Synopsis
Two feuding millionaires Lala Jagannath
(Om Prakash) and Seth Karamchand (Harindranath
Chattopadhyay) are always finding ways to
be one up on the other. They buy adjacent
plots to each other and each wants to make
a better house them the other. Unknowingly
they hire the same architect, Rakesh (Dev
Anand) and insist on the same design! Rakesh
is Jaganath’s son whom he has thrown
out and to compound things further, he falls
in love with Karamchand’s daughter,
Sulekha (Nutan)…
The film
Tere Ghar ke Saamne is one of
the most enjoyable romantic comedies of
Hindi Cinema. It is unfortunate this delightful
film is never counted among the best works
of director, Vijay
Anand, the accolades going to his more
obvious works. That is because the film
is unfairly looked upon as a cute love story,
nothing more. While admittedly the film
is a lightweight, frothy musical (and most
enjoyable, one might say), it does propagate
neighbours living in harmony and looks at
issues of the generation gap arguing that
everything new needn’t be bad and
yes, everything old needn’t be good
either. But yes, the essence of the film
is the love story. The developing romance
of Rakesh and Sulekha is handled beautifully
with simple everyday situations (going out
for picnics, rides to the country etc),
beautifully written scenes, witty spoken
dialogue and plenty of charm both from the
script as well as the lead pair.
The film is a blend of the urbane, modern
and traditional values. The characters are
upper middle-class Dilliwlllahs who go to
clubs, parties and the like. And Rakesh
and Sulekha too may romance each other stealthily
behind their father’s backs but when
it comes to the issue of marriage, Rakesh
is totally clear that there will be no elopement.
He will only marry Sulekha with her father’s
consent. (Didn’t the biggest blockbuster
of 1995 also rest on this premise??? You
know the one – the Shah Rukh Khan
– Kajol starrer, directed by Aditya
Chopra…). But this is not to say the
film shoves traditional values down your
throat. It shows you both sides of the coin
and here it is extremely interesting here
to see the characters of the two mothers.
Rakesh's mother rebukes her husband for
throwing out their only son because he smokes
and drinks once in a while. Not only that,
she even confess that she was tempted on
taking a peg or so in the club once and
also informs him that he is unjustified
in believing that like their forefathers
his son should also play the dutiful progeny.
She insists that Rakesh means no disrespect
with his drinking and smoking and that is
hardly any reason for his being thrown out.
She goes to the extent of telling her husband
that it was his fault that he sent his son
for higher education abroad not because
he wanted his son to be well-educated but
because it added to his prestige of having
a son who was 'foreign returned'. Likewise,
Sulekha's mother tells her better half that
he has lost his mind because he bid Rs.
Two Lakhs for a property worth Rs. 40,000
only because he wanted his bid to be higher
than Om Prakash's!
The film makes extremely good use of actual
locations of Delhi and Shimla – of
construction sites in and around Delhi but
some of the matching of sets with the actual
location is slipshod. Also, unfortunately
the resolution - the climactic speech and
song bringing the two fathers to their senses
is extremely long winded, preachy and much
too serious and melodramatic – totally
out of sync with the rest of the film which
was so smooth and free-flowing till then.
Any successful romantic comedy depends
totally on its lead pair and the chemistry
they share and here the film more than delivers.
Tere Ghar ke Saamne is aided greatly
by the two central star performances. Dev
Anand is at his stylish best, his star
persona, his mannerisms being put to brilliant
use as the ultimate debonair, dashing, successful
young architect. Nutan
compliments him perfectly. She had taken
a small break from acting, following her
marriage to Naval Lieutenant Commander Rajneesh
Behl in 1959 and the subsequent birth of
her son, Mohnish. However she made a major
comeback to films in 1963 with films as
diverse and brilliant as Bandini
and  Tere
Ghar Ke Saamne. With both these films
Nutan proved what a versatile and matchless
actress she was - as a dramatic performer
(Bandini) she was right there with
Nargis
and Meena
Kumari and as a comedienne on the other
end of the spectrum, she was as good if
not better than Madhubala
and Geeta Bali, displaying here a lightness
and comic timing that’s a delight
to behold. With every smile she lights up
the screen! The lead players are perfectly
supported by Chattopadhyay and Om Prakash
as the rival fathers of the couple. Incidentally
the girl playing Nutan’s bother Rajendranath’s
love interest, Ginny is Zareen Katrak, now
better known as Zareen Khan or Mrs Sanjay
Khan.
Musically the film boasts of one of SD
Burman’s most popular scores but
lifting the film several notches is the
way Vijay Anand has picturized the songs.
In fact it can be confidently said that
Vijay Anand was arguably the greatest picturiser
of songs in the history of Indian Cinema.
His use of creating unusual situations and
sets, using long complicated takes involving
both character and camera movement, incredible
use of foreground and background of the
frame, dynamic framing with a camera almost
always on the move and making the most of
tightly enclosed spaces all played a great
part in the magic of the songs in his films.
The standout songs of the films are Dil
ka Bhanwar Kare Pukaar, Tu Kahaan
Yeh Bataa and of course the title song.
The picturization of Dil ka Bhanwar
in particular is mind-blowing. Just a set
simulating the steps inside the Qutub Minar
as Dev Anand and Nutan make their way back
down. As mentioned before being in a constricted
space brings out the best in Goldie. You
cannot help but be amazed by the angles,
by little camera movements, by the dynamic
shot taking! Tu Kahaan is the ultimate
in romance as Dev Anand searches for Nutan
in the misty laden streets of Shimla. However
the song is hampered a little by the not
so good mix of sets and actual locations
in Shimla. The title song as Dev Anand sings
to his glass of whisky imagining Nutan inside
the glass is just brilliant. The song has
an unforgettable moment when Anand's assistant
Rashid Khan puts an ice cube into the glass
causing Nutan to shiver with the cold which
Dev Anand gallantly takes out!
It is indeed a pity that following this
gem of a film, Vijay Anand never tried a
full fledged romantic comedy again. But
then greater challenges lay ahead for him
as he entered the best phase of his career
with Guide (1965),
Teesri Manzil
(1966), Jewel
Thief (1967), Johnny Mera Naam (1970)
and Tere Mere Sapne (1971) –
masterpieces all!
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