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Reviews
Farz (1967)
The copycat adventures of a fast dancing young spy
Farz has developed somewhat of a cult following these days, and misinformed statements regarding "Jeetendra's first", and India's initial spy flick is what got Farz into my DVD player. Over time, these myths have been busted but my own experience with Farz reflects the curse of its genesis. I probably would not have followed through with it if I had not been watching with a companion, although since then I have seen it in full several times. It has become one of those classics I will put up with, but this review is generally negative.
Part of the appeal of this movie is the low budget and the campy "so bad it is good" aspects, as well as the "first" Hindi spy movie. Farz is certainly campy, but it is not an original Hindi film, and not the first Indian spy film, either. It stands to be known that Farz is a color remake of the black and white Telugu-language hit, Gudachari 116 which released earlier that same year. The movies share the same producers making Farz an intentional and methodical attempt to bring the South Indian moneymaker to Bombay. Aside from some minor shuffling of the events, and all the wrong omissions and additions, the way it is filmed is nearly identical and even includes some of the same sets and props! In its attempt to recreate the previous feature this has resulted in Farz having a low-budget look and demanded mediocre copycat performances from those involved.
Fortunately for the myth-makers, Jeetendra's tight "mod Elvis" outfits and his now iconic pompadour hairstyle as he goes about as the Hindi speaking agent Gopal is no way inspired by the Telugu film, since the original character was dressed somewhat frumpily in garish patterned sweaters and jackets with a kinky mop not even a visibly large amount of brylcreem was able to contain. But, there are still parallels in dress notability. While Telugu 116 displayed an attention getting sort of frumpiness with blinding patterns, Hindi 116 forces us to eat a plate-full of eye burning sex appeal whenever he turns his backside to the camera. The off-white suit pants Gopal wears in most of the scenes are unnecessarily tight to the point that it could make you blush. Especially during the fights, as Jeetu kicks and leaps around in the harsh dramatic light they look powdered on by the makeup department or perhaps something from the ballet. In fact, I'll dare to say that Gopal's thus attired derrière gets so much screen time it's almost a separate character in its own right. This can be a good thing or a bad thing according to your interests.
For the truly bad stuff, the comedy relief in the form of Gopal's two helpers is childish... and there is a pie fight. Musically, Laxmikant and Pyarelal write some catchy item numbers but there is also a disturbing inclusion of "The Twilight Zone" theme in the general score which seems to follow suit with how "The Addams Family" theme was featured in Guddchari 116. This cant possibly be a mistake or coincidence, for you'd have to assume in their quest to match up with the original L&P were advised to steal something spooky from American TV. The dances are not remarkable for a 60's piece, including the first wherein our youthful agent leaps around crowing like a rooster as he frolics with an unnamed vixen and opening his mouth very wide into the camera in ways that could make you uncomfortable. Even this famous dance is a copy of the one in Guddchari116, although Jeetendra infuses significantly more energy and weirdness into it. There is also some old school racism and sexism on the loose, the most blatant example of racism being the use of a scowling "chinese" villain in rubbery yellow face paint. For sexism, Babita's character Sonita is treated more poorly than the typical bollywood heroine. Used for her connections she is ultimately abandoned, even though this poor thing is only 17 years old! (and just what age is Gopal supposed to be? Is he a teenager too? So many questions, but I digress...). For racism AND sexism, there is an inclusion of an evil white goonette who brandishes a combination dagger-flashlight, resulting in a shocking moment when Gopal uses her body to shield himself from a bullet!
If you are looking for Jeetendra's first performance as leading man, although this is certainly the style he would be known for up to the early 70's, Farz was not the film. It will be worth the time and money to acquire 1964's Geet Gaaya Pattharone Ne, an original artistic endeavor by the legendary V. Shantaram which displays the decidedly young Jeetendra in a way that does not involve gratuitous rock & roll posturing and butt shots. To experience both of these films in the correct order is to reveal Jeetu's early working versatility and willingness to do it with gusto. Otherwise, if you are not particularly interested in Jeetendra and are not one of those who has made it a goal to see each and every bond movie rip-off in existence (and in this case, a rip off of a rip off), you can continue living your life without seeing Farz and might even be the better for it.
Dharam Veer (1977)
Like The Beastmaster meets Pirates of the Caribbean, but like nothing else at the same time.
