Padosan (1968)

पड़ोसन

Padosan (lit. "female neighbor," i.e., "the girl next door") is a simple-minded, warm-hearted slapstick comedy that doesn't ask much of its audience, and doesn't really offer much in return.  At its heart is a dim-witted hero, his cadre of even stupider friends, a pouty, vapid heroine, and a passel of broadly-drawn stereotypes that are unfortunately more mystifying than amusing to a non-Indian viewer like me.

Simple-minded Bhola (Sunil Dutt), after reading religious philosophy, decides that at twenty-six years of age, he should be starting a family.  Casting about for a suitable girl, Bhola's eye lights on the lively young Bindu (Saira Banu), and he is instantly smitten.  He soon discovers, to his delight, that Bindu lives next door to Bhola's aunt, with whom he is staying, and his bedroom window opens directly opposite Bindu's.  Bhola's initial attempts at courting Bindu are not terribly successful, though, so he turns for advice to his friend Vidyapathi (Kishore Kumar), a spastic, paan-chewing theater director.  Noting Bindu's love of music - Bhola's main competition for her attention is Bindu's excessively amorous southern dancing-master, Pillai (Mehmood) -  Vidyapathi hits upon the scheme of hiding beside the window and singing, while Bhola performs in lip-sync - just like a film hero.  This does get Bindu's attention - at least for a while.  But there is still the dancing-master to contend with, plus Bhola's hale and hearty uncle (Om Prakash), who, unbeknownst to all, is working with a marriage broker to arrange his own match with Bindu. 

Padosan's hero is aptly named - "Bhola" means guileless or innocent - and though he is almost insufferably stupid at first, as the film wears on his naive sweetness does grow on the viewer just as it grows on  Bindu.  The best parts of the film are the songs, a bright and clever collection of early R.D. Burman melodies.  The couple of songs in which Vidyapathi backs Bhola's performance (like "Mere samnewaali khidki") are a charming send-up of the Bollywood playback convention; there is a pleasant self-referentiaity in a tune sung by Kishore Kumar, picturized on a Kishore Kumar character, who is singing it for someone else to perform.  The other standout songs include "Ek chatur naar", a hysterical musical duel between the dancing-master and Bhola (well, Vidyapathi) that pits Carnatic against the north Indian style, and Saira Banu's cheeky bathtime frolic, "Bhai battur".

Beyond the songs, though, Padosan isn't really for me.  Much of the humor derives from broad stereotyping - the exaggerated accent and mannerisms of the Tamil-Brahmin dancing-master, the paan-juice perpetually dribbling down Vidyapathi's chin, Bhola's uncle's Rajput pride - that is largely lost on me.  The rest is of the shouting-and-slapstick variety of Indian comedy that is not much to my taste.  The result, I fear, is that much of what is side-splittingly funny in Padosan is just lost in translation.  And from a purely superficial perspective, neither the hero nor the heroine are particularly nice to look at.  It was fun enough while it was happening - and the soundtrack is definitely a keeper - but it's not a film I expect to return to again and again. 

Comments

[Sanket]

You bring up many interesting points in this review... This movie is actually one of the most beloved movies of all time for many Indians (young & old alike). I remember the first time I saw this was actually with Indian friends of mine that were raised in the US like I was - and just fell in love with this flick. Looking back though, I see your points about the broad humor and the stereotypes - very very Indian humor. I guess it's the reason why some British sitcoms just go over my head & vice-versa, some things just don't translate well. When I do give my American friends movies to watch I give them ones with 'universal appeal' like Water, Veer-Zaara, etc.

My parent's friends (North & South Indian alike) just love this movie for subtle points in ways I don't even understand. Padosan was actually a famous Bengali play that was made into the movie. The immortal Kishore Kumar came out of his self-imposed retirement from acting for this film and many consider this his last great performance. Saira Banu (aka Mrs. Dilip Kumar) received many accolades for a role that could have been easily been lost with all the comedy. And speaking of Mehmood - a Bengali friend of mine said he just nails the 'holier than thou' music maestro from that region - hailing from Gujarat originally that was also lost on me.

