'CHUPKE CHUPKE'

I had a nice, quiet, peaceful birthday. I had a friend over, shared a cake with my aunt and cousins, took some photos, and visited another friend who recently gave birth to the most beautiful little twins you ever saw. I also saw ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ with my friend, and I loved it. Will Smith’s performance is great, and his son (also playing his son in the film) is just so cute you want to hug him. It’s a really good film with a lot of inspirational value, and I really enjoyed it (even if it made me cry a little at the end).

I did manage to inject some Bollywood into my birthday. At Maja’s brilliant suggestion, I started the day with the 'Salaam-e-Ishq' soundtrack, and I really enjoyed that. I also watched ‘Chupke Chupke’, a DVD I’ve had for a while but have been too busy to get round to watching (until yesterday).

‘Chupke Chupke’ is yet another charming Hrishikesh Mukherjee film, the fourth I’ve seen so far. It stars some of Mukherjee’s ‘usual suspects’: Jaya Bhaduri, Asrani, Amitabh Bachchan, and some other actors whose names I don’t know but whom I recall from the other Mukherjee movies I’ve seen. It also stars my darling Dharmendra and the adorable Sharmila Tagore. I loved the movie, it was funny and sweet and just so much fun to watch. It’s a comedy, with Dharmendra’s character (with a little help from his friends) trying to put one over his wife’s brother-in-law.

I’m not going to say too much else about it, other than that it’s well worth a watch and everyone in the ensemble cast is really good in it – especially Amit-ji, who steals all the scenes he’s in (although everyone else does a great job too). A few more (illustrated) statements about this film:

I’ve decided I quite like Dr. Bachchan’s son looking and acting all geeky:

Amitabh Bachchan in 'Chupke Chupke' (1975)

Amitabh Bachchan in 'Kasme Vaade' (1978)

Sharmila is too cute in this film:

Especially in yellow:

Dharam is dashing as ever:



And here’s an interesting subtitle to make you wonder (if you haven’t seen the movie):