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6 Colorful Characters From Hrishikesh Mukherjee Films

Not just the director's lead characters, even those who appear onscreen briefly leave a lasting impression on viewers. Here are some of our favourites

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All this month, Film Companion will celebrate the works of Hrishikesh Mukherjee. You can follow our series FC Flashback which aims to reintroduce legendary actors, filmmakers and technicians to a young audience.

Filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee's films are a throwback to simpler, kinder times. In his world, there were no evil people. They were only real people with everyday problems which had easy resolutions. We all remember Dharmendra as Parimal Tripathi in Chupke Chupke, Rekha as Manju in Khubsoorat, Rajesh Khanna in Anand and Jaya Bachchan in Guddi. But in each of these films, it's not just the leads, but even the characters with lesser screen time that stay with you. Here are some of our favourites:

1. Mrs. Srivastava of Gol Maal (1979)

Dina Pathak's Mrs Srivastava in Gol Maal is like the fun, wild sister of the matriarch in Mukherjee's Khubsoorat. In that film, Pathak is in a perennially bad mood – forbidding family members from doing anything remotely enjoyable. But as Mrs. Srivastava she's a social worker who takes up bit roles in films as a hobby. Her biggest role is pretending to be Amol Palekar's domesticated, widowed mother to protect him from a lie he's told his boss Bhawani Shankar (Utpal Dutt). When she runs into Bhawani Shankar at a party dressed in a fancy sari and jewellery, she invents a twin sister to justify her drastically changed appearance. The highlight of the film is the scene in which she wriggles through a kitchen window and quickly changes into a white sari to save Palekar's character from being found out.

2. Vishwanath from Bawarchi (1972)

Affectionately referred to as Babbu by his squabbling family members, Vishwanath, played by Asrani, is the most colourful member in a family where everyone has a rather mundane existence. His flamboyant bright kurtas and silk scarves help him stand out against the dull attire worn by the others. Vishwanath is an assistant music composer who says his craft is "too technical" for others to understand. It turns out Vishwanath doesn't know too much about technique either. A hard day's work for him comprises buying cassettes of English songs, recording them and replacing the lyrics with Hindi ones. He's cavalier about his thievery, calling it a "trade secret".

3. Matron D'sa, from Anand (1971)

Choosing just one character from Anand is almost an impossible task. In the film, Rajesh Khanna's Anand Saigal has a deep and lasting impression on everyone he interacts with. One of them is Matron D'Sa, played by Lalita Pawar. She usually barks orders at him and screams 'shut up' when he talks too much. But it's only a matter before he charms her with his carefree attitude. Anand lovingly calls her 'Mother' matron. It was also refreshing to see Pawar, who was mostly cast as a scheming mother-in-law through her career, play a loving, maternal figure.

4. Professor Gupta from Guddi (1971)

"Main sirf mama nahin, tumhara dost bhi hu," says Professor Gupta to nephew Navin as he consoles him. Navin is heartbroken because Kusum (Jaya Bachchan), the girl he wants to marry, confesses that she loves not him, but the film star Dharmendra. Gupta, played by Utpal Dutt, is a Professor of Experimental Psychology and a self-proclaimed member of the 'Bachelor's club. He wisely tells his nephew, 'Yeh pyaar nahi, infatuation hain'. He even gives Dharmendra, who plays himself in the movie, a quick psychology lesson on stardom. He's the understanding relative we all wish we had. Although Dutt got more attention for his role in Mukherjee's other classic comedy Gol Maal, don't miss his turn as the lovable uncle in this film. The image of him playing a game of 'Statue' with youngsters will stay with you long after the credits roll.

5. Chitra from Abhimaan (1973)

Chitra played by Bindu is a rich, spoilt girl who spends her day fangirling over pop star Subir (Amitabh Bachchan). Even at home, she's always dressed for a wedding. Check out her bright yellow sari with matching yellow earrings, necklace and bindi. We don't see her do much apart from attend Subir's concerts and call him at odd hours. Subir goes ahead and marries someone else (Jaya Bachchan) but selfishly exploits her blind love for him whenever he needs a shoulder to cry on. Chitra's solution to everything is to offer him a glass of whiskey. "Isse sur aur bhi nasheele ho jayenge", she says.

6. James D'costa from Chupke Chupke (1975)

Keshto Mukherjee plays James, a lazy driver who's not very bright, drinks too much and speaks terrible Hindi, which is why his employer wants to hire someone else who speaks 'shudhh' Hindi. When the car breaks down, the best James can do to explain the problem is 'gaadi main lafda hain'. James doesn't have very many scenes in the film, but whenever he does appear, he brings much joy as the driver who is clueless about the rest of the proceedings.
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