''Chhoti Si Baat'' () is a 1976
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
-language
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
coming of age film directed by
Basu Chatterjee
Basu Chatterjee ( bn, বাসু চ্যাটার্জ্জী; 10 January 1927 – 4 June 2020) was an Indian film director and screenwriter.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Chatterjee became associated with what came to be known as mi ...
. Considered one of the best Hindi
comedy films
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
of the 1970s, it is a nostalgic favourite for its quirky take on pre-hypercongestion
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
. The film became a box office hit. and also earned six
Filmfare nominations and a
Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay
The Filmfare Best Screenplay Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.
Superlatives
;Most Awards
*Salim–Javed – 3
* Basu Chatterjee – 3
* Rajkumar Hirani – 3
*Mani Ratnam – 2
...
for
Basu Chatterjee
Basu Chatterjee ( bn, বাসু চ্যাটার্জ্জী; 10 January 1927 – 4 June 2020) was an Indian film director and screenwriter.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Chatterjee became associated with what came to be known as mi ...
.
[Filmfare awards nominees and winners]
/ref> The movie is a remake of the 1960 British movie ''School for Scoundrels School for Scoundrels may refer to:
* ''School for Scoundrels'' (1960 film), a British comedy film starring Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Alistair Sim
* ''School for Scoundrels'' (2006 film), an American film based on the above, featuring Bil ...
''.
It also established Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema.
Career
Palekar studied fine arts at the Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, and commenced his artistic career as a painter. As a painter, he ...
as having an uncommon comic talent for playing mousy characters, a role he would go on to repeat several times in his career. As with other Basu Chatterjee films, moviestars have small cameos playing themselves: Dharmendra
Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first "He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has w ...
and Hema Malini
Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...
(whose mother Jaya Chakravarthy helped produce the film) are in a movie-within-a-movie for the song ''Janneman Janneman'', while Amitabh Bachchan plays himself in another scene, where he seeks advice from Ashok Kumar
Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family.
He ...
's character. He is dressed in costume from Zameer, whose film poster is prominently displayed at the bus stop scenes in ''Chhoti Si Baat''. B.R. Chopra
Baldev Raj Chopra (22 April 1914 – 5 November 2008) was a famous Indian director and producer of Bollywood industry and television series . Best known for directing Hindi films like '' Naya Daur'' (1957), '' Sadhna'' (1958), '' Kanoon'' (196 ...
is the producer for Zameer, just as he is for ''Chhoti Si Baat.''
Plot
''Chhoti Si Baat'' is a romantic comedy about a painfully shy young man Arun Pradeep (Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema.
Career
Palekar studied fine arts at the Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, and commenced his artistic career as a painter. As a painter, he ...
), who lacks self-confidence and fails to stand up for his convictions, in the process letting all and sundry walk all over him. One fine day he comes across Prabha Narayan (Vidya Sinha
Vidya Sinha (15 November 1947 – 15 August 2019) was an Indian actress who acted in Hindi films, most known for '' Rajnigandha'' (1974), ''Chhoti Si Baat'' (1975) and '' Pati Patni Aur Woh'' (1978). She started her career as a model and won th ...
) at the bus stop en route to work and finds love at first sight
Love at first sight is a personal experience as well as a common trope in literature: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. Described by p ...
for her. Lacking enough courage and unsure if his feelings are reciprocated, he pines for her from afar and follows her around, at a safe distance (or so he thinks). Prabha, fully aware of his affections, secretly relishes his discomfort, while waiting for him to make the first move.
While Arun is hopelessly stuck, in comes the suave, brash Nagesh Shastri (Asrani
Govardhan Asrani (born 1 January 1940), popularly known simply as Asrani, is an Indian actor and director whose Bollywood career has spanned five decades. He has acted in over 350 Hindi films. Asrani has played the lead roles, character roles ...
), a colleague of Prabha's, and emerges a serious rival for her attention. It does not help that he appears to be miles ahead of Arun in the "race" and is all that Arun is not: He is gregarious while Arun is shy, he is confident and boastful, while Arun is besieged with self-doubt, he is smooth, while Arun is awkward, he is street smart, while Arun's naïve, and he is assertive while Arun is timid. Plus he owns a scooter and ensures that he has opportunities to offer Prabha a ride, while Arun can only look on. A gullible Arun, trying to match Nagesh with a motorbike of his own, is conned into buying a dud, further embarrassing him in front of Prabha. He seeks salvation in astrology, tarot cards, and dubious godmen only to land with egg on his face.
In desperation, he finally turns to Colonel Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh (Ashok Kumar
Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family.
He ...
) of Khandala
Khandala is a hill station in the Western Ghats in the state of Maharashtra, India, about from Lonavala, 12 kilometres from Khopoli and from Karjat.
Khandala is located at the top end of the Bhor Ghat, a major ''ghat'' (meaning valley i ...
, who has made it his mission to assist those in love find their true destiny. Colonel Singh agrees to help Arun and thus begins the turnaround as Singh begins to mould Arun into a mature, confident young man through meticulously designed lesson plans, peppered with philosophy and "hands on" training. A "born-again" Arun returns to Bombay with a distinguished swagger, brimming with newly discovered self-esteem, ready to take on the world and win over Prabha.
Cast
Soundtrack
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
Chhoti si baat detailed star cast and crew
{{B. R. Chopra
1970s Hindi-language films
1976 films
Indian romantic comedy films
1976 romantic comedy films
Films directed by Basu Chatterjee
Indian films with live action and animation
Films scored by Salil Chowdhury
Films set in Mumbai