just finished rewatching "jaane bhi do yaaron" after almost 15 years. i have to say a lot of it doesn't hold up. i am confident in my pick of "chalti ka naam gaadi" as the funniest hindi film of all time. however, the closing "mahabharata" play sequence of "jaane bhi do yaaron" is without a doubt the funniest thing ever filmed in hindi cinema--i almost choked on my dinner when om puri took over as bheema. i wonder how something like that would go over these days. unfortunately a lot of the early part of the movie doesn't hold up.

i had forgotten, however, that this was very much a social-issues film.

I think Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron comes closest to being the Indian equivalent of a cult favourite. The film didn't really do so well when it was first released but over the years, it has developed such a dedicated fan following. Amazing that no one tapped more into Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah's comic talent after the film. Om Puri is hilarious in the last scene. I especially remember him saying "Draupadi tere akele ki nahi hai, hum sab shareholder hain" (Draupadi is not yours alone, we are all shareholders). Talk about a whole new perspective on the Mahabharata !! And everytime there was a rerun of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron on Doordarshan, for days after the school would be buzzing with "Thoda khao thoda phenko, mazaa aayega".

It seems there are many FTI Pune insider jokes in the film, including the names of the lead protagonists, Vinod Chopra and Sudhir Mishra. Ring a bell? Here's a fine article on the movie.

http://in.rediff.com/movies/2004/jan/22film.htm

It still stands after all these years. All those jokes referencing other movies, "albert pinto! hello! Pinto?!" are still funny.
I especially remember the dark ending that I think is the icing on the cake because after all the funny comedy there's still a subtle undercurrent running in the movie that I thought was referencing a lot of the early martin scorsese work in showing the characters and players in a city. The ending just cinches the movie as a cult favorite, because the bad guys DO get away with it, as they usually do in the real world.

The scene when Tarneja locks pankaj kapoor , neena gupta and satish kaushik in his bathroom was 'howl'arious...each one of them was brilliant in his own way.

The young Naseerbhai is a fine looking gent, isn't he? Terrific screen-presence. As also, Ombhai.

Hmmm... I recall seeing the movie with great expectations a long time ago and being disappointed. The comedy seemed terribly forced. "Switzerland ka cake, thoda khaao thoda feko" ? Be serious now. (Better still, be funny now.)

You know, Ajit, at that time it did seem funny-- just like I thought Wodehouse was the funniest writer then. But I guess one's taste changes with age. Now I am not that crazy about Wodehouse (although I know his work thourgh and through) and I am not crazy about this film either.

That said, there indeed are pockets of crazy humor here too-- only not enough to make me want to see it again.

Anjali

What is true about say Parinda or Sholay is generally true I guess : "You can't go home again". It has happened with me on numerous occasions that I go to a hindi-movie library ; get nauseated by even the sight of the “New Releases” section; and look for something old – even for ones I would have seen long ago. What I have come to conclude is that nostalgia, by itself will not make the flaws in an old movie ( or say a book) go away.

Of course, there are some exceptions to this phenomenon. There are some movies that one would visit time and again and they would still prove to be formidably appealing to one’s intellect or emotions. Otherwise, what we are mostly doing while watching these movies is a feeble attempt to re-live a past. (Funny part is, I have tried to take a trip back in time to a period even before I was born! This, I believe is something in the same category of “movies-for-nostalgia” ; only the difference being that in this case, one is trying to live an imaginary past ) Ultimately one needs to reconcile to the fact that all this is nothing but sentimental yearning for return to an irrecoverable condition.

Does anyone share similar feelings abt this ?

Oh yes! Absence makes the heart grow fonder (and the sensibilities duller...?) - I'm as gleefully guilty as many other NRIs I know, of celebrating cheesy stuff purely out of homesickness.

Mea culpa !

I absolutely loved the movie, 'Sparsh' when it first came out. And there ae so many scenes that are still vivid in my mind. But I am almost scared to go back and watch the movies I was crazy about then because, call me fickle hearted, but, it has happened with many of them that I do not like the movies as much now.

