My husband and I had a difficult work week and we were waiting eagerly for the weekend. We both had a working Saturday and we couldn’t wait for Sunday to begin. 

Sunday morning started the regular way. I stepped out for coffee at my favorite cafe and did some weekly grocery shopping. I had bought an interesting book from a bookstore in Bandra recently and I finished the book while having my coffee. This cafe near my house faces the sea and you can see the waters from the tall window glasses. It’s a treat to stay close to the sea and have a place so close to it that you can marvel at the expanse of the ocean just about whenever you’d like. 

On my way back I stopped by at the florists stall. He had interesting “Sontakka” flowers for sale this Sunday. The English name for this flower is ginger lily. It’s my mum’s favourite flower and she wears them in her hair often, even today. I got back home and arranged the flowers in my vase and it instantly filled the room with its essence. 

I cooked a quick “Batata rassa” (Potato curry) and ordered chapatis for lunch. Maharashtrian families are big on Potato rassa and most Sunday meals at a Marathi household will have this as a staple. Every family has their own way of making it and I can guarantee that each one is as yummy as the other. My mum taught me the simpler form of it with just basic tadka, ginger, garlic, tomato, a pinch of garam masala and a good long cook of the potatoes in the pressure cooker until the potatoes really break into a mash. Once it’s done, garnish it with fresh coriander and fresh green chilies. That’s pretty much it. 

Lunch was ready and it was time for the next big question. What to watch this Sunday? I was speaking to my parents recently about my new love for black and white films and they suggested I should watch a Dev Anand film. His most famous work seems to be “Guide” but they suggested I watch the film “Paying Guest”. Introducing my parents – always suggesting things out of the ordinary. 

With the bowl filled to the brim with batata rassa, warm rotis and dahi raita, we sat down to watch this 1957 release. The protagonists are Dev Anand and Nutan. In a solid supporting role we see Shubha Khote. Just Google this woman and I guarantee the 90s generation has seen her face. I can’t place her particularly in any series / film that I’ve seen earlier but the face is so familiar. Probably something our parents watched, not sure. 

This film was a welcome surprise with a strong story, unexpected twists and turns and an engaging suspense. The premise to the story though is set by Nutan and Shubha Khote when they are debating whether love is enough to sustain a marriage or marriage requires financial security. The two women are making strong points against each other while quoting ghazals, dohas, and shayari. Nutan is quoting Baba Farid’s famous quote “kaga sab tan khaiyo, mera chun chun khaiyo maas” and Shubha khote retorts with the famous Saint Meera quote “jo main aisa jaanti preet ki yeh dukh hoye”. I was thinking how nice it would’ve been back then when films would teach you a language so beautifully. Today’s films have the constant pressure of being relatable in the way their characters speak. Simpler words, lingo that is best used by the young generation etc.

Yes, special mention to Irshaad Kamil for adding the Baba Farid shayari to his song “Nadaan Parinde” but how often does that happen in today’s films. Nadaan Parinde itself is over 10 years old now! 

Once the premise of the film was set by the actors, we see that Shubha Khote marries a rich old lawyer and enjoys a wealthy life. While Nutan falls in love with Dev Anand, an underachieving lawyer who struggles to pay monthly rent to his landlord. The romantic phase is slightly problematic with Dev Anand chasing Nutan, watching her with binoculars, pretending to be a different person only to be able to live close to her, but, Dev Anand’s charm and impeccable comic timing makes you smile. The romantic phase is also dragged along for far too long and at some point I was lost about where this was going until Shubha Khote’s husband is murdered, followed by another character’s murder. Nutan gets caught in this mess and faces a legal trial. 

The story then revolves around Dev Anand solving the mystery, presenting the case in court and finally finding his footing in the profession. Two murders, two revolvers and two suspects make this film an enjoyable suspense thriller genre. I did not read the description of the film on Amazon Prime nor did I Google any reviews, so I was genuinely surprised when I understood that this wasn’t a love story at all. 

This film is two years after Raj Kapoor’s Shree 420 and I had no idea that two legends coexisted at the same time in this industry. You know those scenes performed in a fake car in a green room and then the moving images of a city were super imposed in the background later – those are the kind of scenes I got to watch in this film. It was hilarious to see Dev Anand and Nutan do a fake bicycle ride with the moving images of the city in the backdrop. I never thought I’d see this actually happen in a film! 

The super hit song “Chhod do Aanchal” is in this film and it’s probably the only time I’ve heard this original. I’ve heard the peppier, jumpier and even sexier remix version of it recreated several years later. I now realise, the original and remix have no similarities at all! 

It’s a delight to watch Dev Anand and at every step of this film I was reminded of my Nana. He was a big Dev Anand fan. At a time when I’d stay with him and my Mama-Mami in Pune, I’d watch this channel E24 at night. The night slot was reserved for old bollywood classic songs and often they’d do a special episode on Dev Anand. I recall my Nana not moving an inch from his chair and humming every Dev Anand song! Back then I’d wonder what’s so special about this man that my Nana loves him so much. I understand now, and unfortunately he isn’t with us anymore for me to tell him how much I enjoyed watching Dev Anand on screen.

It’s a lovely watch, this film. You can skip a few songs and few scenes when you think the film is dragging along too much, but once the murder mystery begins, it’s truly one of the most engaging films I’ve seen.\

-Aishwarya Bedekar