Chhoti Si Baat (Devnagari: छोटी सी बात) is a 1975 Hindi romantic comedy film directed by Basu Chatterjee. The film's title means "Such a Small Thing" in Hindi. Considered one of the best Hindi comedy films of the 1970s, it is a nostalgic favourite for its quirky take on pre-hypercongestion Bombay. The film became a box office hit^[1] and also earned Filmfare nominations and a Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay for Basu Chatterjee.^[2] It also established Amol Palekar as having an uncommon comic talent for playing mousy characters, a role he would go on to repeat several times in his career. This movie is based on "School for Scoundrels", a 1960 British Comedy which itself inspired from the "Gamesmanship" series of books by Stephen Potter.

As with other Basu Chatterjee films, moviestars have small cameos playing themselves: Dharmendra and Hema Malini(whose mother Jaya Chakravarthy helped produce the film) are in a movie-within-a-movie for the song "Janneman janneman," while Amitabh Bachchan plays himself in another scene, where he seeks advice from Ashok Kumar's character. He is dressed in costume from Zameer (1974 film), whose film poster is prominently displayed at the bus stop scenes in "Chhoti Si Baat." B.R. Chopra, is the producer for Zameer (1974 film), just as he is for "Chhoti Si Baat."

Synopsis[link]

Chhoti Si Baat is a romantic comedy about a painfully shy young man Arun Pradeep (Amol Palekar), who lacks self-confidence and fails to stand up for his convictions, in the process letting all and sundry walk all over him. One fine day he comes across Prabha Narayan (Vidya Sinha) at the bus stop en route to work and it's love at first sight... for Arun that is. Lacking enough courage and unsure if his feelings are reciprocated, he pines for her from afar and follows her around, at a safe distance (or so he thinks). Prabha, fully aware of his affections, secretly relishes his discomfort, while waiting for him to make the first move.

While Arun is hopelessly stuck, in comes the suave, brash Nagesh Shastri (Asrani), a colleague of Prabha's, and emerges a serious rival for her attention. It doesn't help that he appears to be miles ahead of Arun in the "race" and is all that Arun is not: He's gregarious while Arun is shy, he's confident and boastful, while Arun is besieged with self-doubt, he's smooth, while Arun is awkward, he's street smart, while Arun's naïve, he's assertive while Arun is timid. Plus he owns a scooter and ensures that he has opportunities to offer Prabha a ride, while Arun can only look on. A gullible Arun, trying to match Nagesh with a motorbike of his own, is conned into buying a dud, further embarrassing him in front of Prabha. He seeks salvation in astrology, tarot cards, dubious godmen only to land with egg on his face.

In desperation, he finally turns to Colonel Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh (Ashok Kumar) of Khandala, who has made it his mission to assist those in love find their true destiny. Colonel Singh agrees to help Arun and thus begins the turnaround as Singh begins to mould Arun into a mature, confident young man through meticulously designed lesson plans, peppered with philosophy and "hands on" training. A "born-again" Arun returns to Bombay with a distinguished swagger, brimming with newly discovered self-esteem, ready to take on the world and win over Prabha.

Cast and crew[link]

Cast[link]

• Amol Palekar - Arun Pradeep
• Vidya Sinha - Prabha Narayan
• Ashok Kumar - Colonel Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh
• Asrani - Nagesh Shastri
• Manmohan - villain in song " janeman janeman"
• Dharmendra - Guest Appearance in a song " janeman janeman"
• Hema Malini - Guest Appearance in a song " janeman janeman"
• Amitabh Bachchan - Guest Appearance

Crew[link]

• Director: Basu Chatterjee
• Screenplay: Basu Chatterjee
• Music Director: Salil Chowdhury
• Lyrics: Yogesh
• Dialogues: Sharad Joshi

Awards & Nominations[link]

• Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay-Basu Chatterjee
• Filmfare Nomination for Best Film
• Filmfare Nomination for Best Director-Basu Chatterjee
• Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor-Amol Palekar
• Filmfare Nomination for Best Supporting Actor-Ashok Kumar
• Filmfare Nomination for Best Comic-Asrani^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chhoti Si Baat at the Internet Movie Database
• Chhoti si baat detailed star cast and crew
• Music India

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Amol Palekar
Palekar at TeachAIDS recording session, 2009
Born	(1944-11-24) 24 November 1944 (age 67)[1] Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actor, Director
Years active	1971–present
Spouse	Sandhya Gokhale
Awards	Filmfare Best Actor Award: 1980: Gol Maal

Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor of the 1970s and a director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema.^[2]

Career[link]

He did his postgraduation in Fine Arts from the Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, commenced his artistic career as a painter which was distinguished by his seven one-man exhibitions along with his participation in many group shows. He has been a leading persona of avant garde theatre in India. He has been active in Marathi and Hindi theatre as an actor, director and producer since 1967. As a trend setting director who brought the theatre out of the proscenium arch, his productions still inspire the younger theatre practitioners. His stupendous contribution to the modern Indian theatre often gets overshadowed because of his enormous popularity as a lovable lead actor in Hindi films.

As an actor, he ruled the silver screen for over a decade from 1970. His charming image as a ‘boy next door’ carved an unparallel niche in contrast to the larger than life heroes prevalent at that time in Indian cinema. He received three Film Fare and six State awards as Best Actor. His performances in regional language films in Marathi, Bengali, Malyalam and Kannada fetched him tremendous critical acclaim as well. While choosing to concentrate on filmmaking, he decided not to act after 1986.