So nowadays I decide deliberately NOT to watch those older movies that still have such a fond place in my memory.

yes, mallige, I felt the same about "Jaane bhi do yaaron." I was such a huge fan of that movie for so long and then I had to see it again and diminish the memory of it all...

there are parts of "jaane bhi do yaaron" that don't hold up now--it certainly wasn't the non-stop barrel of laughs i seemed to remember--but large parts of it certainly do. the mahabharat sequence remains one of the funniest things ever committed to film.

(the "jaane bhi do yaaron" thread)

thrice. but i go back to the mahabharata sequence over and over again. i think if i ever stop being reduced to tears by "shaant gadhadhaari bheem, shaant", and "hum sab equal shareholder hain!" it will be time to put me out of my misery.

edit: merged this thread with the old "jaane bhi do yaaron" thread since it goes over the same ground. i now see that originally i said that large parts of it don't hold up!

arnab, that mahabarat sequence has no parallel. and the rest of the movie does pale in comparison. but despite being such a big fan of the flick (like many others here), i feel mortified to see you quote the sequence in such vivid detail. only god knows how often i have said, 'ye kya ho raha hai duryodhan?' in conversations and i've seen the movie only 1.5 times.

- edited. poor joke -

Revival time - stumbled upon after watching Sonar Kella and wondering why there isn't more enthusiasm about it (and searching for the word "iconic" ).

Some (many?) of the films that stand the test of time are probably comedies. Golmaal, Chupke Chupke (don't count the songs! apart from Ab ke sajan saawan mein), Chashm-e-Buddoor and Angoor come to mind as examples. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron is irritating in parts and I - too - watch only certain sequences. It will however remain "iconic" for as long as I can't stop saying "This is too much!" without adding "Yeh Akbar kahaan se aa gaya?" after it.

To go back in time a little, Howrah Bridge is one I watch many times, as is Pakeezah. What goes into a memorable film? Great characterisation, outstanding actors and acting, dialogue, songs (yes! I've re-watched Aradhana, Guide, Amar Prem, Jewel Thief for example, all through, just for the songs), and quality filmmaking overall. If we're lucky, we get all this in the same film.

wrt Sonar Kella, someone I know was once had to temp for a Prof. Burman who couldn't take class that day, and he actually made the announcement about him having thrombosis to the class. They obviously didn't get it, but he had a great laugh by himself.

I once had a student working on Rajasthan who was talking to me about certain sources and things and she said something about Barmer and I simply had to say "Barmer!!!" like Feluda does when Bose gives him the fake note from fake Dr. Hajra. She was quite startled when I did that. So was I.

Most of Jotayu's and Mr. Bose's lines are very memorable too...

Just revisited , what to me is one of the funniest oldie,and has stood the test of time - 'Naram Garam"
Amol Palekar,Utpal Dutt,Shatrughan Sinha and some other good performances.
The Ram Leela scenes have to be one of the funniest!
It is a wonderful light hearted romp.
Peace.

It's wise to get used to laughing at one's own references even if no one else does. Running as one does the risk of being thought an eccentric, it's still more fun. Saying "Eee-yeeesh!" for example.

HUH!!
What are you talking about - or has dementia set in ?
Peace.

Shrikar, dementia is there anyway but I was replying to Fran's post just before yours. (I forgot to quote - the AS habit is slipping away...)

Just finished watching "Angoor" again after over 15 years - I can never ever tire of this movie.

Also watched Mr and Mrs 55 with my kids last week - amazing that two kids born and brought up in Amreeka could totally relate to that movie and the humor and the music and all......they are both busy humming "....abhi abhi yehin tha kidhar gaya ji...." these days.

Their favorite Hindi movie of all time continue to be Chalti Ka Naam Gadi.

