Bombai ka Babu : Suchitra sees him as her brother, Dev Anand sees her as his love interest
If a team of Raj Khosla, Dev Anand, Jal Mistry, Rajindra Singh Bedi decides to make a film then its understood that direction will give us many thrilling moments to watch in the film and Cinematography will be of top quality. Rajindra Bedi’s story, inspite of having some inspirations from O Henry’s short story A Double Dyed Deceiver becomes unconventional when Bedi inserts incestuous angle in the plot and it was certainly a shocking theme for those days hindi cinema.
Dev Anand provides that valuable input to the character which is required to uplift this kind of story of crime, punishment and atonement.
Suchitra Sen produces that persona and performance which may compel Dev Anand’s character to go against social norms.
On surface it has incestuous angle but no it is not The Cement Garden and It does not even take route of Desire Under the Elms also which was made and released two years before Bombai ka Babu.
Bombai ka Babu takes an independent path and ends up after agitating the minds of audiences for around 10-15 minutes in the climax.
Jal Mistry was one of the producers also of the film along with Raj Khosla and his camera makes it sure that audiences have to go on a thrilling trip right from the moment when Babu (Dev Anand) comes out of a jail and Bali (Jagdish Raj) recieves him.
As soon as Babu sits in the car and Bali closes the door, along with these two characters, camera forces us audience also to sit inside the car and we watch the outside world from that confined place only. Camera makes us realise this experience.
Names of the actors and other members of filmmaker’s team, who all have contributed in the making of this wonderful film, start appearing above and below the wind screen of the car and camera goes on to show us outside view of Bombay’s broad roads and tall buildings through the wind screen.
Dev Anand’s Babu, like many of his old thrillers, Baazi, CID, Taxi Driver, Kala Bazar, reaches to a den of Bali where his gang members are playing cards.
Later circumstances decide the fate of Babu and soon he is escaping the police because he is charged with the murder of Bali.
Situations take him to a village where a con man Bhagat (Rashid Khan) easily guesses that Babu is a criminal and he is escaping from the police and he tries to manoeuvre the situations and compels Kundan to support him in a plan. He plants Babu in the home of the chieftain of the village, as Kundan, the lost son of Shah Ji (Najir Hussain) and Rukmini (Achala Sachdev). Babu becomes Kundan in that home. Kundan was lost when he was some 5 years old and he has come back after 20 years. Kundan tells them a story that a bagger had taken him from the fair and he wandered with him for few years and then he escaped as he did not like bagging and recently he met the bagger in Delhi and before dying bagger gave him the address of his parents.
Kundan is there for a purpose to steal the money of Shah Ji as he is the richest man in that place. Rukmini is blind and old fellows are very happy after getting their son back.
Babu/Kundan has full intention to go away with the money of Shah Ji but then he is met up with the daughter of Shah Ji. Maya (Suchitra Sen) is also very happy after finding her lost brother.
She says she always has been feeling so sad because she did not have a brother while all other girls in the village used to enjoy festivals with their brothers.
Kundan is living as a son of Shah Ji and for the world he is the brother of Maya and Maya also treats him as her brother but Kundan knows very well that in reality he is not Kundan and he is certainly not brother of Maya and he is unable to stop newly born feelings inside him and he starts feeling a love towards Maya.
He is unable to stop his journey of love. He finds him incapable to fight with this conflict and in such weak moments when she is wandering in the forest with him, thinking she is with her brother, he sees her as his love interest, he tries to touch her as a lover. Hindi cinema’s camera had not showed this angle before where a hero is watching the physical beauty of the heroine in such a way.
She finds it odd but ignores his gestures.
He puts up flowers in her hair and says that she looks very pretty now and she asks him that how he can do this with his sister? He says that she is a woman also and a woman looks beautiful with flowers in her hair.
She says with anger and astonishment that there is a difference between a woman and a sister.
At home also Rukmini gives a necklace to Kundan and says that once he is married, his wife would wear this. He takes the necklace and goes to Maya and asks her to wear it. She says that this necklace is for his would be wife and daughter in law of this home would/should wear it. But Kundan insists that she should atleast try it as he would see how good she looks with this necklace and then he would conclude that if would look good on hius wife also or not?
Maya objects to his thinking pattern. He even stops her to address him as Bhaiya and says that she should address him by his name only.
She says that she is younger to him and how she can take his name but he becomes angry and says that he does not like it to be called as bhaiya by her.
She becomes suspicious of his motives.
She goes to him with a Rakhi and says that she would tie a rakhi to him as this is the occasion of rakshabandhan. He becomes very angry and says that he does not believe in these false rituals and he insults her and goes away in an anger.
With each passing moment he is falling deeply in love with Maya and she is finding it difficult to cope with his attitude towards her but she finds that her parents are so happy with his presence among them.
She can not talk to her parents also.
On other hand, Bhagat is putting pressures on Kundan to steal the money of Shah Ji.
Shah Ji is trying to fix the marriage of Maya and he asks Kundan’s advise and Kundan tries to stop him from marrying Maya and says that what is the hurry.
