Tere Ghar ke Samne (1963)

 Tere Ghar ke Samne 1963

*ring – Dev Anand, Nutan , Harindranath Chattopadhyay, Om Prakash, Rajendranth

Music – SD Burman, Lyrics – Hasrat Jaipuri

Story and Direction – Vijay Anand

                                                  

A House for Seth Karamchand and another  for Lala Jagannath !

 

 Rakesh[ Dev Anand ]  returns from  America after studying  architecture , but his  father Lala Jagannath [  Om  Prakash stiff as the starched pagdi  {turban } he wears ]  is unable to accept Rakesh’s westernised  habits  and  throws him out of his house . His genteel mother   {Mumtaz Begum }– a lovely natural ]  plays peacemaker and succeeds in convincing Rakesh to aplogise to his father . Rakesh enters the room – his father’s  back  is to him and softly says “Pitaji” . There is a visible  lump in Lalaji’s throat when he hears this and he warmly  embraces  Rakesh in a bear hug.

But there is a thorn in Lala Jaganath’s flesh  - his   bête noire Seth Karamchand [ Harindranath Chattopadhyay] . Their one up man ship starts when Jaganath purchases  a  front plot in an auction for two lacs  [Karamchand’s hot pursuit to outdo him comes to naught ]  but then  Karamchand plays  smart and upstages him by purchasing the plot at the back for two lacs one thousand ! They are rich, cantankerous rivals who lose reason in their pursuit of mutual hatred .  Not a single expletive is used in their shout out matches but  the phrases are one of a kind .... Ghutar ghu , doodh main makhi , ainak wale akhrot, halwai , alu Bukhara, namakool –  a slinging match of  Lala Jaganath’s strong   vocal chords and Seth Karmchand’s facial contortions.  

All this while there is romance brewing between Sulekha , Karamchand’s daughter and Rakesh.  After a spate of misunderstandings , the air is cleared and she understands that he is a  fun loving but honest gentleman and she’s genteel and  warm hearted. Her brother Captain Ranjit { Ronny – Rajendranath} is in town and they join Rakesh and Ginny [ Zarine Katrak ]  to watch a club song. Ronny has eyes only for Ginny while Rakesh is thrilled to know that Sulekha is still single and  ‘Dil Ki Manzil ....’  a lovely song plays as   Helga Suri dances .

Jagannath loses it when he learns that Rakesh is hell bent on marrying Sulekha ,   Seth Karamchand’s daughter  . To add insult to  injury Rakesh gets the wedding cards printed and distributed to all of Delhi’s elite which leaves both the father’s fuming . They declare war even as the wedding guests start  teeming the lawns of the identical bungalows which Rakesh has designed – they realise this a tad too late .  

Rakesh uses charm, wit , persuasion and serenades with a song  to convince Jagannath and Karamchand  about the two ways of resolving a conflict – the China way and the India way. The former  is aggression and  attack while  the Indian way  is based on Panchsheel . [ Irony that in  2020, the 1962 theme of mutual respect and  cooperation between neighbours  is as relevant as ever ]   

And of course both the fathers’ are won over !  

Endnotes

*In the club elections Seth Karamchand and Lala Jagannath are  contesting candidates . The latter loses by two votes and  leaves  in a huff but  when he is called back to congratulate the winner ,   it touches a raw nerve in him . They catch each other by the throat  , call each other names and come  to blows . Rakesh and Sulekha intervene and in the ensuing melee their identities are revealed , as also the fact that Rakesh has designed  their houses . Hell breaks lose and  Ronny [ Rajendranath , playing Karamchand’s son ] a cheerful army captain leaves the war arena ,   goes to the bar and says “ What melodrama ! Kuch lao yaar ... bring a Patiala peg !”

*Zarine Katrak’s [ married Sanjay Khan later ]one and only film role – she plays the charming Ginny, who works at the architect’s office  and is Ronny’s love interest . Does a wonderful dance with him too !

*Helga and Edwina are credited for their dance in this song  “ Dil ki manzil ....’ . Helga  of German origin ,  married Professor Suri and came to India. This   dance and an appearance in Kaise Kahoon  are her only two foray’s in Hindi cinema. Her daughter Ava Suri  shared Helga’s story in Atulsongaday .  Abe Cohen is the male dancer with Edwina. Rahul Dev Burman is credited as “Rahul ‘assistant to music director SD Burman – its his hand in the beats of this club song.

*The titles  of the film roll as the camera pans Delhi streets – watch India Gate [ with the canopy statue of King George V] Daryaganj,  Connaught Place , Red Fort , Parliament house , Rashtrapati Bhawan  Turkman gate , Ramlila maidaan , Purana qila, North and South Block, Vigyan Bhawan and Jama Masjid – black and white  Delhi of  the sixties. And a flash  of a Delhi street signage shows the now extinct  Aurangzeb Road !