Oonche Log (1985)

Oonche log (1985) is another movie loosely based on Wuthering Heights. However, it starts on a somewhat less dramatic note than the previously reviewed Dil Diya Dard Liya, in that the young boy who grows up to be our hero doesn't lose his parents at sea, but loses his mother in a car accident caused by Thakur Vikram Singh's (Pradeep Kumar) driver. Vikram Singh is so horrified by this event that he adopts the boy Raju. While his daughter, Poonam, is rather pleased by this addition to the family, his son, Maan, is less than impressed and makes his dislike of Raju very, very obvious (refusing to shake his hand, refusing to sit at he same table with him, etc.). In the end, Vikram Singh is so exasperated by his son's behaviour that he sends him off to boarding school.

This is the most cheerful the movie will ever be:


He probably would have preferred a puppy:


Vikram Singh also has a brother Pratrap Singh (Prem Chopra), who (to everybody's great sursprise given who plays him) is a somewhat shady character who spends too much money on wine and women. Vikram Singh is fed up with his behaviour and threatening to stop supporting him. Before he can follow through on his threat, Pratrap smothers him with a pillow, hoping to get away with it as Vikram was known to be a heart patient. Unfortunately (well, for him) he wasn't quite as unobserved as he believed himself to be.

This is bad news for any prospects of familial harmony:


Is this from this year's "fratricide collection"?


Shouldn't he be in bed at this time of night?


Vikram Singh's sudden death means that things take a turn to the worse for Raju. Not only will he henceforth be treated like a servant (Pratrap Singh shares his nephew's dislike of Raju, even though he doesn't know that Raju saw him killing his brother), he also is branded with a sign of ownership, and is used as a stool when Maan goes out riding. His one friend is Khan (Raza Murad).

Years pass, Maan Singh grows up to be Danny Denzongpa, Raju grows up to be Rajesh Khanna, and Poonam grows up to be Salma Agha, and everybody else now sports fetching streaks of grey. Otherwise, not much has changed: Maan Singh is mean to Raju, basically treating him like a dog; Khan is kind to Raju, Pratrap is overly fond of wine and women. Of course, the puzzle is why on earth Raju didn't run away years ago, but he says that his love for Poonam kept him there, and he won't leave as long as she loves him. His fond childhood reminiscences leads us to the first song.

At least there is someone looking after Raju:


You have changed a lot, Maan Singh:

Oonche log (1985) is another movie loosely based on Wuthering Heights. However, it starts on a somewhat less dramatic note than the previously reviewed Dil Diya Dard Liya, in that the young boy who grows up to be our hero doesn't lose his parents at sea, but loses his mother in a car accident caused by Thakur Vikram Singh's (Pradeep Kumar) driver. Vikram Singh is so horrified by this event that he adopts the boy Raju. While his daughter, Poonam, is rather pleased by this addition to the family, his son, Maan, is less than impressed and makes his dislike of Raju very, very obvious (refusing to shake his hand, refusing to sit at he same table with him, etc.). In the end, Vikram Singh is so exasperated by his son's behaviour that he sends him off to boarding school.

This is the most cheerful the movie will ever be:


He probably would have preferred a puppy:


Vikram Singh also has a brother Pratrap Singh (Prem Chopra), who (to everybody's great sursprise given who plays him) is a somewhat shady character who spends too much money on wine and women. Vikram Singh is fed up with his behaviour and threatening to stop supporting him. Before he can follow through on his threat, Pratrap smothers him with a pillow, hoping to get away with it as Vikram was known to be a heart patient. Unfortunately (well, for him) he wasn't quite as unobserved as he believed himself to be.

This is bad news for any prospects of familial harmony:


Is this from this year's "fratricide collection"?


Shouldn't he be in bed at this time of night?


Vikram Singh's sudden death means that things take a turn to the worse for Raju. Not only will he henceforth be treated like a servant (Pratrap Singh shares his nephew's dislike of Raju, even though he doesn't know that Raju saw him killing his brother), he also is branded with a sign of ownership, and is used as a stool when Maan goes out riding. His one friend is Khan (Raza Murad).

Years pass, Maan Singh grows up to be Danny Denzongpa, Raju grows up to be Rajesh Khanna, and Poonam grows up to be Salma Agha, and everybody else now sports fetching streaks of grey. Otherwise, not much has changed: Maan Singh is mean to Raju, basically treating him like a dog; Khan is kind to Raju, Pratrap is overly fond of wine and women. Of course, the puzzle is why on earth Raju didn't run away years ago, but he says that his love for Poonam kept him there, and he won't leave as long as she loves him. His fond childhood reminiscences leads us to the first song.

