Gol Maal is an Indian Hindi-language comedy directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and produced by N.C. Sippy. Comedy doesn’t come easy and we all know how awkward it gets when someone cracks a joke, rather attempts to, and fails miserably or worse that person telling the joke is you. But the comedy in this film is perfect, as perfect as things get. This witty screenplay is written by Rahi Masoom Raza and Sachin Bhowmick. This film manages to capture almost all kinds of comedic levels; from crude moments like the head clerk plucking out nose hair to the clever characters of the starkly contrasting twins in the plot and everything in between.
The story follows the life of an average man, Ram Prasad played by Amol Palekar who transforms himself into an entirely different person for the sake of his job which creates quite an entertaining ruckus in his life. The boss, Bhawani Shankar played by Utpal Dutt, is a little too particular about odd things like moustaches, extracurricular interests, and nicknames. His daughter, Urmila Shankar played by Bindiya Goswami, is a very modern girl who cares about things like drama and art rather than statistics and business, clearly not like father like daughter. She falls in love with Laxman Prasad, Ram Prasad’s non existent twin. Urmila’s aunt, Kalinidi is played by Shubha Khote, an annoyingly loud lady who is too traditional and does anything and everything her brother tells her to. Ram Prasad’s fake mother, Kamala Srivastava is played by Dina Pathak, a rich lady in her fifties who agrees to be a part of this tomfoolery because of her love of acting and her longing for a daughter. Ratna, Ram Prasad’s sister played by Manju Singh, probably the most calm and collected one out of the lot, who does everything she can to help her brother out through this entire mad journey. Kedar Mama played by David, Ram Prasad and Manju’s uncle and Bhawani’s friend gets Ram Prasad the interview.
We often forget that comedy movies have more to them than just the funny dialogues that add to its success. The editing of the film plays a major role in doing so but, often goes unnoticed. The cuts and shots in the film are placed strategically making them even more hilarious than they would’ve been without it. A good example for this would be when Urmi is practicing her dialogues and she says that she’s pregnant, the next scene cuts to Bhavani using a machine to reduce his belly fat. And how can we not notice the vibrant colours and the peculiar costumes that have deliberately been used in the film. Manju, a very chirpy and collected woman is often seen wearing very bright colours while Bhawani, an angry intense man is usually seen in solid mellow shades. One can distinguish between Ram Prasad and Laxman Prasad not only by looking at the moustache but also the way they dress.
Music plays a key role in comedy films and if messed up can end up ruining the entire funny element of it, irrespective of how great the punchline is. Music also adds a heightened sense of drama to scenes. There’s music almost throughout the entire film, only the scenes where there’s serious talking does the music stop. A classic example of how vital music is for comedy is the car chase scene. Try watching the entire scene with no sound and you’ll know. There’s so much sound and music in the entire scene which makes it so much more dramatic and funny. Almost reminds you of Tom and Jerry doesn’t it?
The acting was impeccable. We can all agree they very much nailed their roles. There are tiny symbols throughout the film which are very subtly placed. One fine example would be Laxman Prasad roaming around with sunglasses and as the old saying goes, liars can’t look people in the eye. It’s almost as if he’s daring you to catch his lie. And how can we forget the Moustache? All able men must have moustaches, it’s a symbol of dignity which defines a man, according to Bhawani.
Just as in the end, Bhawani Shankar learns that moustaches don’t mean shit, what did we learn? Don’t try to be someone you’re not, especially during an interview and, if you are planning on doing so, don’t get caught.
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