Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron- A walk through the cult film

There are few films which sink before learning to float and then re-emerge after decades as the so called cult films.

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron is one such cult film that acquired a cult following with dedicated fan base, quoting dialogues at the drop of a hat, for who has not used the dialogue, “Thoda khao, thoda phenko, bahut mazaa aayega", sititng in college canteens, to the jaw aching, “Beta Duryodhan, yeh kya ho raha hai!”

Living up to the definition of a cult film, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron faded quickly from theatres and went to the national broadcaster Doordarshan, the fringe benefit of NFDC producing the film. After umpteen airs on Doordarshan till it became a black spot, one could still not catch the full film thanks to the obscure schedule timings. I remember watching the second half of the film and then finally completing the jigsaw puzzle of the whole film in another three attempts.

The innocent duo, Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Baswani struggle to make a living through their “Beauty photo studio” and sing, “Hum honge kaamyaab, ek din (We shall overcome someday)” till they wind up dragging a dead body, leading to many iconic scenes, etched forever in our minds.

 Be it Om Puri’s drunken state or the Mahabharata scene; one is bound to bang some funny bones. 

The turning point of the film comes with Vinod and Sudhir accidentally clicking a picture that shows Tarneja murdering someone. The duo uncovers the dead body of D'Mello. And in the process Sudhir says, “Vinod, Chal ghar chalte hain”. This hits you somewhere, the callousness that we show in dealing with all the wrong doings, happening around us; we stop, we observe, we react (maybe) and then we continue on our way.

What makes Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron a cult film is the satire, the black comedy, which fits the current India as well as it fit 32 years back. The orchestrated madness for two hours plus has its own way of conveying the political message, a satire at its best. It lampoons the society we live in, where innocent virtues stand defeated against power and corruption. One is not left behind for a moment to sit back and ponder for the stark undercurrents and the climax hit hard, making one squirm in the spot.

The film remains relevant in today’s India. Just turn around and dodge all the intolerance and bans, the answer is there. Scams, nexus, communal riots, things have only become worse, like a hydra-headed monster engulfing all that is good. The film is no guide to how the life should be led, but it provokes you to ruminate, after one is done laughing out loud. Another worth mentioning dialogue is when Tanreja scoffs, “ In logon ko Bengal ki Khadi ya Arab sagar mein dubo dena chahiye (The press should be dumped in Bay of Bengal or Arabian Sea)” and we feel the same for the media today. Back then the public and media spoke against the faulting government, now the media is at the receiving end, not that our government has turned all pious.

And in enclosing, let us refresh ourselves with the funniest penultimate scene of the film- The Mahabharata scene.

Recapping some of the stinging one-liners, need I say more!

*Shant gadaadhari Bheem, shant

* Nahi, Draupadi jaisi Sati nari ko dekhkar maine cheer haran ka idea drop kar diya hai.
* Draupadi tere akele ki nahi hai. Hum sab shareholder hain.
* Nalayak, adharmi, durachari, vamachari, bhrasthachari, bol sorry!
*Jai ho, aisi Sati nari ki jai ho.

* This is too much. Yeh Akbar kahan se aa gaya?

The last scene says a lot, does it not?

Don't let go of things, take charge!