At least there is someone looking after Raju:


You have changed a lot, Maan Singh:


I am not sure that there is a way to prevent this ending in tears:


One day, Poonam insists on riding a horse which hasn't yet been broken in properly, with predictable consequences. Luckily, Raju is there to rescue her. Unluckily, the two are observed by Maan Singh, who takes his anger out on Raju and gives him a thorough beating. We also learn that, when not beating up the servants, Maan Singh and his uncle enjoy betting on horses and dancing girls. One of the dancing girls is very interested in uncle Pratap (or, presumably, in his money) and would like to elope with him; but he stalls her by saying that he first needs to embezzle more of his nephew's money. Meanwhile, Poonam has taken some flowers to the injured Raju, who is even more smitten with her after this, and goes to thank her, even though that means meeting her in what is her (extremly large) bathroom. She receives him graciously which leads us to another song, this time involving a very wet but thankfully fully clothed Raju.

An accident in the making:


At least help is at hand:


Personally, I would have preferred some painkillers:


This bathtub is bigger than my flat:


There is really some rather nice greenery in this picture:


Next we are introduced to Maan Singh's fiance, Sonia (Priti Sapru). Despite the fact that she dresses in western clothes she appears to be a nice and girl, and is concerned about Raju who has a high fever. Of course, this worries Poonam and she goes to look after Raju. Alas, things never go well when those two are involved, and Poonam is bitten by a snake. Raju sucks out the poison and carries her to the main house; where he is beaten (again) for daring to touch Poonam. Sonia actually stands up for him and points out that normal people would thank him for what he did, and she also takes some medication to him to counteract the poison he inadvertendly swallowed.

She is kind of cute, if somewhat challenged in the fashion department:


An uninvited guest:


Unfortunately, she doesn't convey much more animation when conscious:


I do sense a certain amount of tension here:


After Raju recovers, he goes to see how Poonam is doing (at night, in her bedroom) and the two finally declare to each other what has been painfully obvious to anybody else for a while: they are in love. This necessitates another song with much running around various bits of greenery. Towards the end of the song, they are spotted by Maan, who is just prevented by his uncle from shooting Raju there and then (apparently, killing people in broad daylight is no longer permissable for Thakurs, what has the world come to). However, beating people up in the stable is permissable, and this is what Maan proceeds to do. When Poonam finds the injured Raju, she dips her hand in his blood and confronts her brother. Of course, Raju isn't actually dead, and he even makes it through Maan things next attempt to kill him, which involved being thrown to the dogs. However, in one of the confrontations he does mention that he knows that Pratap Singh killed his brother.

Doing this in plain view may not have been the brightest idea either of them ever had:


Son, you need to learn to be more discreet in your homicidal tendencies:


Have you been busy with the fingerpaint again:


He just won't stay dead:


Poonam realises that it is very likely that her brother will one day suceed in killing Raju, something she would rather avoid if at all possible. As Raju is staying because of their mutual love for each other, she decides that the way forward is to tell him that she doesn't love him. She does this in a very convincing manner and a heart-broken Raju leaves to the strains of a sad song. Alas, Pratap Singh doesn't want an eye-witness to his dastardly dead alive, so he tries to kill Raju in a somewhat convoluted manner. He leaves Raju for dead, but of course he isn't, and he is picked up by a somewhat ominous looking hunting party.

How could I love someone who can't keep me in the staircases I am use to?


Oh, for crying out loud just shoot him:


We are the good guys, no, honest:


When Raju wakes up he finds himself at the house of an older gentleman who very eagerly enquires about Raju's family. It turns out that Raju is actually this gentleman's grandson. He threw his son out of the house after he married a lady from a poor family but later regretted his actions and has been looking for them for years.

How dare you marry someone from a stair-less family:


She loves me because of my superb taste in shirts:


So, now that it has turned out the Raju actually is from a wealthy family (and what a shock that was) it is time to plot revenge. The instrument of the is Mubarak Ali (Deven Verma), an employee of Raju's grandfather, who makes Maan Singh a profitable business offer, which he gladly accepts as he is feeling the pinch somewhat financially, what whith all the wine, women and horse-racing, as well as an embezzling uncle. Mubarak Ali says that he works for a very wealthy businessmen. When the aforementioned businessman finally deigns to meet Maan Singh and his family there is a gallery of shocked looks as he looks just like Raju. A suggestion that he looks similar to a servant, however, almost makes Rai Bahadur Rajev Singh, walk out in a huff. However, good relations are restored though Rajev never seems to warm completely to his host, who are still a bit suspicious about the fascinating similarity.

