Geet gata chal

A 70s movie that made Sachin & Sarika stars overnight. Sachin had worked as a child artist in films & also was famous for his work with Raja Paranjpe. But Tarachand Barjatya gave him a break as an youth icon in this movie. With Rajshri productions he never looked back.

The story is loosely based on Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Atithi’. An orphan Shyam sings & dances on special occasions. Durga babu & his wife, Ganga bring him home to give him a home. He gets introduced to their daughter, Radha who falls in love with him. He understands the special treatment given by her but assumes that she considers him as her friend.

She doesn’t like her friend, Meera talking or interacting with Shyam. Once Meera brings ‘Aam ka achar’ made by her mother for Shyam which Radha eats up.( I did not know Hindi then & in Marathi, achar-vichar are behaviour & thoughts, so I couldn’t understand. Years later I understood the meaning behind it.) She also puts ‘khaj khujli in his bath water but her dadi beats him to the bathroom & comes out scratching her body.

She hides his clothes & wants to tease him. But falls in the water herself & is saved by him. The songs..’Geet gata chal o sathi gungunata chal…’ was very famous.’Shyam teri bansi pukare Radha naam…’ has a line as …’Radha ka bhi Shyam ho to Meera ka bhi Shyam’ Meera knows about her sentiments but does not let go easily.

‘main wohi darpan wohi…’ Sarika singing in front of the mirror is one of the most beautiful songs. Very rarely is this sentiment captured so well onscreen! ‘Shyam abhimani..’, ‘Dharti meri mata, yeh khula aasman…”Mangal bhavan amangal haari..’ sung by Jaspal Singh & music by Ravindra Jain has bhav, bhakti, bhajan & bhadra lok!

Sachin & Sarika then signed many films together but the magic was never recreated. It was rumoured that they wanted to marry but did not due to family pressure. Sachin much later married Supriya Sabnis after his ‘Navri mile Navryala’. Both have featured in many films together. The first ever dance show showcased their talent & were awarded the first prize. Their daughter Shriya also is in films. She has acted in Marathi & Hindi films.

Sarika married Kamal Hassan. Their daughters also actresses. Shruti has more films to her credit than Akshara.

I had to pester my aai for this film. Most of my friends had seen it. Finally she managed to convince my father & all of us watched it in ‘Damodar’ the night show. With their routine planning & execution was a hassle. But I had my dialogues like you don’t have time & may be it is not our fate, etc. Today I regret such words but in the heat I did have a sharp tongue. It fulfilled my desire for sure!

Taking things as they come. Happy viewing!