Bawarchi : A Simple Recipe for a Good Family

                                                    

There are three types of movies. First category includes movies which have something to carry with you once it is over. You may feel patriotic/ good/ helpless/ rebellious after watching it. So, at last you do have “something”. The second category has movies which neither give the feeling of gaining something nor you feel of losing anything. It is just for the moment. You go, watch and forget. The first category movies are difficult to forget, to wipe out off your mind. The third category is simply the rest of the movies; those which are neither in the first nor in the second. Bawarchi belongs to the first type. It is my all-time favorite movie. Its strong script is the major reason. The key character of the movie is Raghu essayed by Rajesh Khanna. Raghu is actually a professor who leaves his profession and disguises himself as a domestic help in an Indian joint family. His goal is to reinstate the traditional values of being in a family and to make the family members realize the joy of togetherness. His philosophy is very simple: Instead of waiting for a great desire to be fulfilled, a success to be achieved, one may enjoy the happiness which lies in little daily things like cooking favorite dish for your dear one.

I feel that the most difficult thing these days in human life is not earning a decent living but having / maintaining a healthy relationship with the family or (most of the time with) extended family. It’s a key to a good social life as an individual. Those who succeed in this, they succeed in most of their endeavors. This movie works as good as a self-help guide in accomplishing it. How to strike a right chord with the family members or colleagues is well elucidated here. Even if you have to compete with someone, the competition shouldn’t spoil your relation with the competitor. In one of the important incidences, Raghu shows how winning heart is as important as winning a competition. The principles narrated by Raghu throughout the movie are very well applicable to professional life.

The movie is directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, another favorite of mine. The star cast includes Jaya Bachchan, Asrani, A. K. Hangal, Durga Khote, and Usha Kiran.