.

Yves: You may be right about the threesomes, but this film doesn't quite fit, because there is only one girl, and only one of the guys gets paired with her. The others crash and burn!

Arun: I know what you mean about the simplicity, there's nothing slick about this film, it's honest and doesn't try to do too much.

Daddy's Girl: see my comment to maxqnz above. :)

[maxqnz]

You have persuaded me, yaar. I shall add this to my very short "must-have" list and give that larcenous mob at nehaflix money they don't really deserve for films that I really do. Actually, one of the first things I noted about this film in your review was its year of release. Very close to that of Angoor, one of my favourite comedies ever, in any language. So I shall get that one too, once I have overcome my revulsion at US-based DVD suppliers' extortionate shipping charges. At least they deliver as promised, unlike my cousin in Bangalore, who's still got my copy of Awaara, among other gems!

[Amit]

Glad you finally saw this gem of a movie. :)
Have you got "Katha" yet? Same director, same pair - Farooq & Deepti, with Naseer. It has a similar vibe, though it's also different in many other ways.

[Sameera Singh]

I like this movie because of the students life they shows up in the movie was great, the way they live, eve teasing, Panwala udhaar, lack of money and behave like a super hero :D

[maxqnz]

In a suspicious coincidence, my local (NZ-based) DVD wallah/pusher sent out a "clearance sale" email including this very film. In the words of Mr Wilde, I can resist anything but temptation.

[Sanket]

Great film & nice review. This remains one of the first Indian movies I saw on VHS when it first came out and it has remained one of my favorites for 25 years now! I do love everything about this movie but the scene ingrained in my memory is the sequence of famous film songs in the dream sequence. Our hero does a spot on impression of Rajesh Khanna in the song 'Ab Chahe Mar Juthe Baba' - just brilliant!

[maxqnz]

Thank you so much for pointing me to this film, Carla! It is truly delightful. Deepti is gorgeous, and the way the film pokes gentle fun at filmi conventions was great to watch. My personal favourite was the scene in the garden (although the dancing bear was a little hard to take). There are so many funny scenes and clever use of filmi standards that I am certain to watch this many times. Now to grab Angoor to double my collection of Deepti movies.

In a link to another thread by our esteemed GOAT, my DVD's subtitles insist on using "collyrium" for kajal. I'd never heard of "collyrium" before, and after looking it up, I'm thinking it was an attempt at an overly literate translation.

[carla]

I am glad you liked it maxqnz. I have heard good things about *Angoor* as well - let us know what you think - it's on my impossibly long "someday when I happen across it" list.

Re: collyrium - I only knew the word because I once used an eye medication by that name. It does seem a bit abstract a translation for kaajal, when "kohl" or even "eyeliner" are perfectly acceptable English substitutes.

[maxqnz]

I shall definitely let you know my views on Angoor. It's been a while since I've seen it, but I remember it as one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, period. An excellent example of how well Shakespearean farce translates to Hindi film.

[Sally]

Hey Carla,

Just saw Chasme Buddoor and your review is right on. Loved the filmi references and songs. Also loved Saeed Jaffrey and his character. BTW, did you notice the poster of Shabana on the wall of Omi, Jai and Siddarth's flat?!

Sally

[thequark]

I absolutely love the movie. Every character is so well etched, even Deepti Naval's granny and her brother, heck even the waiter who serves them tutti frutti ! Saeed Jaffrey is as charming as he can get. All the three guys are awesome.

[maxqnz]

Just a quick appeal to all fans of this movie: If any of you are believers in Higher Powers of any sort, please beseech such divinities to shape ends in such a way as to avoid this outcome:
http://bolllywood.blogspot.com/2008/02/chashme-buddoor-remake-in-pipeline.html

[Sharmi]

Hi,
I love this film immensely. I've written about it. do read and lemme know what you think.
here's the link :
http://oldfilmsgoingthreadbare.blogspot.com/2010/05/bachelor-party.html
great post :)