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Suniye .... Kahiye....
Oct 21, 2010 03:33 AM 4924 Views

Very few movies have been made in Bollywood upon the life of the Christians in India. I consider Julie (1975) and Bada Din (1998) as classics in this context. Today I am reviewing a movie which portrays the life of the middle class working Christians in India (Mumbai being the backdrop of the story) with utmost sincerity. In fact, the middle strata of the Indian society contains people from all communities and religions without any discrimination on religious ground. Their problems are almost the same. Their issues are almost the same. Their pains and pleasures are almost the same.


Baaton Baaton Mein (1979) is the story of middle class working Christians directed by none other than Basu Chatterjee, the director who earned a name in the seventies and early eighties for making low-budget, simple, yet touching movies whose characters belong to the Indian middle class, neither living in slums, nor living in palaces (just a metaphor). Since we belong to that class only, we can easily relate to the stories told by him through his movies whose characters appear to us like ourselves only.


Baaton Baaton Mein (through the talks only) has a story set in Mumbai (then Bombay). Tony (Amol Palekar) and Nancy (Tina Munim) happen to get introduced in local train while going to their respective workplaces. Nancy's uncle Tom (David) helps them coming close to each other because he is aware of the pain in Nancy's heart because of a broken affair with Peter (Dev Mukherjee) and hopes that Tony's friendship will prove to be a healer for Nancy. Tony and Nancy start liking each other very much but both of them have a problematic member in his / her family. And they are the mothers. Nancy's talkative mother (Pearl Padamsee) is so concerned about her marriage to a reasonable (earning wise) boy that she jumps to the matrimonial issues every now and then with childish enthusiasm. On the other hand, Tony's mother (Piloo J. Wadia) is over-possessive with her son and wants him to live his life like a dependent child, doing everything by asking her only. Due to these peculiar females, how intricacies develop in the relationship of Tony and Nancy and how they are able to finally tie the sacred knot, forms the remaining part of the story which is a pleasure to watch. In between, there is a very small track of Nancy's neighbour Henry too who loves her silently.


Baaton Baaton Mein is a movie which does not loses its track even for a second. Right from the beginning to the very end, it keeps its focus on the main story without any undue digression. The narrative is very interesting, close to the real lives of the working people in metro cities (especially Mumbai) and touching, of course. The script-writer has maintained the curiosity factor quite proficiently throughout the movie and the twist in the tale leading the story to its climax is very impressive. In between the story, some songs (total four) appear but they do not block its flow. Instead they support it and being excellent, they prove to be the cherry on the delicious cake.


The complete milieu of the movie is authentic. Sets are simple and sober. Costumes have been selected according to the background of the story and the characters. The scenes in the local trains as well as near the sea shore add to the natural flare of the movie. Editing is also quite good. The complete narrative is a smooth sailing with every emotion suitably placed at the perfect point.


Performances are good. Except for some over the top ones (even they also do not look bad), the acting performances of the cast are natural. The favourite actor of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee - Amol Palekar has delivered a brilliant performance. In fact, such middle class person's role was tailor-made for him. Tina Munim was never a very good actress but the able director has made her act too. She looks quite beautiful also. Among others, the performances of Pearl Padamsee and Ranjit Chowdhury (Nancy's brother - Sabby) are just lovable.


Music of this movie is memorable. It contains only four songs three of which are duets and one is Kishore Kumar's solo. I mention the solo song first which is very good and one of Kishore Da's underrated songs - Kahaan Tak Ye Mann Ko Andhere Chhalenge, Udaasi Bhare Din Kabhi To Dhalenge. The other three are - the title song (Suniye . . .. Kahiye . . . ) sung by Kishore and Asha, Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuchh Kaha (Asha and Amit Kumar) and Uthein Sab Ke Kadam Dekho Rum Pum Pum Aji Aise Geet Gaaya Karo (Lata, Amit Kumar and Pearl Padamsee). The last one is my son's favourite. Every song composed by Rajesh Roshan is a gem. The beautiful lyrics have been penned by Yogesh and Amit Khanna. Any music lover can listen to these songs again and again without getting bored or tired.


Baaton Baaton Mein is not a great movie but it is a simple and lovable movie which has enormous repeat value. I have seen it many times and having seen once, anybody would love to watch it once again.