But to each his own - you are right about it being lost in translation though. Just one of those sweet silly movies that make you laugh on a rainy day. For my money though - Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi remains my favorite Kishore Kumar movie of all time - this one is a definite second. Cheers!

[Beth]

After reading Sanket's comments, I don't think mine is really worth sharing, but what the heck. Your description of Sunil Dutt's performance reminded me of how I think of his son Sanjay's Munna Bhai sometimes. Do you see any similarities in the two (well, three, I guess) performances?

[carla]

Beth, it's just two for me, as I've only seen *Lage raho Munnabhai* as of now, and not *MBBS*. I didn't really notice any similarities, but it's something to think about. There is a similarity in theme with *LRM*, I guess, as Munna relies on the Gandhi apparition similarly to Bhola relying on his guru's singing - all to impress a girl. But Munna is, after all, a gunda, and there is an edge to him that is softened by sweetness, whereas Bhola is just dumb and sweet all the way through.

TO EACH HIS OWN . BUT THIS MOVIE IS ONE OF THE BEST BOLLYWOOD HAS EVER PRODUCED. IT WAS A SUPER HIT ALL OVER INDIA, AND HAS REPEAT VALUE. ALL THE STARS ACTED VERY WELL AND IF ANY ONE THOUGHT SAIRA DID NOT LOOK EXTRAORDINARILY GOOD - I AM SORRY TO SAY - NEED THEIR EYES EXEXAMINED. SHE WAS NOT KNOWN AS THE 'BEAUTY QUEEN' AND
'FAIRY TALE PRINCESS OF THE INDIAN SCREEN' FOR NOTHING.

OPPS FORGOT TO ADD MY NAME TO THE COMMENT ABOVE. SORRY - DARCY

[carla]

Thanks for the comments, Darcy. (Next time please consider taking CAPS LOCK off before you type, though!) I did acknowledge the film's popularity in India, and allowed that part of the reason I merely liked it - rather than loving it - was that I don't have the Indian cultural perspective required to really appreciate much of its humor. As to Saira Banu - well, I don't have very good eyesight, it's true. Even with my glasses on, though, I don't think she was all that and a bag of chips. No matter - I'm just giving my impressions, and part of the pleasure of interacting with the the world is that people's perceptions differ.

[dhiraj]

I think you a novice and dont understand anything about nitty-gritty of any indian film. The subtle commeedy and screenplay is one of the best every produced and song tracks are awesome. I don't quite understand your taste which is so bigoted and stilted that even legendaries like sunil dutt, kishore kumar and saira bano looks to you as mediorcre. You need serious brainwash dude....

[carla]

Dhiraj, thanks for your comment.

I am *absolutely* a novice, and never claimed otherwise. The 150 or so films you see reviewed on this site are the only Hindi films I have seen, ever.

I'm not sure why you characterize my bewilderment at this film as "bigotry" though. I thought I was pretty clear in saying that the film is a beloved classic, and some of its wonderfulness is lost *on me* because as a non-Indian I am not steeped in its context. I simply don't have the perspective to appreciate it.

I really don't think that acknowledging my own limitations as a viewer of this film is fairly called "bigotry."

I agree that the songs are awesome - I did say that too, that I enjoyed them very much.

I am still learning about the great richness of Hindi films; I'm always open about that and I don't expect that I am going to get every film or understand every nuance. Many people seem to enjoy reading my posts despite the obvious lack of depth of my experience. If you're not one of them, though, you are welcome to move along.

[maajhi]

Carla, let me apologize for Dhiraj's comments. India may be democratic, but the spirit of respecting other's opinions hasn't really seeped into the society yet. The first instinct in a disagreement is to shut the other person up. Sad.

FWIW, I not only respect your opinion on Padosan, but also enjoy reading you putting a movie down with valid points of view based on your own perspective, especially whenever it's wrapped in very intelligent humor. I have to add that mostly disagree with your opinion on this movie though I found it entertaining to read as usual.