Even for me it brings back goosebumps as I remember when we watched it at the IIT-B convo hall after the fabled dry-dinner on Friday evenings back in the 80s....do they still screen movies there? OR has the advent of DVDs and the internet and big-screen TVs rendered this tradition one of the past as well

this was heartening, bfuller. glad to know that some of the old classics are making their way to the new generations. i speak as one who has just discovered that there have been major gaps in passing-of-the-baton, so to speak. we just discovered that the youngest member of our team at work had never heard of, let alone seen, 'jaane bhi do yaaro'. (so she was born after the year of release, 1983, but still...!! that too in the desi heartland...). the rest of us were quite bemused and suitably chastened, especially with the growing realization that all our sage advice to her in the form of 'shant, gadadhari bhim, shant!' had been going awaste!!

here is my list of 10 (timeless IMHO) Bollywood movies that I have decided I must expose my kids to (as and when they are emotionally ready for them) - any other suggestions are welcome! The asterisked ones are ones they have already seen:

1. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi*
2. Mr and Mrs 55*
3. Pyaasa
4. Bambai Ka Babu
5. Anubhav
6. Angoor*
7. Deewaar
8. Chashmebuddoor
9. Lagaan*
10. Bunty Aur Babli*

For good measure, here is my list of 10 timeless English movies as well, not ranked in any particular order:

1. Casablanca
2. Breakfast at Tiffany's
3. My Fair Lady
4. The Apartment
5. A Roman Holiday
6. The Color Purple
7. Forrest Gump
8. Spellbound
9. Rear Window
10. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I haven't seen Mr. and Mrs. 55 in centuries but while I love the music and some of the corny dialogues ...
"Kya aap socialist hai?
"Nahi , cartoonist hoon".. etc and Johnny Walker I remember thinking its treatment or rather Guru Dutt's treatment of women (as in Aar Paar) was quite disgraceful.

AarPaaris entertaining but in the context.

Mr and Mrs 55 is truly timeless.

reading Ten Years with Guru Dutt - Abrar Alvi's Journey written by Satya Saran. Alvi talks about the making of mr and mrs 55: he had written a play in college titled A Modern Marriage and GD was quite taken by the character of a lovable idiot who was the heroine in the play and he also wanted to blend in aspects of the james stewart hedy lamarr film Come Live with Me. Alvi obliges and comes up with a script.

for madhubala this was a first break from the serious roles she had done hitherto.

alvi says "I think my first contribution to GD Films was to change the way dialogues were being written...." the legacy of theatre renderings made film dialogues sound stilted and nothing like the way people normally talk. guru dutt was also heavily influenced by his then assistant raj khosla into believing that he didn't know much hindi, so raj with his literary background of urdu and hindustani had a major say in dialogue writing in GDF. alvi and raj had monumental clashes on the sets with alvi storming out, shouting, "Usi se karva lo aap"

but finally alvi has his way with dialogue reflecting the personality of the characters in aar paar. the punjabi father, a parsi comedian, the hero from madhya pradesh and a lucknowi kazi speaking hindi with their distinctive accents. one example is guru dutt's "Bakat bakat ki baat hai lalaji, aaj yaaron ka bakat dheela hai is liye garaj ke bolte hain..."

i enjoy muzaffar aliz umrao jaan no matter when i watch it...n this when i am no rekha fan

I did not know this about Mr and Mrs 55 - thanks for sharing the insights Lekha!

yes, thanks!

I'm trying to get a copy of the aforementioned book, have been doing so ever since my infatuation with Guru Dutt began 6 months ago.

Bfuller, isn't Anubhav a adult kind of film? I mean, in terms of the themes of sexuality, etc.? I haven't seen it, but am v. keen to on account of the songs and Sanjeev Kumar (another great love), but was thinking it might be awkward for me to watch with my Baba. Maybe keep that one away from your kids.
On a related note, Parinda is another film commented on in this thread that I watched with Baba, which resulted in the most uncomfortable moment of my life. Perhaps you'll recall that intimate scene between Anil and Madhuri. Baba and I talked in loud voices about the motives of the people in the boat, the size of their guns and that awful Kader Khan with his pock-marked skin in the interludes between the shadowy romance. We were rooted to the spot. Couldn't even get up to "make dinner".

Raavi - you are on the spot about Anubhav's unsuitability for young kids. That list of 10 is more my wishlist for them - as and when they are emotionally ready for them.

Likewise with many of the Hollywood movies in my other list!

Related note - I took my kids to see Rang De Basanti in Bangalore at the PVR cinemas about 3 years back (first day first show and all that) - had no idea it was such a violent movie. My younger one is still scarred and has to be "managed" for every movie, even Finding Nemo.