Chhupa Rustam (1973)

छुपा रस्तम

It's not quite as stylishly perfect as Jewel Thief, nor does it achieve the sublime mod-noir heights of Teesri manzil.  But if you are a fan of Vijay Anand's unique brand of caper film, Chhupa Rustam (perhaps most pithily translated here as "hep cat," but used to mean a person with a hidden or unexpected talent) is definitely one to look out for.

Greedy Vikram Singh and his hapless son Bahadur are searching for ancient treasures in the mountains of Himanchal Pradesh.  To leverage their position Vikram Singh and Bahadur have captured the wife and son of a millionaire who holds the digging rights to the valley where the ancient city is nestled - hoping to force the millionaire's daughter Ritu (Hema Malini) to marry Bahadur, giving them access to the gold.   Ritu capitulates to the cruel captors' demands, only to be spirited away from her own wedding by the qawwal hired to perform there, Natwar (Dev Anand).  Sparks fly between Natwar and Ritu despite her anger and mistrust of him - but soon it becomes clear that he is not what he appears to be, and her warm feelings for him are not misplaced.  Together with Natwar's sidekick Jimmy Fernandes (Vijay Anand), Natwar and Ritu plot to give Vikram Singh and Bahadur their just deserts. 

The plot is unmemorable, but it is of little import; style and fun are the raisons d'etre of Chhupa Rustam.  As the performers romp through their roles they seem a hair's breadth away from bursting into irreverant giggles.  Hema Malini is as adorable as ever, and Dev Anand once again somehow manages to be an engaging hero despite being old enough to be her father - and despite the air of dirty old man that lingers about him every time he unleashes his leering grin. Prem Chopra's Bahadur (the name means "brave" or "gallant") is anything but; he's a delightfully hateable mix of smarmy and stupid, tough-talking and weak.  

But the film's real treat is Vijay Anand himself, who not only lends his directorial vision to the film (see Greta's review for a generous look at the film's fantabulous style) but is also laugh-out-loud hysterical as Natwar's big-hearted pal Jimmy.  He falls in love with Bahadur's moll (the delectably curvaceous Bindu) and the pair's two scene-stealing songs are among the highlights of the movie.  Actually all the film's songs are delightful, including this one in which Natwar wins over a recalcitrant Ritu with his ode to the humble bedbug.

Comments

[maxqnz]

Great to have you back at the keyboard for all your loyal readers, Carla. Thanks for adding another name to my wishlist, especially as I'm not the world's biggest Dev Anand fan.

[Sanket]

This was a cute little film that is worth a watch for the exact reasons you state - to see the stars just have a ball & to see a visionary director do great work. Incidentally the song you link to is actually a tribute by Kishore to his guru S.D. Burman. The elder Burman had sung a classical version of the song that Kishore actually first parodied in 'Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'. In this movie he made the song his own by at first imitating S.D.'s signature singing style and slowly progressed to his own style to finish it. A difficult song to sing with many nuances but as usual, Kishoreda made it look easy.

[Amit]

Carla, the moll is probably Bindu. :)

I was trying to find out if the term "chuppa Rustam" (which is used in Hindi to refer to someone who surprises others by revealing some hidden talent) is associated with the legendary Persian hero Rustam (who had some similarity to Hercules and his seven tasks) and his life, but was unable to find anything. Maybe you or one of the readers would know.

[Amit]

addendum: His name is also spelled "Rostam."

[carla]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

maxqnz: If you liked *Jewel Thief* or *Teesri Manzil*, this one will tickle you - not quite the same level of craftsmanship but a fun ride with some of the same elements.

Sanket: Thanks for that. It was clear to me that the bedbug song had some relationship to the "dheere se jaana bagiya mein" line in the song from *Chalti ka naam gaadi* but I did not know what that relationship was.

Amit: Thanks for the correction; this is what I get for posting reviews when sleepy and not feeling well. I suspect you are right regarding the origins of the phrase chhupa Rustam although my original (somewhat cursory) attempts to locate an etymology for it failed.

[memsaab]

I love this film. So FAB. I think I would have really enjoyed being buddies with Vijay Anand. I always really enjoy a villainous Ajit too, he somehow manages to be so funny as a bad guy.

[maxqnz]

Thanks, Carla. I realised after posting that I hadn't read your post properly, and had just seen "Anand" and presumed it was Dev. His brother I have no problems with.

[carla]

max, maybe I don't understand your comment - Dev Anand stars in the movie, which Vijay Anand directed and also appears in.

[maxqnz]

Sorry, Carla. I meant that I have no problems with Vijay as a director. If he was telling his brother what to do, that's fine by me. It's Dev's directorial bombast I'm not fond of.

Hi Carla

Good review as usual. I am tempted to search for it in the local shops in my city in India (I am on holidays at the moment)!

CR has some good songs indeed. Another DA and Hema movie is Chuppa Rustom. I dunno if it was directed by VA though.

cheers

Meera

[ajnabi]

Oh, yay, a Hema Malina movie I haven't seen yet! Great review, thanks.