Piya ka Ghar is a Hindi comedy set (mainly) in Mumbai in the 1970s. It is supposedly a remake of Raja Thakur's Marathi film "Mumbaicha Javai." It portrays the difficulties of life in India's biggest city in the form of a comic family drama.
This is one of my favourite old Hindi movies and though almost forty years have passed since this movie was made, watching it is still a pleasant way of spending a few hours I can still relate to the movie, though it was made a good six years before I was even born After having watched it quite a few times on the television over the years, I decided to download the film and add it to my collection I have a few other gems in my collection such as Choti si Baat, Chupke Chupke, Golmal, Naram Garam, Bawarchi and this movie is cut from the same cloth
The film is quite breezy and simplistic, containing no antagonists, scheming relatives or friends, no subplots and moves forward in a straight forward manner It focuses on a north Indian, immigrant middle class family living in a crowded, noisy apartment building (commonly known as a Chawl) in Bombay the family consists of the male patriarch, his wife, their three sons and the wife of the eldest son they are in general a happy-go-lucky family, leaving peacefully in the midst of their chaotic surroundings they are also in search of a bride for their second son Ram (Anil Dhawan), who is the male lead
They forge an alliance for Ram with Malti (Jaya Bhaduri), who lives in a village the manner in which the match-maker exonerates the virtues of the prospective bride-groom and his family to Malti's parents is one of the most hilarious scenes in the movie He paints a very rosy picture of the family staying in dream city Bombay in a palatial building, near the sea-shore, thereby pushing hard for an alliance
Malti's Tauji (Uncle), who is extremely fond of her opposes the alliance as he does not have a good opinion of Bombay & its inhabitants his first meeting with the members of the groom's family (when they arrive for the wedding) does not help matters and he regards them as boorish and ill-mannered however the wedding does take place
Once Ram brings his bride to Bombay, she quickly adjusts to her new life with the help of her supportive in-laws but the newly-weds do not get the privacy they desire and attempts by the rest of the family to help them also back-fires these somewhat funny and poignant efforts at romance forms the main plot line of the movie Though, both are frustrated, Malti especially is disheartened, though she is otherwise quite happy & well-adjusted
When her Tau visits Bombay to meet her, he finds her in tears and is convinced that the whole marriage has been a terrible mistake he decides to take her back to the village and even though the whole family pleads with him, he is adamant
At this point, not only Ram's family members, but also his neighbours decide to sacrifice substantially for Malti's happiness this act of utter selflessness by others touches her deeply and she tells her Tau that though she loves him a lot, she is quite content & happy in marriage this opens his eyes and leads him to realize that he has misunderstood the situation, because of his deep love for Malti
The film explores many aspects of life in a crowded city such as the struggle for privacy and romance, the selflessness and noble-hearted behavior of people who seem unsophisticated and ill-mannered, stark contrast between life in a village and a city etc it has some beautiful songs which are quite relevant to the situations in the movie
An additional bonus is that you get to see Bombay as it was in the early seventies comic relief in the movie is provided by veterans such as Agha, Keshto Mukherjee, Mukri and Paintal Anil Dhawan is quite handsome and fits the role of the romantically inclined, newly wed city boy while Jaya Bhaduri breathes life in her role of the coy and introvert Village belle I especially liked the character of Anil Dhawan's bhabhi (played by Ranjita Thakur), which is quite saucy and naughty, even slightly flirtatious she enjoys teasing the newly weds
I would recommend this movie for everybody watching it will definitely brighten up your day and lift your spirits it is a film which asks for repeated viewings
It is a pity that nobody makes such simple hearted movies which entertain and also carry a social message
This is one of my favourite old Hindi movies and though almost forty years have passed since this movie was made, watching it is still a pleasant way of spending a few hours I can still relate to the movie, though it was made a good six years before I was even born After having watched it quite a few times on the television over the years, I decided to download the film and add it to my collection I have a few other gems in my collection such as Choti si Baat, Chupke Chupke, Golmal, Naram Garam, Bawarchi and this movie is cut from the same cloth
The film is quite breezy and simplistic, containing no antagonists, scheming relatives or friends, no subplots and moves forward in a straight forward manner It focuses on a north Indian, immigrant middle class family living in a crowded, noisy apartment building (commonly known as a Chawl) in Bombay the family consists of the male patriarch, his wife, their three sons and the wife of the eldest son they are in general a happy-go-lucky family, leaving peacefully in the midst of their chaotic surroundings they are also in search of a bride for their second son Ram (Anil Dhawan), who is the male lead
They forge an alliance for Ram with Malti (Jaya Bhaduri), who lives in a village the manner in which the match-maker exonerates the virtues of the prospective bride-groom and his family to Malti's parents is one of the most hilarious scenes in the movie He paints a very rosy picture of the family staying in dream city Bombay in a palatial building, near the sea-shore, thereby pushing hard for an alliance
Malti's Tauji (Uncle), who is extremely fond of her opposes the alliance as he does not have a good opinion of Bombay & its inhabitants his first meeting with the members of the groom's family (when they arrive for the wedding) does not help matters and he regards them as boorish and ill-mannered however the wedding does take place
Once Ram brings his bride to Bombay, she quickly adjusts to her new life with the help of her supportive in-laws but the newly-weds do not get the privacy they desire and attempts by the rest of the family to help them also back-fires these somewhat funny and poignant efforts at romance forms the main plot line of the movie Though, both are frustrated, Malti especially is disheartened, though she is otherwise quite happy & well-adjusted
When her Tau visits Bombay to meet her, he finds her in tears and is convinced that the whole marriage has been a terrible mistake he decides to take her back to the village and even though the whole family pleads with him, he is adamant
At this point, not only Ram's family members, but also his neighbours decide to sacrifice substantially for Malti's happiness this act of utter selflessness by others touches her deeply and she tells her Tau that though she loves him a lot, she is quite content & happy in marriage this opens his eyes and leads him to realize that he has misunderstood the situation, because of his deep love for Malti
The film explores many aspects of life in a crowded city such as the struggle for privacy and romance, the selflessness and noble-hearted behavior of people who seem unsophisticated and ill-mannered, stark contrast between life in a village and a city etc it has some beautiful songs which are quite relevant to the situations in the movie
An additional bonus is that you get to see Bombay as it was in the early seventies comic relief in the movie is provided by veterans such as Agha, Keshto Mukherjee, Mukri and Paintal Anil Dhawan is quite handsome and fits the role of the romantically inclined, newly wed city boy while Jaya Bhaduri breathes life in her role of the coy and introvert Village belle I especially liked the character of Anil Dhawan's bhabhi (played by Ranjita Thakur), which is quite saucy and naughty, even slightly flirtatious she enjoys teasing the newly weds
I would recommend this movie for everybody watching it will definitely brighten up your day and lift your spirits it is a film which asks for repeated viewings
It is a pity that nobody makes such simple hearted movies which entertain and also carry a social message
