Hum Dono

Not all movies can be expected to generate the kind of response as Yamla Pagla Deewana – the last movie outing for the Club on January 15 (see post) It was a super success right from the word go. But to expect all members to be similarly predisposed with a ‘digitally restored and colorized film’ of 1960s’ vintage was a bit unrealistic on Yusuf Rassiwala’s part.
So what if the film happens to be Hum Dono? So what if we’d be seeing two Dev Anands on screen for the price of one? So what if its songs still rule the airwaves? So what if the movie was a major blockbuster of its time? And so what if we aren’t exactly young and cherishing memories from a bygone era? Actually, Yusuf-bhai was counting on this nostalgia factor to get members enthused for the matinee (3:15 p.m.) show of the movie at Cinemax today.
“Joona picture hai,” proclaimed 81-year-old Hari Naraiyani, speaking for most of the members. “Main toh kabhi nahin dekhoonga!”
“Main toh Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji dekhoongi,” pleaded Kiran Sajjan (left), referring to the latest laugh riot released last week.
“Dil abhi bachcha nahin hai ji,” countered Santosh Tyagi, about the only one interested in watching Hum Dono. “Dil bada ho gaya. Aur buddhaa bhi ho gaya ji!”
Eventually Kiran came around, as did a few others like Sitaram, Shukla, Grover, Monthi and Mumtaj. (Arora, Kishor, Shekhawat, etc. were conspicuous by their absence.) What summarily sealed the fate of the film was Yusuf-bhai’s last-minute instruction to go buy tickets individually from the booking counter and find seats inside the hall. The objective of a group outing got diluted that very moment, leading to the low turnout. Each was on his/her own.
Earlier in the morning, Geeta Lathe (right) sprung a surprise by showing up at the Garden after almost two years. She is known to be Shekhawat-ji’s pet and seeing her, he could not help remarking, “Arrey, aaj toh kamaal ho gaya!” No, she is not married, nor has she relocated out of Bombay. “Main toh idhar-itch thi,” said the girl, who has always been somewhat of an enigma to everybody.