Bombai Ka Babu (1960): A forgotten gem of Indian Cinema

I was always very much looking forward to seeing Bombai Ka Babu because I just love the Raj Khosla - Dev Anand team; last week I finally got a chance to see it for the first time, and the film certainly lived up to my expectations. There are a few films that leave an impact after having seen them, and Bombai Ka Babu did just that! I saw the movie in the afternoon and my day from evening till the time I went to sleep, and even for a few hours next morning was completely wasted. I say that because this movie (especially it's ending) had me thinking about it so much I just did not have the mood to do anything else.

All I knew of the movie before I saw it were a few songs - Deewana Mastana Hua Dil, Dekhne Mein Bhola Hai, Tak Dhoom Tak Dhoom Baje, Saathi Na Koi Manzil and Chal Ri Sajni - all fantastic, but that was no lone reason to have high expectations. Raj Khosla had till then proven that he was a master story-teller, with films like C.I.D, Solva Saal and Kala Pani to his credit, and people who've followed his filmography will agree that the 50s and 60s were the years he was at his peak, and as good as any filmmaker there ever was then.

Bombai Ka Babu had a rivetting screenplay right from the first scene, and the story was very much ahead of it's times. Babu (Dev Anand) was a crook who wanted to reform himself thanks to his friendship with Inspector Malik (Manohar Deepak), but circumstances led to him accidentally killing his friend, Bali (Jagdish Raj). While on the flee from the police, he lands up in the small town of Jogendranagar, where his identity is caught by Bhagat (Rashid Khan) who blackmails him into entering a wealthy household where their son had run away from home as a kid, who must now be of his same age, with the intention of robbing the entire treasury of the house soon. The actual film begins only then, when Babu pretends he is the long-lost son of the family, and falls in love with Maya (Suchitra Sen) who is his "sister".

The screenplay was terrific, especially in scenes where Maya begins to suspect about Babu's character and his feelings for her which was definitely not just brotherly love, and she sets about to test him. With the kind of ending the filmmakers decided to give, thoughtfully picking who's going to be in the frame and when, with the quality of dialogues and acting, not to forget the song Chal Ri Sajni going about in the background, I must say the climax of this film has got to be one of the best ever!

Raj Khosla's direction was at his best, and one prime example for that is the way the song Deewana Mastana Hua Dil was picturized, with Maya singing the song because she is happy her brother has returned back after so many years and Babu on the other hand joining in, because he is so much in love with her. Well, Raj Khosla has always been very good with his song picturizations anyway, with the remaining songs also been done full justice, especially Saathi Na Koi Manzil and Chal Ri Sajni. The scene where Maya finds out the truth about Babu was shown in a very witty manner, with her moving between pillars separated by curtains in her house, recollecting many situations from the past. Also, the fact that Raj Khosla had mastered the art of filming in black-and-white just like his mentor Guru Dutt, was evident right in the first scene, when the credits appear in a sort of horizontal split screen manner, with Malik following Babu's car in his police jeep.

I don't know which department faltered even slightly in this beautiful film. Everything seemed just perfect throughout. Dev Anand once again proved that given a good director, he can be as terrific as anyone else. This film totally belonged to Dev where he was present in almost every scene and gave a splendid performance which required him to be charming, romantic, sad and troubled. Nasir Hussain and Achala Sachdev were brilliant as usual as the parents ecstatic at having their son back. Rashid Khan and Jagdish Raj were superb in their roles as well. The highlight of the film for me, however, had to be Suchitra Sen, who emoted throughout the film with just her eyes. Her playful expressions and performance in the song Dekhne Mein Bhola Hai Dil Ka Salona are unforgettable. The climax had one of the best moments in the film and Dev and Suchitra quite easily, showed their class.

The music of the film was excellent as well, every song being extremely hummable; and lyrics very smartly written to suit the storyline.

All in all, a must-watch movie for people of all ages. Sensitive people might consider sitting down with a box of tissues for this one (I'm not giving away the ending - the entire film is filled with beautiful moments). I would highly recommend everyone to buy the CD as this film is worth owning.

My rating for Bombai Ka Babu - 4 and a 1/2 stars out of 5!