If you are looking for entertainment but aren't sure if you want to settle on a comedy, a musical, a period film, a mystery, some romance, some action, something the kids would like, or a nature documentary, look no further than Dharam-Veer. In this forest of interesting costumes, characters, plot twists, stunts and dialog, anyone hunting for a dull moment will come back to town empty handed! This isn't the film you go into taking seriously, however, it is entirely possible to do so granted the sincerity with which it was made.
The setting is all at once an Ancient Roman/Medieval/Rococo period containing knights in armor, stage coaches, ships with cannons, zippers, laz-y-boy living room sets, and huge, jeweled clip-on earrings adorning the ears of the men. The surrounding events include everything from fencing to baby-carrying falcons to tiger wrestling to seafaring gypsies. But in spite of such a diverse and higher than average array of elements, it does not have LITERALLY everything. Due to the "historical" nature there aren't any motorized vehicles to be found, none of the English-mixed-in Bollyspeak, and in the opinion of one viewer "it could have used a disco ball."
Our songs include an anthem of bromance and friendship between the heroes Dharam and Veer as they ride their horses across field and stream, make breakfast by the creek, and tease a passing princess. Next is a colorful arena-filling gypsy spectacular rife with sweeping leaping moves by a Veer in disguise, as one of our heroines kicks in the sand and some midgets poke a caged captive to the beat. Dharam interrupts a vain princess' bath to carry her out to the woods and we get what was probably the world's first bondage-fetish bollywood number. Later, the Gypsies are at it again, this time in a camp while the heroines disguise themselves to dance and jingle amongst the flickering torches and sparkling rainbow tambourines while clueless villains look on.
With all this wacky stuff to look at, some things would be needed to keep the film from being just an empty, hyper spectacle. Dharam-Veer has those things. The first is the compelling dialog written by Khader Khan. For example, when Dharam is offered a set of armor during a jousting competition he says "an iron body like mine has no need for such jewelry!" and when Prince Veer dramatically enters a room by crashing through a glass window, he gives a little speech to the villain about why he just did so! Also preventing emptiness is the distinctness of all the characters, and even the most minor of them are lovable in a way that would inspire you to collect action figures and wear catchphrase t-shirts if such things had ever been made.
Only after viewing Dharam-Veer multiple times and with various people have I developed a few criticisms to display in the course of this description. The first is Dharam's short tunic outfits that make no rare item of Dharmendra Deol's manly thighs. Constantly exposed by variations of a short, skirt-like garb, his legs have an unrelenting screen presence which could unnerve certain members of the audience. The second would be the matter of some rather crude special effects in the form of animations, dummies and showing things happening in the reverse. These moments are seemingly unnecessary and elevates the kitch factor of the entire venture to a point of mild embarrassment. There is also the matter of deficiency of songs and situations for the second pair of this feature's remarkable "double romance". However, it seems as if these required scenes may have been cut for the sake of duration and it presents a stellar opportunity for you to spend some time writing fan fiction afterward.
This is a great movie to watch alongside friends and family and a must own for any Bollywood fan or collector of unusual films. In regard to DVDs I'd recommend the Shemaroo release as some people have reported sound quality problems with others.
Justice Chaudhury (1983)
A nice example of 80's-era Bollywood
In sum I'd call this one of the better of the southern style 80's Hindi movies. It is able to entertain you and possibly even make you cry, with great music, colorful visuals and a twisted storyline. Ramu is a young man who races cars and works at a garage, and is the bastard son of a woman who is in jail. Old man Chaudhury is a respectable Lawyer who is promoted to judge over his rival, Kaileshnath, who is the lawyer of the villain Shanker Sing, a man sentenced to hang for murder and diamond smuggling. Kaileshnath has a spoiled daughter named Rekha played by Sri Devi. While out driving one day, Rekha encounters Ramu and a strange web is woven between them all. There are even more characters and situations, including the dilemma of Laxmi, the speech impaired daughter of Chaudhury, but I'll let the movie do that job.... the tale of Justice Chaudhury is a soap-ish drama with unexpected twists and reconciliations between characters for which no written summary could do "justice".
At 42 years of age the actor Jeetendra somehow manages to pass for the 20 something Ramu, but is exquisitely dashing as the silver-haired Chaudhury, who is also depicted during a flashback sequence in a younger form. Jeetendra gives a smooth performance across the roles and his acting style is appropriate for this story. We also get to see Arun Govil as Chaudhury's son Ramesh who's only purpose seems to be eye candy for the ladies, with all of his tromping around in tight police uniforms. Sri Devi's role as Rekha is typical for her 80's period and her voice is dubbed over for some reason, even though the dub is not much different than her actual voice. Asrani is in here for comedic relief as Anthony, Ramu's jumpy Catholic buddy, but his initially annoying performance mellows into the background as the film progresses. Khader Khan is excellent as Kaileshnath and he managed to swipe some laughs from me.
