How Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s sweet, simple, slice-of-life cinema continues to stun and surprise
The man didn’t subvert the language of slapstick, he created his own brand of storytelling that stunned, surprised and seduced all at once. A look at some of his classics on his 100th birth anniversary, the centenary.
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Anand- The name of the protagonist and this picture is exactly how one felt after this movie viewing experience. A dour doctor and a dazzling patient’s journey of friendship takes us through moments of glee and grimness, both. Anand, the evergreen Rajesh Khanna, is blissfully aware he’s about to depart, yet, is brimming with a livewire energy that’s both infectious and innocuous. Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahin is a life lesson for the ages.
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Bawarchi- Both David Dhawan and Rohit Shetty have been hugely inspired by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, and so has Rajkumar Hirani. This dramedy inspired Dhawan to make Hero No. 1 with Govinda. Bawarchi was a film about a man who enters a family’s house to spread magic and love and keep everyone united. The maverick created a palette of dysfunctional characters eons before people even knew what dysfunctional was. Kapoor & Sons and Dil Dhadakne Do are winking at each other right now.
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Gol Maal- Amol Palekar has barely raised his voice in cinema, yet commands the character and the narrative that it’s hard not to be swayed by his words. Here, his shudh Hindi is too much to handle for his boss, the irreplaceable Utpal Dutt. Again, two people, two contrasting personalities, and yet coming together for a journey that’s filled with hilarity. Also, a master class in how manliness goes beyond mustaches.
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Guddi- A daydreaming damsel is star struck by the dashing Dharmendra. She chooses meeting her idol over marriage until reality of showbiz hits hard. Had the film existed in 2022, social media would’ve done the job. There would be no dreams, no desires, and no encounters with Dharmendra. Thank god it happened in 1971.
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Chupke Chupke- First, the director Hrishikesh Mukherjee, then the legacy that was already established, and then this title. No surprises that this time too, the director would opt for a subject that hinges on outsmarting the supposed intelligentsia of the house. The simplest of conversations and liaisons were turned gorgeous merely by the filmmaker’s understanding of human relationships. Even though the film’s title means surreptitious, the world lauded his work and what it stood for.
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Khubsoorat- His last hit, and last memorable piece of work. Mukherjee’s films have often been about an outsider, that acts as a tool of disrupting the norm. It could be home or a place of work. Here, Rekha enters (again a dysfunctional family) a house with her cantankerous and contagious demeanour and inspires an otherwise swollen and soulless family to brim with some spirit. Of course, she succeeds. Such was the sheer magic of a Mukherjee film that 24 years later, even Sonam Kapoor succeeded in spreading her magic in the remake.
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