Everybody in the home finds it strange.
And this is not that Kundan is not changing. He is also changing fast and he finds it difficult and rather impossible to cheat the old couple as they shower a lot of love on him. Shah Ji gives him the keys of the locker where whole of his money is kept. Kundan denies to take it but he is forcedto take it.
He finds out that Bali, the person who was killed in the fight with him in Bombay, was the original Kundan. Now he is under tremendous moral pressure.
On one side Bhagat is blackmailing him and pressurising him to steal the money, on other side he is deeply in the love with Maya and at the same time he has got an affection also with the old people and he does not want to cheat them.
He is trapped in a very difficult situation.
What will he do now?
Will he disclose to all the people that he is not brother of Maya and he loves her as then also he can stay at the home as their son in law but will these people pardon the killer of their only son?
Can he stop Maya’s marriage?
Maya knows very well now that he is not her brother.
Will she accept his love?
Film has got a high class climax and it remains one of the most effective climaxes of hindi cinema. In the background Mukesh’s soulful voice is singing Chal ri sajni and both Kundan and Maya are passing through a tough mental conflict.
Dialogue writer has summarised it very well when Kundan goes to Maya with tears in his eyes and says,” Pehle wo sab kehta raha jo mujhe nahin kehna chahiye tha, par aaj kuch kehna chahta hun jo mujhe kehna chahiye”
Crying Maya replies something like ,” Mat kaho wo sab jo tumhe pehle kehna chahiye tha. Ma Babu ji ke pass unka beta hai. bas yahee sachchai hai.”
Ending of the film makes it special and enhances the intensity of impact of the film on the audience and prolongs its longevity. Ending pushes audience and leaves a space to think about many options which could have taken place. He can think what could have happened if it was happening in real life?
That conflict between personal feelings and responsibility of the present time, makes the climax very special.
Amalgamation of morality, practicality and wisdom make ending a beautiful ending.
Without emphasising the ending throughly this film can not be properlly discusssed.
Perhaps today’s self appointed social contractors will not allow such a bold film to be released.
Ravi Chopra had made his debut film Zameer on the basis of Bombai ka Babu and he had changed the story a little.
Amitabh Bachchan and Saira Bano meet and start liking each other before he is sent to her home as her brother or say son of Shammi Kapoor. Endings are different.
And what can be said about the music of SD Burman and lyrics of Majruh Sultanpuri.
Bombai Ka Babu has few of the best chorus songs ever composed in hindi cinema.
Jal Mistry’s camera goes on to do many experiments and captures different moods of atmosphere and plays with light and shadows and it always maintains a cloudy atmosphere around Bhagat.
Super Star of those years Dev Anand has been quite daring in the selection of his films and he has been pioneer in many ways.
Suchitra Sen has not done many films in Hindi but her every hindi film has added much value to her cinematic resume. Every hindi film she has done keeps an important place in hindi cinema.
Scenes between Dev Anand and Suchitra Sen provide the back bone to the film and make it a unique film in the hindi cinema.
Lovers of Bombai ka Babu come back again and again to this unconventional film.
Filed Under
Movies, Review, Thoughts, World Cinema , amitabh bachchan, Baazi, Bombai ka Babu, CID, Desire Under the Elms, Dev Anand, Jagdish Raj, Jal Mistry, Kala Bazar, Majruh Sulntanpuri, Mukesh, O' Henry, Raj Khosla, Rajendra Singh Bedi, Rashid Khan, Saira Bano, SD Burman, Shammi Kapoor, Suchitra Sen, The Cement Garden, Zameer
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15 Responses to “Bombai ka Babu : Suchitra sees him as her brother, Dev Anand sees her as his love interest”
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Nice to know that there are people who still watch and appreciate movies like Bombay Ka Babu. It was a truly path breaking movie. It pains me to see people making fun of Dev Anand the actor who has given gems like BKB, Kala Bazaar, Guide , Tere Ghar Ke Saamney , Hum Dono etc etc.
Even in 2008 we don’t have the director or actors who can do justice to this story line.
If anyone wants to know how a mainstream commercial entertaining hindi movie should be like then they should watch Bombay Ka Babu.
pa ma ga, ma re ga pa ma ga ma…
saa nii dha pa ma ga re saa ni ni ni
Beautiful song, Beautiful film, Beautiful Post..
I liked the ending of the movie. very different and thoughtful
@Zaid,
Does not matter if people make fun of Dev Saab. He is not controlling the market and he is not taking money from distributers and financers to make his films.
Making fun of others is a common human trait and anybody and everbody is made fun of by others. Nobody is spared in this.
Till Dev Saab does not take any impact of such nonsense or for that matter, till a person does not take it on heart, it really does not matter. Its not problem of the person who is ridiculed, its problem of those who are involved in making fun.
Bombai ka Babu has certain merits and they are very strong and that has kept alive this film during all these past decades. Now its 48th year since its release and I have no data of DVD watching and selling but I can guess it should be in high demand there.
@Pavan,
It Would be interesting to know the technicality behind “how SD Burman had acheived that stereophonic echo effect in Deewana Mastana”.