Of course he is completely trustworthy, why do you ask?


Mind you, he may just have seen Sonia's dress:


Maybe she caught her reflection in the mirror:


It's infectious, she is shocked, too:


He, on the other hand has practised the disdainful look:


Before the suspense can get too much, the secret is revealed to the one person who always cared about Raju and who Raju still cares for, Khan. Back with the rich people, Raju causes more confusion for Poonam by flirting with Sonia, sending her flowers and generally paying a lot of attention to her. Suspicions are further aroused and the tension heightened when Pratrap finds himself in an unfortunate incident with some horses and several metres of rope.

I can recognise you, now that you have taken off the sunglasses.


Flower wars?


This scene seems oddly familiar:


Meanwhile, Maan Singh has been losing money on the share market, taking the advice of Mubarak Ali and Raju. Several tense encounters later, one in a billiard room and one at Raju's birthday, the tension culminates (at least for the time being) in a horse race between between Maan Singh and Raju.

We got the colour cheap when the renovted the local pool:


Suspicion personified on a balcony:


Not even Sonia's clothes manage to lighten the atmosphere:


What will happen next? Who will win the race? Will Raju suceed in ruining Maan Singh? Will Sonia desert her fiance? Will Poonam get a chance to explain why she told Raju that she doesn't love him? Will Maan Singh survive? Will Sonia recover her fashion sense?

This isn't really a great movie. It may well provide entertainment for a rainy Sunday afternoon if there is nothing better on offer but not much more. It may work better for people who are greater fans of Rajesh Khanna than I am.

Amar Shakti (1978)

Really, I should now better than judging a Dvd by its cover. After all, my Jab Jab Phool kile cover sports a still from the " I am sorry about what happened last night"-song from Raja Saab. This one shows the two leads, Shashi Kapoor and Shatrughan Sinha with assorted weapons and cars which evokes a modern day gangster movie. Only the movie is nothing of the sort.

It starts with a group of colourfully clad evil people sneaking up on a house during the night. Inside, two boys are just being put to bed by their mother and a servant,Leela (Indrani Mukherjee) when the mother spots somebody at the window. The family is attacked and the father is killed, but not before we learn that he is the oldest son of the king, and the attacker, Shamsher Singh (Pradeep Kumar), a disloyal servant who wants to take over the kingdom. The mother manages to flee with the older son, but is killed shortly thereafter and the son falls down a cliff. Leela manages to reach her house with the younger son, but she is followed and the house burned to the ground.

Doing the dastardly deed:


When the ailing king is told that his son and his family has been killed, this proves not quite more than he can bear so a doctor has to help him depart from this life with some poison.



Shamsher Singh and his brother in law the now Diwan Nahar Singh (Jeevan) are now ready to take over the government. As a first measure they call all the people involved in the murder of the various princes and the king together in the study, and have them killed by sending them down a trap-door beneath a presumably frequently replaced carpet into the den of a tiger. Convinced that all loose ends have been tied up they settle down to live happily ever after.

You could do something to improve your "shocked at the king's death"-look


However, the two young princes are not actually dead. The older one, Shakti, did fall down a cliff, but the river carried him away and he was picked up by a group of nomads. When the group hears that Shamsher Singh has taken over the government the leave the kingdom, taking the boy with them.

The younger prince is also less dead than Shamsher Singh assumes. His men killed Leela's husband and her son before setting the house on fire, but Leela and the younger prince, Amar, survived and went back to her husband's village where Amar was raised as her son. In contrast to his brother Amar has no memory of his parents or the tragic circumstances of their death.

Time passes and Amar (Shashi Kapoor) grows up to be an excellent swordsman. His village has some trouble paying the taxes so five men are arrested and due to be executed if the villagers don't come up with the money they own. Amar hears that there is going to be a sword-fighting contest at the annual fair with the main contestant being a prince from a neighbouring kingdom (Roopesh Kumar), and the price being the exact sum needed to release the villagers, so he sets off despite his mother's misgivings.





Shakti (Shatrughan Sinha) also has grown up, and won the heart of one of the girl's, Chamki (Manjula). He is obviously held in high regard by everybody amongst his adopted people apart from the leader's son, Hameera (Ranjeet). There is a large dose of jealousy in this as he also has designs on Chamki. Shakti isn't too keen to go to the fair as he has sworn to enter that particular city only for one purpose, namely revenge, but he does come along in the end.



Failing to get any subtle hints:


Several things happen at the fair: There is the requisite "brothers meeting without recognising each other"-scene, Amar sees the princess Sunita (Sulakshana Pandit) for the first time, and is smitten despite the warnings of one of his fellow villagers. He also wins the sword-fight, which enables him to pay his village's taxes and release the villagers.


