I watched this one at the insistence of my Dad who at some stage felt disgusted at the kind of movies that were being churned out these days. While I sat reluctantly at the start, I got into the mood and started enjoying the film for what its worth.
This movie, released in 1973, when there were goody-goody romances, comedies, Dharam-Hema, Sanjeev Kumar, RD Burman, Rajesh Khanna etc. is a nostalgic trip to people from that era. The costumes, the filmmaking style, the music are all a reminder of the glorious period of the early 70s.
PLOT:
Leena (Leena Chandavarkar) is a spoilt rich brat who is extremely vain and thinks no end of herself. She is an orphan and a rich heiress who is looked after by her guardians, Chacha and Chachi. She receives countless marriage proposals which she and her best friend (Nazneen) sit and ridicule. Her guardians are at their wits end trying to find a suitable boy for her.
Finally, they give her an ultimatum that unless she gets married within a given period, she would lose all the estate she is due to inherit. They start making arrangements to get her married off to the first proposal that comes through the door. Desperate, Leena flees from her home and reaches Dehra Doon. Here she bumps into a young guy (Sanjeev Kumar) whom she hires as a temporary husband to satisfy her guardians. (Now how many remakes of this plot have we had ever since?)
Sanjeev is an affable guy who wins over the entire household and even Leena?s heart. But both know that this is a temporary arrangement and keep reminding each other about it. In her heart however, Leena has already melted. She feels jealous when Sanjeev flirts with others, but cannot say anything. Towards the end, Sanjeev does a turnaround and refuses to leave her life. The climax is quite predictable if you are used to seeing movies from that era.
Performances:
Leena Chandavarkar in the lead role is a cute and lovable heiress. In her typical 70s style nifty outfits, she looks quite chic. Thankfully, she keeps the coquettishness (an irritating trait, characteristic of heroines of that era a la Asha Parekh & Sharmila Tagore) to a minimum. She is quite competent in the dramatic scenes as well.
Sanjeev Kumar as the conman turned heartthrob is the highlight of the film with his special brand of humour. Still not yet over the top, he looks the age as the young suitor.
Most of the other performers are not very known among current audiences, hence I will desist from commenting upon them individually. All I will add is that they provide able support to the lead performers.
Direction & other effects:
The director, Raja Nawathe, who earlier made movies like Gumnaam, Bhai Bhai, Patthar ke Sanam adopts an easy-flowing narrative style for this fun movie. Cinematography is quite appealing, particularly the outdoor scenes which are shot in the Doon landscape.
Music:
Laxmikant Pyarelal deliver the goods with their snazzy and lilting tunes, almost adopting a Panchamist style, popular during those times. Some popular numbers include:
?O Manchali, kahan chali? (Kishore),
?Tan Man Dhan Sab Tera? (Mukesh),
?Kali kali chume, gali gali ghoome? (Lata) and
?Gham ka fasaana, ban gaya accha? (Kishore with able support from his future wife Leena).
My views:
It would be unfair to judge an early 70s movie by today?s standards. Not only were we technological far less advanced, the tastes of the audience differed quite dramatically. Audiences of those times were not exposed to extra-marital affairs, homosexuality and lesbianism, gang wars, road rage, etc. Their expectations were simple and they used to be content with simple family films depicting problems of people which would be easy to solve, with predictable outcomes.
With this in mind, one can definitely say that Manchali, which was a big box-office success, certainly meets the criteria of that period.