This heartwarming film has some good laughs and sweet romance. I’ve noticed before, and noticed again with this, that Rajesh Khanna didn’t seem to really mind sharing screen space, and even being upstaged by, other good actors, in this case even during the peak of his career. Here it makes for a nice balance between the romantic story and the great chemistry between Ashok Kumar and Om Prakash, who play two older men—one rich, one poor—who have more in common than they think, and a lot to learn from each other too.
Seth Kalidas (Ashok Kumar) is a wealthy man who spends half the year in Bombay and the other half in Mussorie. Udharchand Chacha (Om Prakash) is a homeless man—with a very cute white dog named Chiku—who has made it a habit for several years to settle into whichever house (and wardrobe!) that Kalidas has vacated at the time.
One fine day, Udharchand meets Vijay (Rajesh Khanna) and his friend Raju (Agha), who have just been evicted from their home by Kalidas’ men. Although Vijay is well-educated, neither can find a job and they haven’t paid their rent in ten months.
Feeling sorry for them, Udharchand invites them to stay with him in “his” palatial mansion.
I wonder how many films this house has been in? It is quite spectacular. Udharchand explains that he looks after the house while Kalidas is away at his other home.
In Mussorie, Kalidas is holding a board meeting to explain his plans for building apartment complexes in Bombay. He’s clearly not a man of great integrity.
In fact, Kalidas’ obsession with his wealth is so bad that his wife (Sulochana) left him five years ago. His daughter Rupa (Sadhana) has disappeared from her hostel at school, too. She is upset that he has fixed her marriage to the son of a millionaire—she has seen first-hand how money ruined her mother’s happiness.
In the Bombay mansion, the tenants are disturbed by an alarm that Udharchand has rigged to warn him when someone enters the house by the front door.
When Vijay and Raju confront the intruder (it’s Rupa, who has arrived from school and has a job interview the next day) and threaten her with the police, Udharchand is forced to take the two of them out in the hall where he tells them the truth about his unauthorized occupation of the house. Rupa eavesdrops on Udharchand’s confession.
Amused by Udharchand’s ingenuity and not being a big fan of her father’s greed herself, she decides to play along with them, and they invite her to stay. She gets the job the next day, teaching at an elementary school.
It’s not long before Vijay and Rupa have fallen in love, accompanied by some lovely tunes by Shankar-Jaikishan (although the subtitles sometimes are a little less than romantic).
Next Raju’s wife Kiran (Bela Bose), child and sister Rita (Helen) arrive. Rita mistakes Vijay for a famous film star.
Rupa talks Udharchand into letting them stay as well. Helen gets an immediate song, a bathtub fantasy duet with Rajesh (“Masti Aur Jawani Ho”) that is so cute! He seems to really enjoy himself nodding and bobbing in step with Helen. My heart pitter-patters along with them.
Helen gets two other songs in this film as well, a bonanza for her fans! She gets another duet with her eventual love interest Jagdeep, and a peppy trio with Sadhana and Bela Bose (although Bela and Helen do the heavy lifting dance-wise).
The house is now chock-full of people, but more are on the way. Kalidas comes to see Rupa at her school. She tells him she’s found the man she wants to spend her life with.
She tells him all about Udharchand’s scheme and the other housemates. After his initial fury, he agrees to meet Vijay, and Rupa insists he disguise himself since Vijay still doesn’t know her true identity (which negates her father’s claim that he’s only interested in her money). She arranges a meeting between a “homeless” man named “Kalva” and Udharchand.
Kalidas/Kalva brings a lot of disharmony to the house with him. He even throws Udharchand’s beloved Chiku down the stairs, injuring him badly. Thank goodness the filmi cure-all injection works on canines too.
This trauma has one unexpected side-effect: while Chiku’s life hangs in the balance, atheist Vijay vows that if Chiku lives he will henceforth believe in God. God and Chiku win! and Vijay even makes a little pro-dog speech later when he and Chiku are denied entrance to a temple.
But Kalidas is so disruptive in the household that finally in desperation Rupa calls in her mother for assistance. She moves in in the guise of a cook.
Will Kalidas learn a lesson and change his greedy, grasping ways? Can he win his wife and daughter’s affections back? Will Vijay still love Rupa when he finds out the truth about her? Will he ever find a job? Will India ever get out from under the foot of corruption and greed? And what will happen to Udharchand’s super-sweet way of life?
Watch Dil Daulat Duniya to find out! It’s lots of fun, although a little preachy at times.
Some things never change.
The joys of Helen! Ashok Kumar and Om Prakash! even Tun Tun, briefly! and Rajesh Khanna at his most handsome, make it well worth a watch.
MemsaabStory 