As a director, is specially known for the sensitive portrayal of women, selection of classic stories from Indian literature, and perceptive handling of progressive issues. His direction of television serials on the national network such as “KACHCHI DHOOP”, “MRIGNAYANI”, “NAQUAB”, “PAOOL KHUNA” and "KRISHNA KALI" were exceptionally admired throughout the country.

Theatre Journey[link]

Palekar began in Marathi experimental theatre with Satyadev Dubey, and later started his own group, Aniket, in 1972.

Movie career[link]

Palekar made his debut in 1971 with the noted Marathi film Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe directed by Satyadev Dubey, which started the ‘New Cinema’ Movement in Marathi.^[3]

In 1974 he was cast as an actor by Basu Chatterjee in Rajnigandha, and a surprise low-budget hit, Chhoti Si Baat. This led to many other such roles in "middle-class" comedies, mostly alternative cinema. These were often directed by Chatterjee or Hrishikesh Mukherjee and include such films as Gol Maal and Naram Garam. He won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for Gol Maal.

He is noted for his image of the "middle-class everyman" who struggles to get a job (Gol-Maal), his own flat (Gharonda), a girlfriend/wife (Baaton Baaton Mein), and appreciation from his boss.

In 1982 he played the role of Ravi in the Malayalam movie Olangal, which is remade in Hindi as Masoom.

He turned to directing with the Marathi film Aakriet. He showed his capabilities as a director with his movie Paheli which was India's official entry in the race for Best Foreign Film at the 2006 Oscars. The movie, however, did not make it to the final nominations.

He has also given his voice to an HIV/AIDS education animated software tutorial created by the nonprofit organization TeachAIDS.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Amol Palekar was born to Kamlakar and Suhasini Palekar in a lower middle-class family in Mumbai. He was raised by his father who worked in GPO and mother who worked in a private company along with his three sisters Neelon, Rekha and Unnati.^[5] Palekar is an alumnus of Sir JJ School of Arts and has exhibited his sketches, drawings, and paintings in Mumbai. He used to work in Bank of India before he switched full time to a career in acting. He also does some social work. He has two daughters and is married to Sandhya Gokhale, who is a writer after his divorce from his first wife Chitra ^[6][7][8] Palekar regards himself as an agnostic.^[9]

Partial filmography[link]

As an Actor[link]

As a Director[link]

• Aakreit (Unimaginable in Marathi) – 1981
• Ankahee (Unspoken) – 1985
• Thodasa Rumani Ho Jaye – 1990
• Bangarwadi – 1995
• Daayraa (The Square Circle) – 1996
• Anahat (Forever)
• Kairee (Raw mango) – 2001
• Dhyaas Parva (Kal Kaa Aadmi in Hindi) – 2001 (based on Raghunath Karve's life, won the National Award for Best film on family welfare)
• Paheli (Riddle) – 2005
• Quest (English) – 2006 (won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English)
• Dumkata (2007)
• Samaantar (Marathi) – 2009 (with Sharmila Tagore)
• And Once Again – 2010
• Dhoosar (Marathi) – 2011 (won the Maharashtra State Film Award)

Feature films in other regional languages[link]

• MOTHER (Bengali) (with Sharmila Tagore & Dipankar Dey)
• KALANKINI (Bengali) (with Mamata Shankar – directed by Dhiren Ganguly)
• CHENA ACHENA (Bengali) (with Tanuja & Soumitra Chaterjee)
• KANNESHWARA RAMA (Kannada) (with Anant Nag & Shabana Aazmi – Directed by M.S.Sathyu)
• PAPER BOATS (Kanaada & English) (with Deepa - Directed by Pattabhirama Reddy)
• OLANGAL (Malayalam) (with Poornima Jyaram & Ambika - Directed by Balu Mahendra)

TV Serials[link]

• Kachchi Dhoop – 1987
• Naqab – 1988
• Paoolkhuna – 1993
• Mrignayanee – 1991
• Kareena Kareena – 2004
• AA Bail Mujhe Maar

Awards[link]

Filmfare Awards[link]

• Filmfare Award for Best Actor – "Nominated"
  1975 Chhoti Si Baat – Arun Pradeep
  

• Filmfare Award for Best Actor – "Won"
  1979 Gol Maal – Ramprasad Sharma
  

References[link]

1. ^ ‘आपल्यातीलच एक’ थोडासा रुमानी झाला तेव्हा A correct refence about his birthday from Marathi language newspaper loksatta news,Birthday is confirmed person with him to be 24 November,1944 during Marathi language wikipedia workshop
2. ^ "'Paheli is a simple, loveable film'". Rediff.com. June 21, 2005. http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2005/jun/21amol.htm. 
3. ^ Chronology of Indian Cinema at upperstall
4. ^ "Star touch to animated film on HIV/AIDS". The New Indian Express. 27 November 2010. http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/star-touch-to-animated-film-on-hivaids/226342.html. Retrieved 16 December 2010. 
5. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi-times/Amol-Palekar-Baaton-Baaton-Mein/articleshow/240783.cms
6. ^ [1].
7. ^ "Amol Palekar is back in action, this time with an English language ...". Indian Express. 2 August 2010. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Next-Turn/655383. Retrieved 13 August 2010. 
8. ^ Amol Palekar: Baaton Baaton Mein
9. ^ Amol Palekar at ibnlive

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amol Palekar

• Amol Palekar at the Internet Movie Database
• National Award List 2001