Baaton Baaton Mein: nostalgic romcom

Amidst all the new releases and missed old ones in Hollywood and Bollywood, I chanced upon this old gem. I prefer to call it a 'gem' even though it may not be a masterpiece in the world of movies. It's a good old romantic comedy with no real masala to spoil the taste.

The story and screenplay are simple. The lack of embellishments make the movie more realistic. Having Christian characters introduces credibility and also gives an interesting peek into their culture. The scenes involving parents and other relatives are quite funny. Some songs are more famous than the movie itself -- "Na bole tum..." and "Uthe sabke kadam...".

There are a few minor problems though. The budget constraints become obvious in some places. You can observe people wearing the same combination of clothes in multiple scenes in the same location, making it clear that those were all shot together. Atleast one song is not plugged in very well. Basu Chatterjee's direction, if better, could have lifted the movie a couple of notches upwards.

Amol Palekar could be called the superstar of small movies of those times. He shows off his lighter side here. He seems a bit old for this role though. Tina (Munim, now Ambani) is good eye-candy, in more ways than one. At times, she struggles to act; but in the context of the whole movie, it doesn't matter really. Pearl Padamsee is delightful. Ranjit Chowdhry, recently seen in Western movies like Bollywood / Hollywood and Last Holiday, plays a small comic role here. More nostalgia: Mazhar Khan, better known as Zeenat Aman's husband, has a small part too.

On a lazy weekend, if you just want to have a good two hours, without having to subject yourself to the latest masala misery, go for Baaton Baaton Mein.

While (re)searching on the Net, I chanced upon a "gorilla lamenting" about the same movie. A different outlook -- you might enjoy it.

Picture courtesy: http://www.webmallindia.com