Padosan

Really this was an awesome movie, a way ahead of its time and yet refreshing.

After watching this movie yesterday i get to consider myself a fool not to watch this one till now. This was a real Indian gem and needs to be watched by every person being an Indian movies fan by heart.The most amazing character of this movie is that of Kishore Kumar playing a role of Love guru leading his guy to the ultimate goal of his love.Talking about "Saira Bano" she was looking so beautiful and gorgeous as always. Sunil Dutt was good playing a character a typical Indian by heart. In nutshell a really fantastic movie with amazing leading characters.

If "Sholay" is legendary in the action genre than "Padosan" is legendary in the comedy genre. Growing up I must have watched this movie at least a dozen times. I must say this movie has aged very well, still generating laughter. The dialogues of this movie still get quoted and characters imitated in today's movies and tv shows. The ensemble cast complemented each other very well with their comic timing. You can't imagine another set of actors doing this movie, as each one carried their weight admirably. Sunil Dutt known for his serious roles took a risk to do this out and out comic, albeit innocent bumkin role. This would also go on to be Kishore kumar's most memorable role of his career He ended up stealing the show from Mehmood. Om Prakash is another notable mention. Saira Banu playing the heroine with an attitude was endearing. Coincidentally, she also appears to be the only surviving actor today amongst the main leads of the movie. The songs too were melodious, still being hummed today. This movie proved to be a sleeper success of that era. Definitely watch it !!!

The most delightful thing to me about this light comedy is the "invention" of playback singing as a seduction strategy for Sunil Dutt. His Guru in the movie is a director of what appears to be neighborhood Mahabharat dramas, with pan juice usually dripping toward his chin, played by Kishore Kumar.

Sunil wants to be able to sing to impress the sexy neighbor girl -- but he can't -- so Kishore comes up with the brilliant idea that HE will sing out of sight, and Sunil will -- well, picturise the singing! Fantastic idea!! Which generates wonderful scenes of Sunil picturising seductively while we also see Kishore hopping around behind him singing the songs. (I imagine Kishore is actually playbacking himself here, so it's a great Bollywood-y hall of musical mirrors.)

Kishore also sings and dances a number in which I believe he is doing a ladies' dance, playing the part of the beloved, as part of the enterprise of coaching Sunil in his love quest. His comic talent and body language are spectacular. I''ll probably buy this one just to watch this scene 1000 times. ~Virginia in New York

ETA: Nov. 16, 2006 - I just read an interview in which Shah Rukh Khan names this as his favorite movie comic scene. (Current Film Fare Magazine.)

Padosan, who hasn't heard of it? Well if you are one of those unfortunate souls who hasn't, I feel terribly saddened for your state. You my friend, need a good lesson in Indian Cinema. I suggest you start by watching this film.

Padosan, which means 'Neighbor' is the story of Bhola (Sunil Dutt) who li ke his name is a very naive and innocent soul who happens to see Bindu(Saira Banu) and falls in love with her. He later finds out that she is his neighbor. We find out that Bindu is enamored with music and into the picture comes her music teacher, Masterji (Mehmood) who aside from being a bumbling fool who speaks in Tamil accented Hindi, is also in love with Bindu. So back to our Bhola bala hero. He tries to woo her but to no avail until he enlists the help of his friend and mentor Guru (Kishore Kumar) who owns an acting troupe of which Bhola is a part of.

After much investigation, Guru and his friends discover that Bindu's soft spot is music. But unfortunately our Bhola is quite the novice when it comes to singing, sounding more like a braying donkey than a singing suitor. And so begins one of the whackiest cons in cinema. Guru sings, and Bhola lip-syncs. Guru's (Kishore Kumar's) voice being what it is, bewitches Bindu and she starts falling for Bhola. This development thwarts Masterji's master plan of marrying Bindu. So now begins a jugal-bandi between Masterji and Guru (ahem Bhola) for Bindu's affections.

With such a whacky plot, there are laughs aplenty. Add master comedians Mehmood and Kishore Kumar and a funny looking Sunil Dutt, you have the perfect recipe for a hilariously whacky romantic comedy. Saira Banu, oozing of charm is quite good as the spoilt Bindu. Music is also excellent. R.D. Burman masterfully comes up with songs fit for the situations. The most famous of all being "Mere samnewali khidki mein" which is hummed even today. "Meri chatur naar" is extremely fun to watch and kishore kumar's vocals are excellent. All this making Padosan an exquisite classic that MUST NOT BE MISSED!!

I have watched this movie quite a few times, but I think its one of the rare movies I tend to watch with equal enthusiasm every time. Although, it was a remake of a Tamil film "Adhutha Vittu Penn", I thought the Hindi version was EQUALLY amazing and not to mention immensely entertaining =) I thought performance-wise Kishore, STOLE THE SHOW! I cannot imagine the movie without him. The guy is incredible at comedy. Sunil Dutt was fabulous, I just adore him to bits, he is so underrated...he put in a stupendous performance! ROFL gotta love the scene where he attempts to learn music from Kishore...he had me in splits. As for Mehmood, he simply rocked. 'Daaaaaai' bhola . I liked his unique accent. haha. I think its imitated by plenty of actors till date and yes, its annoying to the core. Saira, well I usually find her very irritating in most of her films, I thought she was passable. The soundtrack was amazing. Ahhh...man I can just listen to them all day long. My personal favorites include kehna hai, mera samne wali ladki ne and main chali is one of best female duets sung by Asha and Lata. The movie is a must watch, it's a classic in every sense. Highly recommended! 9/10