Sound of Music. Review on Parichay

~*~First time Gulzar and Pancham worked together. This dream duo went on to create magic in several other movies.

~*~ First time Jitendra walked out of the typecast ‘Jumping Jack’ image and enacted a serious yet evocative character.

~*~ First time Sanjeev Kumar donned character of a father and that of Jaya Bachchan. Merely two years before they had enacted roles of a dumb and deaf couple in Koshish, an impeccable movie by Gulzar (Koshish is another masterpiece. Deserves a separate review. But I don’t think I can do justice to it. Those who rave Black should watch Koshish. You will realize how mediocre Black seems in comparison.)

~*~ First time Keshto Mukherjee wasn’t a drunkard.

~*~ First time (as far as I can remember) Asrani wasn’t a comedian.

~*~ First time Pran wasn’t a villain.

Yes, Parichay is one of my favorite movies. There is something about all Gulzar movies that they manage to do something which is not very easy to achieve via medium of cinema. They touch your heart, your soul. Characters in his movies are down to earth, real. You can probably see yourself in there somewhere. And that is precisely why they strike chord with you first time you see them.

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Pran is living in a mansion in a village with his 5 grandchildren and a sister. His son has passed away after leaving home due to conflicts of ideals with him. Pran is an idealistic person. For him, the world is either black or white, there is no gray. He believes in dealing with kids with stick of fear. He ends up losing respect from his grandchildren.

Welcome Jitendra. An unemployed graduate finally agrees to work as these naughty kids’ teacher in desperate search of employment. Kids play pranks on him to run him away, yet he refuses to give up. His way of teaching does not appeal to Pran, but he manages to stay on.

Subsequently he wins hearts of Kids and trust of Pran. Before leaving for City to a better opportunity he successfully bridges the divide between a grandfather and his grandchildren. He introduces Pran to himself and his grandkids. That is all the movie is about – introduction – Parichay.

And of course there is a love story involved. Between Pran’s eldest granddaughter Jaya Bachchan and Jitendra. Which essentially forms climax of the movie.

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Do I need to say anything about Gulzar? Nothing could be said enough in praise of this genius. Wondering what the film industry would be without him? There would a vacuum that could not be filled. This movie is another feather in his already well decorated cap.

Jitendra, the jumping jack, is in entirely different role here. He easily gets into the skin of the character. Honestly that cool, calm, sidha, sadha Jitendra of Parichay is a lot more impressive than that crazy, muffler clad jumping jack of Farz.

I am a huge fan of Jaya Bachchan. By any standards, today’s or 70s she cannot be called a glamorous actress. Yet, her magnetic smile, vivid eyes, long black hair and energy she exudes is simply amazing. She gets into the skin of the character so effortlessly that you forget for a moment that you are watching Jaya Bachchan on the screen.

What can I say about Pran. He is in the center of the movie. The movie is all about him finding his different self. His character has many shades and he portrays each one of them perfectly. His character goes through a profound transformation from a ruthless Rai Saheb to a considerate grandfather and none could have been move convincing than Pran. Haribhai is of course too good in a small, yet significant role.

But honestly, the movie belongs to those sweet, cute, little kids. They are naughty to the core in the beginning. And they are obedient to the core in the end. That innocence on Sanju and Munni’s faces will bring smiles on your face. I guess, only Gulzar could manage such a natural performance from small kids.

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And the music is of course feast to ears. Fabulous songs to say the least. That lethal combination of Gulzar and Pancham is at its best here.

~*~Pensive ‘Musafir Hun Yaro’, beautifully sung by Kishoreda, filmed in the authentic rural India, sets the tone of the movie.

~*~Classical Bite na Bitayi Raina, mesmerizing rendering by Lata and Bhupinder Singh makes this the best song of this movie and one of the best by Panchamda – and if you have not heard this song, boy you are missing something.

~*~Peppy SaRe ke SaRe GaMa ko Lekar Gate Chale – watch out those cute little kids – Sanju and Munni…

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Honestly, most of today’s movies don’t stand anywhere close to these fantastic movies of 70s. If you think trash meted out today is any good, you are sadly mistaken. Sometimes I wonder, if we will ever get makers like Gulzar, Hrishida and Basuda grace the silver screen again. Parichay is and will remain one of my all time favorite movies. Go watch it if you haven’t seen it yet.