#11 Chhoti Si Baat (1976)
As the name of the movie Chhoti Si Baat suggests, the matter is very small so as to express feelings. But the extremely shy and introvert hero of this movie finds it a huge task to do so. Not only in his professional life but personal too.
Plot
Directed by Basu Chatterjee, released in 1976 Chhoti Si Baat makes you laugh as well as smile. The story revolves Arun Pradeep (Amol Paleker) who works in a company named Jackson Tolaram & Company Pvt ltd. This company has a history of its employees’ successful love stories. Arun is not immune to this tradition. On the bus stop where he catches his bus daily, he falls in love at first sight with Prabha Narayan (Vidya Sinha). A simple, smiling girl working in another company Frank Loyd Pvt Ltd. She is aware of Arun’s feelings towards her. But enjoys teasing him and discussing his moves with her office friend played by Nandita Thakur.
Arun hesitates to express what he feels for Prabha. To add to his misery, Prabha’s colleague Nagesh Shastri (Asrani) makes the matter worse. He overpowers Arun and impresses Prabha intentionally. Without missing a chance to humiliate Arun he makes him feel inferior everytime in front of Prabha.
Arun tries many techniques to win Prabha’s heart, but in vain. He tries to impress her by purchasing a second hand bike from a garage whose owner is played by C S Dubey. The owner along with his cunning workers cheats Arun by selling him a damaged bike for Rs. 5000. When Arun gives lift to Prabha, after a short run it stops working. Nagesh appears there and Prabha unwillingly goes with him on his scooter.
Finally Arun reads about a well known man named Colonel Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh (Ashok Kumar). The name must have brought a smile on lips of atleast few. It did on mine. He is known to guide people for teaching them to tackle tough situations in life with wit and knack. Residing in Khandala, his mannerisms are strange like his name. Arun goes to him and asks for help.
The Twist
The colonel trains Arun by his knowledge and assures him success in love life. A completely new Arun returns back with a bang. He is no longer the shy, timid and hesitant Arun. But a fearless, uninhibited smiling man, who impresses Prabha in the first meet itself. His confidence is not hidden from Nagesh too, who is taken aback by Arun’s transormation. Arun plays tit for tat with Nagesh in many situations. When the colonel visits Mumbai, he is happy to see the change in Arun. When he meets Prabha, he likes her instantly. Along with the colonel, he also manages to get back his 5000 rupees from the fraud garage owner by reversing his trick on him. He also teaches one of his colleagues Raman and his peon, a nice lesson by teaching them how to respect their seniors.
The Final Move
In his training with the colonel, Arun has learnt a trick to know if the girl has really fallen for someone or not. He tries to try this trick on Prabha. As soon as the colonel knows this, he tries to reach Arun’s house so as to stop him. He knows the naive, honest nature of Prabha and is sure of her love for Arun. But along with him, Nagesh reaches there too. As soon as they enter Arun’s flat, the colonel is relieved to know that Arun has refrained from trying the trick on Prabha. Nagesh once again strives to separate Prabha from Arun by misleading her. But she silences him and catches Arun’s hand. The colonel advices them to get married. Arun and Prabha happily and willingly decide to marry.
Nagesh learns by now that the two are inseparable and made for each other. The film ends with a desperate Nagesh climbing the green mountains of Khandla to reach out to the charming colonel for his help. The colonel accepts him as his student and as they move inside, a happy couple departs from there into a taxi to start their happy married life. No need to mention who the couple is.
The purity of love
What I liked in this film was the love which Arun and Prabha have for each other. Inspite of Arun’s timid nature, Prabha knows he is not a cheat. She patiently waits for him to express his love for her.The old as well as transformed, Arun never ever tries to play with Prabha’s feelings. When he tries to try the last trick on her, his conscience pinches him and he refrains from acting upon his thoughts. He backs off at once and Prabha realises, he is the one. Hats off to every actor in this film for portraying the virtues of honesty, simplicity and confidence so realistically.
Do watch it for revisiting the golden era of Bollywood. See you soon with yet one more gem.
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