Attention all Shashi fans (and I know you’re out there)—this is a must-see movie for you! It is just so much fun, and Shashi is so…well…Shashilicious! His first song alone is worth buying the DVD for (I’ve watched it many times already and just can’t get enough of it). It’s called “Kehne Ki Nahin Baat” and it features Shashi dancing like Shammi, a marching band and a bunch of guys wearing berets with pom-poms.
As you may have gathered by now, Shashi’s character Ashok is annoyed with Ramlal (Om Prakash) because Ramlal has just fired him from his job as assistant manager of Ramlal’s estate. Ashok had earlier insulted his two daughters Malti (Kalpana) and Nirmala (Rajshree), not knowing who they were. Ashok is incensed and sets up a tent across from Ramlal’s house with a bunch of picket signs, planning to stay there until he gets his job back.
In addition to his two daughters, Ramlal also has a son Aatma (Mehmood). Aatma aspires to be a film producer—his company will be called Wah! Wah! Productions—with his miserly father’s financing, naturally. He has roped in the daughter of the estate manager Meena (Mumtaz) to be his first heroine. This running subplot is hilarious, thanks to Mehmood’s talents as a comic actor. Aatma has absolutely no clue, but indulges in every stereotype of the filmi world he can dream up.
Ashok continues to tease the two sisters with another fun song (“Gore Hathon Par Na Zulm Karo”):
And of course eventually he falls in love with Nirmala, who falls in love with him too (after he rescues her transistor radio from a canal—sometimes it just doesn’t take much!). Unfortunately, he is firmly on the bad side of Ramlal by now, who also wants to marry off his daughters only to rich men. Ashok calls his friend Shyam (Kishore Kumar) and asks him to come visit.
He convinces Shyam to pose as his sixty-year old billionaire father to impress Ramlal. Ramlal is overjoyed at the prospect of a billionaire in the family and happily approves of an engagement between Ashok and Nirmala. Aatma hopes to get the remaining financing he needs for his film. Meena is progressing nicely from simple village belle to full-fledged heroine too.
Then, imagine Shyam’s surprise when he discovers that Malti is the girl he’s been romancing in Bombay! The plot thickens further in the form of Shyam’s father—he has come there to buy some property, and he and Ramlal discover that they are school friends from childhood. They decide that their children should get married—Malti and Shyam. Shyam is very happy but Malti has no idea that her beloved in Bombay and her father’s friend’s son are the same person. She’s not thrilled when Ashok’s “father” starts hitting on her either.
What a tangled web! Will the truth come out? Will they all manage to get married? Watch to find out (be prepared for a long, drawn-out ending); and also for the great songs by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Mehmood’s deft comedy and, of course, Shashi.
MemsaabStory 