Kamal A2Z: Chachi 420
Editor’s Note: While it may not be a good idea to have the Hindi re-make follow the Tamil original, we hope that readers will understand that we are handicapped by the limited number of movies available for ‘C’. Anyone ready to do Chanakyan?
Kamal does not really favour re-makes though he has featured in quite a few on either side of the Vindhyas. Unlike many of his other movies, he quickly took Avvai Shanmughi Northwards. After a public spat with the designated director, Shantanu Sheorey, he took over the reins hesitantly, as he had planned a grand launch for himself with Hey Ram. Unlike his other recent ventures, he struck gold with Chachi 420. With back-to-back successes of Hindustani (dubbed from Indian) and this one, “Kamal Hassan” had returned to Bollywood. The movie endured other controversies too including its earlier names “Chikni Chachi” and “Stree 420“.
When I caught the movie on one of the Zee channels, I was a curious Tamilian who wanted to know what Kamal had done with the hit movie when it was ‘translated’ into Hindi. Overall, the movie managed to retain the commercial essence of the original. Crazy Mohan’s witty dialogues were too native and original to emulate though; they came up with stuff much above average. Also, to cater to a wide market, it took on a tinge of vulgarity with a few close-ups of the old lady’s bosom and a bedroom sequence involving the lead pair.
The more obvious difference was the actors. Kamal, of course, reprised his role, now in the avatar of a Marathi brahmin lady, Lakshmi Godbole. He went through his rigorous prosthetic make-up yet again to surprise the new set of audience with his drag act, while managing to do a Bihari with Jaiprakash Paswan. Moving onto other actors, Tabu played the role of Janki — a cake-walk for an actress of her calibre. She provided her own touch to the character, transitioning from a lover to a separated wife. For the key role played by veteran Gemini Ganesan, Kamal went for Amrish Puri. He fared better than he did in Viraasat (re-make of Thevar Magan), but the comic and romantic angle of Gemini was missing. Om Puri played Delhi Ganesh’s role in his own way and came out trumps. Paresh Rawal played the small role of a landlord, showing a glimpse of what he would unleash in several movies in the future. Nasser repeated his role in Hindi and was just okay. A different girl played the kid adequately while Ayesha Jhulka was nothing much to write about. The real piece of brilliance was bringing Johnny Walker out of retirement. He underplayed the role superbly and brought us back old memories.
The hit combination of Gulzar and Vishal Bharadwaj provided a different kind of music, while maintaining the light nature of the soundtrack. Kamal dared to sing Chachi’s number (”Jaago gori…“) himself and did well, in the company of Asha Bhonsle. Gulzar also took care of the dialogues.
Looking back, Kamal provided Bollywood a taste of good comedies, which they are still bad at replicating.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Thanks for this, It does bring back memories. I haven’t revisited the film for a long time.
“Looking back, Kamal provided Bollywood a taste of good comedies, which they are still bad at replicating.”
- Yeah, “Dasavatar” isn’t a comedy from what I hear.
October 26th, 2007 at 5:24 am
Now it’s the turn of Kamal Haasan … the writer
ACCLAIM With the release of Malayalam translation of two of his screenplays this week, Kamal Haasan the writer comes to the fore.
Another honour awaits Kamal Haasan — this time for his penning skills. At the inaugural function of the World Book Fair in Thiruvananthapuram on October 28, two Malayalam translations of Kamal’s Tamil screenplays — ‘Mahanadhi& ; and ‘Hey! Ram!’— will be released. K.S.Viswanathan is the translator of the book titled ‘Kamalahaasanda Randu Thirakadhagal.’
“I’m touched that a highly literate neighbouring State wants my works in their language. For them I’m always ‘Nammada Kamalahaasan.’ It’s a D.C. Books publication, and we’ve worked with systematic diligence — especially for ‘Hey! Ram!’ because the dialogue has plenty of Marathi. Viswanathan would often call me up for clarifications. We spent a lot of time selecting the right pictures,” says Kamal. “D.C. Books is proud to be associated with two brilliant works. Malayalam readers are sure to lap them up,” says publisher Ravi.
Literary pursuit
Kamal’s craving for literature began even as a boy, when literary stalwarts stomped the Haasan home in the form of dinner table conversations. “Everyone in the family was highly educated. The works of V.S.Khandekar and ‘Kalaignar’ were common subjects of discussion. Unwittingly my ears fed on them. Being a high school dropout I panicked. I had to belong and so I had to educate myself.” The thirst led him on and he began reading every classic that came his way.
As a teenager Kamal confined himself to English books. It was the late writer Ananthu, a constant at the K. Balachander camp, who opened the doors for the young man to enter the empire of Tamil litterateurs and world cinema makers. “I still miss him. He’s one of those many unsung geniuses,” Kamal pauses.
It was director R.C.Sakti who actually made Kamal see the writer in him. “I was a young boy groping for a foothold as director when Sakti got me a notebook and said, ‘Write a short film for me.’ I did. The peer acceptance was a tremendous morale booster.”
In a different avatar: Kamal Haasan
Continuously honing his skills, Kamal went on to write poems. “I’ve written more than a 100. Anger, joy, sadness and hurt make me turn towards writing poetry. And when contemporaries compliment the work, it’s an elixir.”
Kamal’s maiden attempt at screenplay, ‘Raja Paarvai,’ (though he’d written a couple in Malayalam earlier) spells ingenuity and class. “But my favourites are those that came later — ‘Thevar Magan,’ ‘Virumaandi’…” Attending U.S. writer John Truby’s workshops on screenplay, rubbing shoulders with world class directors Jean-Claude Carriere and Milos Forman and writer Sundara Ramasamy and the influence of makers of the ilk of Istran Zabo culminated in Kamal avidly pursuing screenplay writing. “I imbibed their techniques and evolved as a writer. Dovetailing a story and detailing it in the format is a challenge,” he says. “Giants such as KB should work on publishing their scripts. It will be a real legacy,” he adds.
With every film, Kamal the writer eggs the actor on. Next, ‘Dasavatharam’ comes with Kamal’s story, screenplay and dialogue. “It was a daunting task. My 10 acting roles may blur the face of the writer now. But once the film is out, the 11th man is bound to get noticed,” he chuckles.
K.S.Ravikumar, director of ‘Dasavatharam,’ says: “The way he has bridged the commercial and natural elements is incredible. ‘Dasa …’ will be a veritable feast.” And its lens man Ravivarman believes that Kamal’s narratives are timeless. “Including ‘Dasavatharam,’ all his film scripts will remain relevant forever. I worked with him for 207 days for the film and each day was an enjoyable learning experience.”
Kamal is already working on his next script, ‘Marmayogi,’ envisaged as a massive bi-lingual in Hindi and Tamil. Meanwhile, D.C. is also keen on publishing a Malayalam translation of the ‘Dasavatharam’ screenplay. “I’ve a long way to go. A time could come when published scripts win Sahitya Akademi awards. After all this is original writing too,” he smiles.
courstesy: www.hndu.com
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/10/26/stories/2007102650130200.htm
October 26th, 2007 at 7:11 am
Thanks for the info again, Vijay.
October 27th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Nice post randramble.
This movie always reminds me how it fares and fails when compared to Avvai. (btw, very interesting post HAL !)
The dialogues and their pace in Avvai are something so lovely that one can’t but help noticing how Chachi falls short. I have never been a fan of Kamal’s Hindi pronunciation. He comes across as studied rather than natural. (”My name is Kaveri like the river Kaveri. I am leven and a half yyears old”). There are several places where it comes across.
With all due respect to Om Puri, the brilliant performance of Delhi Ganesh was one of the most noticeable gaps.