There are a few things that I felt are notably strange but do not diminish the validity of the film. One would be the large, modern style house in which the family of Chaudhury lives that features rows of Panton-era furniture with geometric upholstery in vivid yellows, purples, blues, and greens as well as giant paintings of cranes and other things on the walls. The second being how Jai Sing, the main villain played by Shakti Kapoor, is always surrounded by dolls and wind up toys. He even pets a teddy bear while stating his nefarious schemes! The third is how stylized the fight scenes are, especially the one in a warehouse between Ramu and some goons that features seemingly impossible flips and a disturbing incorporation of toys.
Dance numbers include the aerobic "Mama mia, pom pom" that is not especially notable in its choreography, setting, or costume but has a catchy disco tune by Bappi Lahri that will be singing in your head for days. A park becomes the scene for the very amusing "come with me" in which Ramu romances Rekha across benches, lawns and pedal boats to a reggae beat while foiling and baffling Kaileshnath. A slip on some eggs during a visit to Ramu's mother initiates a sensual shower encounter between Ramu and Rekha that breaks into a psychedelic fantasy in which they are fairies in an over-sized candy-colored forest of mushrooms, frolicking in pools of rainwater and being pelted with bucketfuls of fake pearls as they sing "what has happened when you touched me? it will take the rain and clouds to put out this fire". At last, a romantic flashback of the young Chaudhury and a love played by Hema Malini takes place in a flower-filled greenhouse as they declare "what is the most important thing in my life? Waiting for you..." while various gilded frames and garlands envelop their faces.
Waris (1969)
Cornball and Off-The-Wall
Waris (meaning "Heir") is the story of three contestant princes. The three choices we have are Ramkumar #1, played by Prem Chopra who appears to be the legit one, Ramkumar # 2, played by Jeetendra who seems to enter this situation in persual of a girl, and the cartoonish Ramkumar #3 played by Mehmood who is accompanied by a shady mistress played by Aruna Irani. The story line manages to keep one in suspense but it's a difficult thing to deal with all the colorful craziness the drama is wrapped in. So let us examine the wrapping to see if you want to open it.
First of all it must be established that Waris is 60's/70's happy-jumpy style similar to Humjoli. Jeetendra haters should avoid this one, but the Dixie Wetsworth's of this world and devotees of his younger material will be rewarded by the pool dance. The comedic "relief" on the part of Mehmood and Miss Irani is aggressive and unavoidable. On top of all this, there are large, sturdily built science fiction-esqe sets involving gigantic silver iris doors and elimination shoots in the villain's lair, and beeping alarm lights installed in the walls of the estate!
The unusual dance numbers are worth a mention. The first is a bombastic eve teasing sequence by Jeetendra in which he pretends to be struck by the girls' car and then imposes himself on Hema by screaming and jumping around. Then we have an American beach movie type of deal where Hema and Jeetendra's characters boogie around the pool in 60's swim gear, eventually stripping off their cover-ups to frolic in the deep end. Next, an absolutely bizarre number where the young Neetu's character is being abducted by a goon, and Mehmood and Aruna begin fighting the goons by parodying famous dance numbers and movie scenes including references to Shammi Kapoor and Bhoot Bungla. Pretty soon, Hema and Jeetendra get stranded while driving their car somewhere and a sensuous duet is made of their having to sleep in the car overnight due to a rainstorm (one in the front seat, and the other in the back seat, respectively). The grand finale involves Hema feigning possession by Kali during her wedding ceremony, and Mehmood comes dressed as an exorcist.
Should you see Waris? Three Conclusions (one for each Ramkumar):
1.) Yes!: I'd only actively recommend Waris to someone who really likes classic musicals, 60's bubblegum beach-blanket flicks and are accustomed to the Masala genre. If that's your thing, Waris will be a fun time pass for you.
2.) Watch Something Else: If a weird trip is what you are looking for in old Hindi movies, this one won't be it. Because the sets are well-made, and the presentation is of that tight Technicolor quality, the "so bad it's good" element is absent. Instead, go to Farz, a cheesier, more B rated option which was made a couple of years prior and features some of the same actors.
3.) Don't: For the average movie watcher accustomed to newer Bollywood, it's possible that Waris will be too cornball off-the-wall to keep your attention.