Om Dar-B-Dar (1988)

Director: Kamal Swaroop

Screenplay: Kamal Swaroop

     As the tagline says, it is indeed "The Great Indian LSD Trip". In one of TVF's sketches, Kamal Swaroop is described as a person with no Friday in his life. No release. Well, this is absolutely true. The film made in 1988 had its premiere at Berlin Film Festival and became a cult film. But then the film had to wait for 26 years to release in India and finally released in January 2014.

     The film is based in Ajmer and Pushkar and the story revolves around a young boy Om (Aditya Lakhia) who can hold his breath underwater for a very long time. I will not give away the plot of the film here as it will make no sense by reading it anyway. This comedy thriller is a chaos of many topics which are not related to each other in any way or some may find these topics relatable, as I said, its a total chaos.

     Om, his astrologer father, his sister Gayatri, her good for nothing boyfriend Jagdish, a struggling actress Phool Kumari, a diamond merchant, Om's friend Atlas, Studio Gobar, caste system, Congress government, a radio show, pajama with double knot, space travel, science, Lord Brahma, shoes with diamonds hidden in them and a lots of tadpoles. These are few elements around which the plot revolves. The story is told in such a way that audience will try very hard to make some sense out of this mess. After multiple viewing, you may get a sense of a particular scene, but this process is so exhausting that you will ultimately start questioning your own logic.

     Comedy & satire are used efficiently to describe many political and religious issues. You can imagine the level of satire after watching the scene where a man is shitting diamonds. Smartly written dialogues and use of weird words never let your brain to take a rest. Sir Xerox Jhaphata, Kaya Parivartan Ki Ghadi, Rana Tigrina, Terrorist Tadpoles are some of the examples. Below conversation between Om and his father gives you the idea about how smartly the dialogues are written:

Babuji: Om, tu mere kamre mein aaya tha?
Om: Kyu?
Babuji: Rocket kaun uda raha tha? (talking about the paper planes)
Om: Rus aur America.

     This film has inspired many film directors and Anurag Kashyap is a great example. He himself admitted that "Emotional Atyachar" from Dev D was inspired by the song "Meri Jaan A A A" of Om Dar-B-Dar. I personally think this film was made 30 years before it should have been made. The biggest cult of Indian Cinema, Om Dar-B-Dar.

(Note: Film is available on Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar)

Article by: Gaurav Dhakate

Pyaasa (1957)

Director: Guru Dutt

Screenplay: Abrar Alvi

     Pyassa is one of the biggest gems in the crown of Indian cinema. It is about a journey of a failed poet Vijay, played by Guru Dutt Sahab and how he realizes that a world does not give importance to something unless that something is no more with them.

     Vijay is struggling for success but no one takes his work seriously; neither the publisher nor his own brothers. Unable to bear their constant taunting he decides to leave the home and often lives on the streets. He meets a kind-hearted prostitute Gulabo, played by Waheeda Rahman. She falls in love with Vijay because of his poetry. 

     Vijay fails to save a beggar's life from a train accident and that beggar's dead body is misunderstood as Vijay's. Now people find his poems enamoring. The publisher, the brothers and Mr. Ghosh for whom Vijay worked as a servant decide to make money out of the fame Vijay have got. Vijay gets sick with this cruel, materialistic, greedy and hypocrite world and leaves with Gulabo to start a new life.

     Sahir Ludhianvi's lyrics make your heart ache in pain. Some of my favorite songs are:

• Jane wo kaise log the jinke pyaar ko pyaar mila
• Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai
• Tang aa chuke hai kashm-e-kashe zindagi se hum

     With such intense storyline, Abdul Sattar (Johnny Walker) and Pushplata (Tun Tun) helps to reduce the tension. S. D. Burman's music does full justice with Sahir Ludhianvi's beautiful lyrics. Dialogues are very well written. My favorite line of the movie is at the very end of it which goes as,

Vijay: Gulabo, mein yaha se kahi dur jana chahta hu.
Gulabo: Kaha?
Vijay: Jaha se mujhe aur dur na jana pade.

     It's a complete film and I adore Guru Dutt Sahab's talent as a director and an actor. It's a must watch for those who say there are no good movies in Bollywood and for those who are looking for a very well written and executed cinema.

Article By: Gaurav Dhakate