Perhaps one film where Manna De also gave voice to Dev Saab and there is no Kishore Kumar song for him.
@Kcp,
There can not be two opinions about the very powerful, different and interesting ending.
Fully agree with you.
Have not seen this movie, but watched some other Raj Khosla-Dev Anand movies. I think Raj Khosla was a director, who was way ahead of his times, be it subject matter or even shot taking.
I saw most of his thriller movies Woh Kaun Thi, Mera Saaya, Anita, CID and his shot taking was exemplary.
Have you seen Solva Saal? I thought the story was really interesting, the entire action takes place in one single day only.
Also Ek Musafir, Ek Hasina, which i think was the first road movie in India.
In fact Anita, i felt was very much Hitchcockian in style with the same woman appearing in different places.
However most of Raj Khosla’s movies in 70’s and 80’s were not that great.
BTW there is a Dev Anand post on my blog.
Kala Paani i felt was the best from Dev Anand- Raj Khosla combo. And one of Dev’s best performances as the hero trying to prove his father’s innocence. Madhubala was just bewitching in the movie, and the Dev-Madhubala chemistry in song “Accha Ji mein Haari” was superlative.
Matter of fact, i felt that Dev Anand had this chemistry with all his leading ladies be it Waheeda or Nutan or Hema Malini or Vyjayanthi Mala or Sadhana. He gelled along perfectly with every heroine.
RK, Somehow I did not feel that there was any incestuous angle in the film. Audience were well aware of everything happening. Yes “only” in the eyes of Suchitra, it was happening from the “raakhi” incident..but that too for a short while till she hears everything.
@Ratnakar(7),
I have seen almost all the films of Raj Khosla, leaving his films he made in 80s where I have seen only Dostana and Sunny.
Have seen all his old films. Anita should be his weakest film in suspense thriller genre.
His take was different. His 70s films are quite good and he still gave vareity in 70s. On one had he was giving dacoit sagas in Mera Gaon Mera Desh and Kachche Dhage and on other hand he was making Mein Tulsi Tere Angan ki.
and then Prem Kahani.
His filmography is very good. One can pick up a film anytime knowing its Raj Khosla’s film and he will get back the value of his time and money he is going to spend on the film.
@Kcp(9),
IMHO,
film is less about what audiences are knowing and its more about what characters on screen are knowing at a given time.
If a person is changing his face then audience know it but characters dont know it and audience has to go for character’s understanding about the flow of the story because director’s camera is everywhere but not the character in that story.
BKB is not only about what Dev Anand is or how he is behaving. Its also about what Suchitra Sen is and what she is thinking and doing.
BKB is also about understranding of Nazir Hussain and Achala Sachdev and Dhumal and other villagers to whom Dev Anand has been introduced as son of NH and AS and brother of Suchitra Sen.
Can we forget their feelings because we are knowing Dev Anand is not Jagdish Raj?
Its just way of showing. Raj Khosla could have maintained in a way as Ravi Chopra had done later that Dev Anand falls in love with suchitra Sewn earlier as he was also travelling in same train in which she is going back to village from her hostel and there is no Jagdish Raj and Dev Anand too has similar childhood- means he was abducted in childhood and his abductor tells him he is son of Nazir Hussain (though in reality he is hiding the truth)
there are many alternatives (as one was opted in Kaajal).
As for now we have to go by the character of Suchitra Sen and the alternative Raj Khosla has opeted.
He as a director could have chosen different alternatives then as an audiuence I would have gone with that approach.
If a murder has taken place in a film can we dismiss it, (as use of violence in the film), because it was a 5 minute scene only?
anything is there in the films just for few minutes or for few seconds but they become part of the story because its there.
No?
RK, sir aapse kaun panga le sakta hai ?
I agree with your last sentence.
) was one of the few producers who commanded respect and friendship from Kishore Kumar. Could be their common fanaticism for K L Saigal.
Anyways a trivia for those interested. RK ( yaar kitne saare RK hain ?
@Kcp,
are Sir Ji, I am no where in between anybody and his cinema. I am for cinema. If a thing is justified, we should accept it irrespective of who is bringing it out. I have this belief that subject should be given consideration and stress and not the person who is mentioning it.
—
I had no idea about this trivia. Thanks.
Here RK means Raj Khosla? Is not it?
Its true, so many names can find abbreviation in RK.
Radhu Karmakar, Raaj Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Rajeev Kapoor etc etc
If Rekha had used name Rekha Kumari then she too could have used this abbreviation.
Raj Khosla’s last film as a director - Naqab - was interesting too. It was a suspense film, similar to Woh Kaun Thi, Mera Saya and Anita. Unfortunately, it came at a time when mindless violence was dominating the hindi film screens.
@Aditya,
I had heard about the film and wanted to see it. It was not available anymore in cinema halls and we decided to watch it on VHS but the person who went to take it from library came back with Khoj. As both were Rishi Kapoor’s films and both were suspense thrillers.
Later could not get the opportunity.
Someday may be on DVD.