Gharaonda

A 1977 film that defined the condition of the middle class. How buying a house was difficult for a commoner. Sudip & Chaaya decide to get married . They buy a house & are aghast when the builder runs away with their money. Amol Palekar & Zarina Wahab.. the pair of ‘Chitchor’ was repeated. Dr Shriram Lagoo,Jalal Agha, Dina Pathak are also in the film.

Both work in the same office. The owner of the firm ,Mr Modi, Dr Shriram Lagoo starts taking interest in Chaaya.,as she looks similar to his late wife. He is a heart patient. He proposes to Chaaya.Sudip looks at it as an opportunity & asks her to marry. She marries against her will.After his marriage Mr Modi actually cheers up & has a good physical condition.

After hearing the conversation between Sudip & his wife, Mr Modi has a heart attack but Chaaya nurses him to health. Sudip decides to leave the city where Mr Modi meets him & promises to divorce Chaaya so he can marry but Sudip refuses & Tells him that he has decided to start again & without shortcut.

Gharaonda ( the nest ) is directed by Bhimsen.Filmfare award for best supporting actor won by Dr Shriram Lagoo & Gulzar for best Lyricist. All music was composed by Jaidev.’ Ek akela is shahar mein…by Bhupendra Singh, ‘ Do Deewane shaher mein..by Bhupendra Singh & Runa Laila, ‘Tumhe ho na ho..’ Runa Laila are the only songs but they are known even today.

In ‘Humraaz’ Akshay Khanna & Ameesha Patel decide to swindle Bobby Deol, so she marries him. She falls in love with her husband & their plans are foiled. The extravagance takes a toll & the emotions take a backseat. The most delicate balance of the relation between husband & wife is not explored. The sets, costumes,dances so pretty but hollow. Ameesha Patel was known for honest portrayal in ,’Kaho na pyar hai’, & ‘ Gadar’…looking delicate,vulnerable was her speciality…that she lost to wrong choices in her career.

Betrayal by the nearest is a favourite theme. ‘Kasoor’, ‘Murder’ have fine tuned it. At the end of it ,it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. When innocent are taken for a ride ..is too hurting. We know it is just a film but fact & fiction are never far away. The scripts converge flawlessly. Leaving you with this thought, have good thoughts!