Amar is smitten by Sunita's beauty:


and the object of his affection:


Prince Kunver sporting a rustic shirt and an unfortunate hairdo:


at first winning that sword-fight didn't look like a good idea:


Unfortunately, the money Amar just gave to the tax collector is stolen by Hameera, and when he is chased by soldiers he drops the purse and it is picked up by his father who ends up being tortured while Chamki is forced to dance for a group of drunken soldiers. Shakti appears in time to safe both father and daughter but the father succumbs to his injuries shortly thereafter.



Sniff


Back in the city, romance blossoms between Amar and Sunita, even if their colour coordination leave something to be desired.



Amar prevents Sunita's necklace from being stolen which gains him a position in the king's army. He then becomes an extremely loyal officer. This seems slightly odd, given the problems his own village had with the tax collection official (and it is strongly implied that his demands were unreasonable), unless he just assumes that that guy was an exception. Anyway, after some sword kissing



and proof that pea-green really isn't Shashi's colour:



Amar is invited by one of Sunita's maids to her part of the palace that evening. He notices that this invitation has been overheard by one of Kunver's men, and knowing that Kunver won't be pleased about this development as he wants to marry the princess himself, turns up later that evening in the disguise of Sunita's music teacher, flirting with her right under the nose of the increasingly confused Kunver. This is one of my all time favourite musical numbers, and of course it isn't on youtube.









Meanwhile back at the caravan, there are succession problems. While the leader had made it more than clear that he wanted Shakti to succeed him, his son Hameera has other ideas. In order to sort things out, there is a fight over a pit of fire:



Shakti wins, and proceeds to lead his people in rebellion against the king. However, he doesn't kill his opponent, presumably because we still need an evil person around, but he says it is because he is the deceased leader's son. He then proceeds to lead his people in rebellion against the king.



News of Amar's new position reaches his village, and, unsurprisingly, his mother is less than impressed with his choice of employer. To be fair, she never told him anything, so has only limited reason to be irritated with him but still



As his mother sets out to tell Amar that joining the king's army may not have been the best decision he ever made (how could it be, he made it without asking Ma), Amar is put in charge of squashing Shakti's rebellion. After a dramatic confrontation in which Amar narrowly avoids killing Shakti, Shakti is arrested.



oh my


Hameera tries to take over control, but Chamki and various other of people are less than impressed.

Shakti is now in chains and Amar gets a promotion which at least means a differently coloured uniform.



Beth said Sergeant Pepper, I say Austrian-Hungarian empire:


While Shakti is being freed by an unlikely helper, Amar's mother arrives at the palace to confront her son with his unfortunate choice of employer. Ma is really rather angry, especially as Amar has drunk alcohol during the celebrations for his promotion.





That is a very good question:


Anyway, Amar resigns from his position, and shortly afterwards finds himself in the trap-doored study and after a swift fall, in the tiger-infested dungeon below. He manages to make his escape, and comes across some sort of drain:



which leads directly to Princess Sunita's restrained and simple bathing pool:


However, Prince Kunver is in hot pursuit, and after a narrow escape, Amar and Sunita try to leave the palace in a cunning disguise:



Before they can escape, Amar sees Leela being threatened by the Diwan, who recognised her as the deceased king's servant, and after some fighting he manages to escape with his mother and Sunita. As he is about to get some water, who should pop up but the recently escaped Shakti. The two fight and Leela throws herself on Amar just as Shakti is about to kill (or at leas seriously wound him). He is rather startled, as he recognises Leela and after some explanations the brothers are reunited and it is time for a song.

Drama!


He is who?


Aaaaaaw:


Amar then joins Shakti in his rebellion against the king; as does Sunita. Obviously, the king is less than impressed with this development and whith the help of Hameera, who had been arrested for theft, he plots a trap for the rebels.



Their plan works in so far as that Amar is arrested, and Sunita is taken back to the palace and confronted with her father's demands that she marry prince Kunver.





Will Amar and his mother be rescued in time? Who will the princess choose? Will there be another big musical number? And what could be more awesome than this:



The movie is fun. It isn't really a romantic movie, Shakti's and Chamki's relationship is already established when we meet them, and Amar and Sunita get some flirting done, but not all that much. Given that the movie is just over two hours long, and has a lot to tell, this isn't surprising; the focus clearly is on the story of the two brothers. It along fairly well, and there are few plot holes (no misplaced minor characters, for example). I do think it deserves to be watched more widely than it seems to be watched.