A homely experience !
Nov 08, 2006 10:41 AM 1899 Views

welcome to the quintessential indian middle class ambience. a reticent girl, her over curious mother, and a carefree musician brother on one side and a creative young man, her over caring mother and a sensible father on the other. wait, there is also an endearing olie who is kinda match maker for the two strangers. a feel good cinema is created with how the protagonists solve their dilemma and break the boundaries of their social contrast to give their relationship a new color.


at the cost of sounding cliched, basu chatterjee's characters are real and the situations create a homely experience. hrishi da's stories were practical but basu chatterjee's characters were so authentic. it felt like as if we are on a visit to just another middle class house.


dont even bother to look for a taut script, just enjoy the fun in the subtle touches and nuances added by basu chatterjee. a boy imagining all the wierd things possible on his first date with his latest crush, a mother getting insecure when an outsider draws more attention of her daughter's interest, a close relative accosting often with bundles of excuses. oh, basu chatterjee coulnt have brought any more down to earth humour to his narratives.


but after all, which film enjoys such an immaculate story telling ? baaton baaton mein is confusing at some stages. why were the lead characters so negative about their relation towards the climax ? besides, henry's character could have been done a bit more justice. however, it was incredelous fun to see henry [ underplayed by mazhar khan very well ] having his uninvited trips to nancy'shome, making nancy's mom rage with fury and irritation.


tina munim as nancylacks consistency in her portrayal of a somewhat author backed role. she was brilliant in crucial scenes but at times fails to be in the shoes of a character that itself needed a bit more grounding however strong it was. amol palekar as tonyputs in a natural performance. even the minor characters like uncle tom, philumena aunty, tony's mother leave a strong impression on one senses. but the show is fairly stolen by ranjit chowdhary as sabbi and pearl padamsie as rosie, who perform effortlessly throughout and make for a perrenial delight.


other fine aspects of the movie are the music and the lenses used. since the people involved in the goings on are christians, the background score and the colors invariably remind us of goa which gives the film a breezy feeling.


basu chatterjee's forte was bona fide middle class stories and he did it quite impeccably. in short, Baaton baato mein is like nancy's character in the film - quite nicely etched but not perfectly, a bit wrong at times, affably intriguing and most importantly left us wanting for more and thus coaxes me to give strong recommendation.


Humorous and innocent !!!!!!
Jul 18, 2003 01:26 PM 4448 Views

This is one of my all time favorite movies.


A complete low budget family entertainer and a typical bombay ka movie.


The story revolves around Nancy, a young girl (played wonderfully by Tina Munim who looks slim and stunning in the film) and her family. She happens to be a romantic, sensitive girl who has lost her love recently. Upset with the incident, she tries not to get involved with anyone else. Pat comes Mr Golmal (Amol Palekar who plays the role of Tony) into the same train as she is and starts drawing her cartoons (incidentally he is a cartoonist) to charm her.


Nancy initially hesitant, starts giving in to his friendship which is whole heartedly backed up by her uncle(David).


Now the fun part !!!


Amol palekar wants to take it easy and get to know her well before deciding anything. marriage is last on his mind whereas Tina munim wants some kind of commitment.


Her mother (brilliantly played by Pearl Padamsee)is a typical nagging, worrying mom always very curious to know about the boys who come home to meet Nancy.


Right from the day one, she starts paining Nancy about who the boy is, how much he earns, whether he is temporary or permanent, who all are there in his family etc etc. Whenever Amol palekar visits them, she keeps asking about their future plans and plays a dutiful host by always feeding Amol with all kinds of fruits.


''''''Tony chalo, phal khaalo, Acha seb khalo...seb nahi pasand ? to Kela khaalo''''''


Some of the hilarious moments are when Nancy's younger brother Sabby , a thin bushy haired teenager (Ranjit Chowdhary,who starred in surprise surprise, Bollywood Hollywood and Fire) keeps playing melancholic tunes on his violin when he is least expected to be in the room.


Once when Nancy's friend Hazel comes to visit her, Tony also happens to be there. Hazel tries to act cool and tries to feed him grapes by sitting very close to him, also wearing a very short skirt. Both Nancy and mother are speechless at this behaviour and bushy haired Sabby struts into the room and starts playing a ''you lost the battle'' kind of a tune. Immediately he is yelled at and pushed into a dark room from where the tunes continue to pour in....


Its a hilarious moment in the movie.


Another eye catching scene is when Amol's mother (that famous parsi woman who acts in Bobby movie and tells rishi :''''chaaalo Aunty ne pappi do'''').


drags him to a Mehmood's movie. They end up sitting close to Nancy and her mother without knowing who they are. Both women blabber about the movie continously and finally an exasperated man in the crowd shouts ''If I knew these two women narrate so well, I wouldnt have paid for the ticket, just directly heard the story from them''.


Finally the movie turns out be alls well that ends well.


Nancy and Tony get married with Pearl Padamsee heaving a sigh of relief and bushy haired Sabby playing violin in the background.


Some of the memorable songs in this movie are ::


1. Uthe sabke kadam, tara rum pum pum


2. No bole tum na maine kuch kaha, kaha.


3. suniye, kahiye, kehte sunte, Baaton Baaton mein pyaar ho jaayega.


A very sweet movie over all. A must see for those who like simple movies with Hrishikesh Mukherjee kinda sense of humour.


~~~~I forgot to add this earlier. This review also happens to be my 25th review on Mouthshut ~~~~~:


I am truly happy with my association with M.S.


wishing all its members good luck and wishes.


Lavanya


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