Young Love

Jawani Diwani was Randhir Kapoors big-ticket movie. This was also the first commercial film that leading lady Jaya Bhaduri she became Bachchan a year later signed after her debut,Guddi. The real star of the film,however,was RD Burmans music. Taking his cue from the films title,Pancham created a soundtrack that was modern,trendy and romantic. Songs like Jaanejaan,Saamne yeh kaun aaya,Nahin nahin abhi nahin,Yeh jawani hai diwani created a musical sensation when they released the album made it to the famed Binaca Geetmala Annual List. Forty years later,the soundtrack continues to be a remix goldmine.

Kapoor calls Jawani Diwani a trendsetter. It is also a trip down nostalgia lane that his now-older audience likes to take with him. These guys are now in their middle age and this film reminds them of their youth. They love the music,and everyone has a personal story to share about their own college days, says Kapoor.

It was film star Rajendra Kumar also credited as the Presenter of the film who coaxed Kapoor to do the film. He was a close friend of my father,Raj Kapoor. He knew producer Ramesh Behl and told me to hear the story. I felt it was a perfect representation of the college life of the 70s and it spoke to a younger generation,so I agreed, recalls Kapoor.

Bhaduri was spotted by Behl at Punes Film and Television Institute of India FTII. Guddi had given her a simple girl image,this was a more glamorous role for her,and she was fantastic in it, says Kapoor.

Indeed,Jawani Diwani is remembered as the rare movie i which Jaya Bhaduri wore western-dresses: flaming red tops,ivory pants,dressy skirts,hoop earrings and Jackie O sunglasses.

The story of Jawani Diwani is simple: Collegians Vijay Kapoor and Neeta Bhaduri fall in love. Neetas father,Thakur Iftekaar is dead against their relationship because Vijay happens to be the brother of Ravi Sahni who Thakur hates since he married his sister Nirupa Roy. Thakur,you see,cant handle the fact that his sister dared to fall in love with a mamooli munim ka beta. Narendra Nath plays the antagonist Benny,who is Vijays frenemy and also Neetas appointed suitor by her father.

Behls son,Goldie Behl director,Drona has grown up on Jawani Diwani stories during its filming,his late father had forged a close friendship with both the lead actors. Apparently,jawani diwani was happening off the sets too,as all three of them met their significant others during the shoot. Jaya aunty was seeing Amit uncle,Dabboo uncle was dating Babita aunty,and my parents met and got married. So many years have passed,but our families remain close as ever, says Behl.

Jawani Diwani managed to tweak some stereotypes. Nirupa Roy is not the long-suffering maa and has only a couple of crying scenes. Theres another actor who plays the Inspectorsaab in the movie even though Jagdish Raj is very much a part of the cast he plays Sahnis business associate. Sahni gets to flaunt a red cravat in a scene. The best comedic moments are reserved for Satyen Kappu,who hams it up unforgettably in two scenes,in which he first pretends to be Kapoors fake brother in front of his teacher,and then pretends to be his fake father when he meets Thakur. The latter is a scene-stealing comedy set piece,as,other than Kappu,two more fake fathers land up to meet Thakur. Actor Kader Khan,though un-credited,wrote the dialogues of that scene. My dad had seen a play of Kader Khans and he asked him to take over this comedy sequence, says Behl.

The most striking feature of the film remains Burmans music,masterfully rendered by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle. Incidentally,when Behl played the music for his family and friends,everybody rejected it for its unconventionality. The best song is of course Jaanejaan,where Burman composed the double-octave and used the echo effect brilliantly. In Nahin nahin,he breaks the rhythm pattern and comes up with a tune that instantly clicks. Pancham was a genius. He did all this when he did not have the support of technology. When he came up with Jaanejaan,he told me,Its your problem if you find it difficult to lip-sync my songs. Dont complain to me, Kapoor recalls.

Nobodys complaining now.

harneet.singhexpressindia.com