March 5, 2009

Professor Ki Padosan

No screencaps, 'cos the movie died promptly after being played this first time!
Title: Professor ki Padosan
Year: 1993
Cast: Sanjeev Kapoor, Padmini Kolhapure, Deven Verma, Asha Parekh, Dilip Tahil, Shekhar Suman.

This was Sanjeev Kumar's last movie- he died in 198, years before it was released, without completing the dubbing, which was later completed by a mimicry artist. For this morbid-curiosity factor alone, the movie is worth a watch.

The movie probably languished in its cans when he died before completing it, before it was revived and finished in the 90s. Often during the film you feel like you are watching 2 movies at the same time due to all the splicing action. The lack of continuity also shows in the quality of the film it was recorded on- the 80s portions have more brown in the colors, and the 90s portions have a yellowish quality. The bikes and fashions vary with Shekhar Suman's receding hairline, who was probably hired (Shekhar, not just his hairline) in order to grant the movie a hero the audience could identify.

The story itself is an 80s idea of a sex comedy, far lower in quality than I would have ever expected Sanjeev to star in. But he obviously had no control over the final product, which is a huge pity, since I am certain he would not have wanted this to be his swan song- it is absolutely not representative of his caliber as an actor or his impressive body of work.
Sanjeev is a timid professor living with his wife Asha and child in a condo in Bombay.

Padmini is his neighbor and a model- she is badly insulted by Asha one day due to a comic misunderstanding: it ends with Asha challenging Padmini that Sanjeev would never look at another woman than his own wife.

Padmini takes on the challenge seriously, and begins to pursue Sanjeev.

Sanjeev doesn't understand Padmini's motives, but is completely willing to follow her lead, including conning Asha into going for an extended visit to her mom with his best friend Deven.

Deven has his own little love story with Aruna : because of continuity issues, its easy to construe that Aruna and Deven's story was amplified to serve as a filler making up for Sanjeev's disappearance (literally) mid-movie. Aruna is the assistant of a scientist who has discovered a invisibility potion! (the director aped 1987's Mr India! heeh)

The scientist is also dad to a very young Dilip Tahil, who plays our standard issue villain, who loves Padmini, who dislikes Dilip but loves Shekhar, her photographer friend.

Since Sanjeev died mid movie, the director used the ridiculous ploy of the disappearing potion to account for his absence from that point onwards :S. When Asha discovers Sanjeev's philandering, he hides under a car (!) where Deven decides to feed him the disappearing potion- and voila! an invisible Sanjeev for the remainder of the movie!

So what will happen? Will Padmini and Shekhar end up together?
or will her little affair with Sanjeev be more than Asha bargained for?
Will they all just disappear and leave us in peace?
or will we be looking for a way to disappear from in front of our DVD players (like my movie disappeared)?????
Rest assured that all these and other questions you may/may not have will be answered, and a final Sanjeev phantom will appear in the end via some terrible animation (it was the early 90s in Bollywood- what do you want? :D) to be reunited with his family :)

Notes:
1- This was also one of the last movies Padmini and Asha starred in- Asha moved on to create TV shows, and Padmini started a acting school.
2- Its NOT a good movie- cheap jokes sully what may have been a fun ride. We cant blame Sanjeev at all, since they got a mimic to dub his lines in the entire movie.
3- Despite his pic on the DVD, Amitabh is only the narrator in the beginning and the end of the movie, so don't get you hopes up!

9 comments:

Bollywood said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Bollyfan: That brings back memories- I saw "Sawan" for the same reason, and was SO mad afterwards! What a bad, bad movie- and the awful hair they gave Salman- omg. Here, there are some scenes where Sanjeev HAD to know what he was doing, even though he didnt dub for them- so yes, there he is definitely to blame. But since he didnt dub for the movie (no sync sound), and had no heirs who'd sue, the directors probably got away with a lot as well :)

ajnabi said...

It's hilarious that Amitabh's picture made the case. Use your selling points wisely, I guess. :-)

Rum said...

Lol this looks like a terrible movie, that is compelling me to go out and find it! and plus it has padmini and mimics of sanjeev

Anonymous said...

There could be a whole category under Hindi cinema titled "Unwise Resurrections"...

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Ajanbi: The producer must have been in a really sore spot trying to market his movie- :) it was so funny really to have Amitabh plug for it in the begining AND the end- hilariousness :D

Rum: It was bad, appalling, crazy- in 1 scene, Abhi Bhattacharya gives his cat his disappearing potion, and then BEGS it to disappear- insane :D

Memsaab: Its amazing what folks have assumed would be entertaining and/or artistic. Poor Sanjeev's soul is probably tortured everytime someone sees this movie :)

Anonymous said...

Where on earth do you dig these up? And how do you manage to sit through them?!! Poor Sanjeev maybe (he is after all dead and gone and beyond embarrassment) but my major sympathies are for the viewers of this movie. Its good for the bolly bloggers that there are people like you who watch it so we dont get taken in by the cast and get the DVD. :-)

Nicki said...

I thought I left a comment but I didn't! What??? You know, I would only watch this film if I had nothing else to watch. Doesn't look good. Thanks for the heads up. I do like the star cast though. It's a pity that their talent is wasted in this film.

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Bollyviewer: I think I like alternating horrible and good movies- I cant stand too much goodness either, and watching something trashy is very cathartic. And then, after I OD on trash, I can go back to a decent film and fully appreciate it :D

Nicki: heeh. you got it- watch only if nothing else is available :)