One of my New Year resolutions had been to watch quality Hindi movies from the 60s and 70s. I am still sticking to it - helped by some of the TV channels which keep airing these movies every now and then.
I knew the gist of this one's plot. Still, it was interesting to see the rest of the story. The protagonist is Dr. Parimal Tripathi - a professor of Botany who is staying in a government bungalow at a hill station for a few days. The old watchman of the bungalow tells him that his grandson is not well but his leave for a day isn't granted yet. Kind-hearted Parimal allows him to go to his village which is at a distance of 4-5 hours' walk. Unfortunately for him, the college girls who were to arrive a day later for their trip show up soon after the watchman is gone. Not wanting to put the old man's job in jeopardy, Parimal takes on the role of watchman himself. To make matters worse, these girls are students of Botany and since their syllabus contains Dr. Parimal's book they become curious about him when they see his nameplate outside a room in the bungalow. Alarmed, Parimal tells them that the professor, a cranky old fellow, is out of station for a few days. When the old watchman gets back the next day, Parimal tells the girls that he is an uncle. But one of the girls, Sulekha, finds out the truth. She is mightily impressed that Parimal took on the duties of the watchman to save the old man's job. And this being a 70s Hindi movie, Parimal also gets attracted to her.
So naturally their marriage gets fixed - in such a hurry, in fact, that it would make today's brides and grooms flee in opposite directions in great alarm! Sulekha's elder sister Sumi and her husband Raghavendra, who are based in Mumbai, cannot make it to the wedding because their younger daughter Ratna is down with fever. When they ask for Parimal's photo, he sends them his childhood pictures. Truth be told, Sulekha is very fond of Raghavendra and after listening to her endless tales of his intellect and abilities, Parimal is rather jealous of him. After marriage, Sulekha and Parimal have to attend many parties at their friends' places. The result is that Parimal starts suffering from an upset stomach prompting Sulekha to declare that she won't go with him anywhere for a few days. Just then her elder brother Haripad shows up with an invitation from Sumi and Raghavendra to visit them in Mumbai. Casually, he also lets it slip that Raghavendra has asked for a chauffeur who can converse in chaste Hindi because his current driver James speaks a rather mishmashed version of it.
That gives Parimal an idea to get even with Raghavendra. He proposes to go to Raghavendra as driver Pyaremohan. Sulekha and Haripad try their best to convince him that Raghavendra will figure out the truth within minutes. But Parimal is hell bent on carrying out his plan. Upon reaching Mumbai he drives Raghavendra nuts with his usage of chaste Hindi and his endless questions about English language. When Sulekha reaches there, the two of them act in such a manner that Raghavendra is convinced that she is fed up with her dry-as-a-stick husband Parimal and is carrying on an affair with Pyaremohan. All hell breaks loose when Parimal's friend Sukumar lands in Mumbai posing as Dr. Parimal (of course as per Parimal's instructions!). Sulekha and Pyare disappear before he arrives. So naturally, Sukumar goes to stay at his friend Prashant's place. He is sweet on Prashant's sister-in-law Vasudha. But Vasudha thinks that he is Parimal and so, being a student of Botany, requests him to teach her. What's more, when he tries to express his love for her, she rebuffs him. Raghavendra is already reeling under the shock that Sulekha has eloped with the driver. When he comes to know that her husband is interested in some other girl, the poor guy gets utterly devastated. Of course, things do get sorted in the end. But till then we are treated to a veritable feast of comic circumstances.
Though Dharmendra (Dr. Parimal) is the so-called 'Hero' of this film, character actor Om Prakash, as Raghavendra, plays an equally important part. He has essayed different shades of Raghavendra's personality - be it affection and care for his sister-in-law, his boasts of being able to read any person inside out in one fell swoop, his helplessness upon suspecting an affair between Sulekha and Pyare or his irritation at Pyare's inane questions - with consummate ease. You can't help but feel sorry for this affectionate Jijaji. I wasn't looking forward to watching Dharmendra in a comic role but he has done an excellent job of portraying the mischievous Dr. Parimal Tripathi. Watch him smile innocently every time he gets onto Raghavendra's nerves with one of his pranks. Amitabh Bachhan has vert little footage as Sukumar - he mostly appears as Dr. Parimal. But his sense of comic timing can be seen in his scenes with Jaya Bachhan (Vasudha), who was his wife by then. Asrani (Prashant), David (Haripad), Usha Kiran (Sumi) and Keshto Mukerjee (driver James) complete the rest of the cast.
As far as songs go, I am very fond of अबके सजन सावनमे आणि चुपके चुपके चल री पुर्वैय्या.
All in all, if you are looking for a light entertaining comedy with a few melodious songs, then Chupake Chupake is the movie for you!
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