Bawarchi - Complete Family Entertainer
Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Bawarchi remains one of the finest family entertainers ever made in india. With its simple yet profound plot by Tapan Sinha, brilliant direction by Hrishida, straight from the heart performances by Rajesh Khanna, Asrani, Jaya Bhaduri, A.K.Hangal, Paintal, Harindranath Chattopadhyay among others and mellifluous music by Madan Mohan the film has enthralled millions of movie buff’s.
The plot as we all know is about the squabbling, cacophonous Sharma family who reside, ironically, in a bungalow named Shanti Niwas. To worsen their woes they have a dubious reputation of not having any cook last for more than a few months in their house. Word spreads like fire out about this family to such an extent that people refuse to work in this household. Then one day a young man named Raghu ( Rajesh Khanna ) offers to work as a cook. Raghu quickly gets a grip on his job and soon wins over each of the family members. Suddenly the squabbles and arguments come to an end and their is peace and harmony. Above all loads of happiness which Raghu infuses with his noble act and simple philosphy. Then one day the Sharmas find the family jewels and Raghu missing. But yet again Raghu in his final act does a noble cause by uniting Jaya Bhaduri with her lover. The message was simple spread happiness and be happy.
Hrishida had a simple yet effective style of story telling and it always clicked with the audience. I had the previlege of meeting him 4 times and he described in detail all his creations ( The making ) with great enthusisam. Being an excellent editor himself he never wasted raw stock. Shot as per his requirement and believed in simple takings. His association with producer N.C.Sippy was one of the best things to happen in indian films and the result was eternal films like Golmaal, Chupke Chupke and ofcourse Bawarchi. He revealed that he was a fast filmmaker. All his artistes ususally gave bulk dates and he did his homework well in advance and that was the reason why how he shot his films at an unbelievable duration. Bawarchi was completed in less than a month but the film continues to spell magic even today.... 30 plus years after it was made...................