Classic Movie Review- Khatta Meetha (1978)

By Rohini Mohan 

Simplicity is the one word that amply describes this timeless classic. Ashok Kumar, Pearl Padamsee, Rakesh Roshan, Bindiya Goswami, Deven Varma, Preeti Ganguli and David all deliver understated and natural performances in a very Desi remake of ‘Yours, Mine and Ours’. 

Ashok Kumar is a factory worker and widower who has four sons, Master Raju being the youngest. Pearl Padamsee has two sons, one of whom is Rakesh Roshan the ‘hero’ and one oversized daughter, Preeti Ganguli. For reasons of pure economic practicality, the two decide to marry. What ensues is chaos, with the seven ‘kids’ fighting over rooms, bathroom and everything else. The sweet college romance between Rakesh Roshan and Bindiya Goswami is at the root of all the obstacles that are created for this unlikely family by Goswami’s father, played by yesteryear star Pradeep. How the family surmounts the hurdles and becomes close is of course the theme. The poignant and powerful dialog delivered by Ashok Kumar in one of the last scenes is the crux of the film.  
 
Thoda hai, Mummy oh mummy, Ron ron bokonisa, songs woven subtly into the plot are completely unforgettable. Deven Varma and Preeti Ganguli provide a non slapstick comic strain. It is a movie that makes you laugh out loud and cry unabashedly. Everything about it is gentle and sweet. It is a quiet portrait of a lower middle income Parsi family.    

70’s Bollywood was the era of such purely good movies one could take the entire family to watch without the slightest hesitation. There are so many lessons in subtlety and sheer goodness that today’s cinema can learn from that genre of films.  Not to mention the refreshing absence of crass vulgarity, scantily clad women and lewd humor that we have to live with through any film today.

Khatta Meetha – a truly tasty treat. One of the best movies ever.   

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