[Dhiraj]

I want to apologize for using such harsh words. However, I dont understand that why one really need to be an indian to enjoy such an enthralling chemistry between guru(sunil dutt) n shishya(kishore Kumar). The plots are situation based and so subtle that anyone with good taste of films would enjoy.

I would bet such a great screenplay is hard to emulate by anyone owing to d deteriorating standards of indian cinema which has offlate become stereotypical and lacks creativity.....

[carla]

Dhiraj, thanks for the apology, I appreciate it.

I don't know what to tell you about *Padosan*. I don't think it's a bad film - I know, in fact, that it's a great film - but my expectations were high because I know so many people who feel as you do about it, but for whatever reason it just didn't particularly engage me. I theorized that at least part of that might be due to how much of the humor arises from poking fun at (and taking advantage of) Indian stereotypes. I think you can understand why one's cultural background can make a big difference in appreciating that kind of humor.

If that makes me a person lacking in "good taste" for films, there's not much I can do about it. I'm not going to rave about something I didn't connect with just because most people say it's brilliant.

Irrespective of the qualities of *Padosan*, I'm not sure I agree with the premise that stereotypy and absence of creativity are a recent phenomenon. It seems that the 60s, the 70s, and especially the 80s in Hindi films had their ample share of mediocre rehashing of tired premises. The best films from the past are the ones that are remembered; the rest fall by the wayside.

At any rate, even though *Padosan* isn't my favorite Hindi film, I hope you'll stick around and read my other posts, and maybe find some areas where we can agree. I do, after all, love Hindi films very much, and I am on balance very warm and positive in my comments about them. And I've been lucky to have been guided - in some cases by readers of this blog - to make very good choices when deciding which films to watch.

"It seems that the 60s, the 70s, and especially the 80s in Hindi films had their ample share of mediocre rehashing of tired premises. The best films from the past are the ones that are remembered; the rest fall by the wayside."

Very sensible, and an opinion I share. I would say, though, that there are some quality issues unique to modern Hindi cinema such as a much faster turnaround time in pumping out really bad knock-offs of Hollywood style films and the apparently related presumption that making such copies is both good cinema and good business. That's a real shame, because Bharadwaj's adaptations and films like Angoor and Malamaal Weekly show that Hindi adaptations of Anglo stories can be very good and truly localised.

[dhiraj]

Hello Carla. I seem to have figured out the reason behind your ample lack of appreciation towards the film. The reason is you are a lady and all the while I was thinking of you to be a guy. There is not much for a girl to enjoy in this movie particularly if she is not a fan of kishore kumar.

The reason why most of the guys like me connect so well with the film is because we've grown up listening to the songs of Kishore kumar, when we see him acting with such ease and elegance we jush fall in love. I hope you have also listened to most of his favourite numbers.

[carla]

Dhiraj, it's an interesting theory. I do love Kishore Kumar very much, actually - he is my favorite playback singer and *Chalti ka naam gaadi* is one of my all-time favorite Hindi films. But I don't identify with him - he's someone who's work I enjoy very much, not a hero of mine.

[faiza hasan]

i want 2 say that the site is good but picture of movies collection is so less my request is please add more picture of kashmir ki kali,jab pyar kisi se hota hay,sadhna pic from aarzoo,saira banu pic from door ki awaz please eik film se bohat pictures add karain eik one ya two nahi.thankyou.

[carla]

faiza, I am sorry; the focus of my blog is words, not pictures. You'll have to look elsewhere for the screenshots you want, and I hope you find them. In the meantime I hope you'll stick around and make do with the text. :)

[Madhurima]

Padosan is my all time favorites. It is by and large a farce and a spoof and a very well handled one at that. You mentioned correctly that it doesn't ask much of its viewers. Unlike a lot of Bollywood comedies made before and after.. padosan has very good comic timing and not for a moment does the movie deviate from its original premise which is just to be funny.