In Egypt, the national television used to air only fun movies at the feasts, whether the Lesser Bairam, the Greater Bairam, or else. So I grew up naming any really fun movie as "Feast Movie". Hence, when I watched (Bombay to Goa), it joined the list quickly, earning the title deservedly.
As a regular viewer of the Indian cinema, I didn't run into this high-level writing in the Indian comedies before. Actually, the comedy in this movie is intelligent, electrifying and endless, with a lot of situations, gags, and lines. And the best about it is that it's international. I found out that this movie could allure different nationalities by its humor, which is rare for any comedy to achieve.
Originally, it is usual romantic comedy, with 2 from-haters-to-lovers young leads, evil antagonist, many songs, and big fight before the happy ending. However, all of that is mixed into a one of a kind road movie, and a wild variety of hilarious characters.
By using a bus's journey to tell its story, the movie depicts something like 100 funny quarrels between the passengers and the bus conductor (played unforgettably by Mehmood at one of his best performances and movies), while keeping the basic romantic comedy, and its leaning to a thriller, on. And so, the bus extravaganza, beside the love story, were being focused on in equal portions. No wonder if knew that Mehmood produced it.
Many moments refer to the talent which this comedy is filled with. For a few instances: The huge falling-out between the riders over the necessity of war, where smart sound effects of bullets and bombs were used. The funniest and shortest boxing match ever was in a Bollywood movie. The way all the riders were peeping at the 2 lovers, then their gallant attempt to defense the lovers against the evil guys at the end; that was genius. And, yes, the Pakoras madness; which some may nominate as the movie's biggest laugh.
As a musical, it is pure WAW. All the songs are no less than great delight; especially what I call it "the singing duel", in which the very superb singer Usha Utthup performs a medley of American pop songs as a part of a combat between the movie's 2 lovers. Now as a song; this is so enjoyable, and as a comic situation; another proof for how exceptionally intelligent this movie is.
Amitabh Bachchan was awfully thin, and - most importantly - too gleeful, with extremely gay shirts; that violet shirt had gleam which could bring daylight in night! I think, in his third year in the movies, he was sort of searching for a persona. Yes, he loves, sings, does comedy, and fights well, doing 95 % of his own stunts, but being angry is what would secure him the distinct persona that he would win, and be famous for, later, to do all of the above yet as Amitabh Bachchan, not that strutting, very jubilant, fellow who we watched here. Aruna Irani wasn't as funny as everyone and everything in this movie. Her face seemed dead serious, perhaps compared to this party of a movie.
You must notice that the movie has a message about releasing the Indian girl, even a bit, from her traditional decency, according to time change, and for being in conformity with the development of things, through the clash of Irani as the heroine, who wants to work in cinema, with her parents' raging refusal for that, since it demands actions like dancing or wearing indecent customs (observe a line, from her argument with them, like: "riding bulls in the time of jetliners is wrong"!). But somehow the movie suspected its own message by turning the cinema guys into evil men and cold killers, and pushing the heroine, under her love for cinema, to do crimes, be liable to drugs, and finally be a target of killing herself. Let alone that the end hinted at the fact that she would be a housewife not a movie star. So, was the movie with the message, or against it?! I think with the appearance of Kishore Kumar, the cinema icon, as kind and lovely character, the movie loved cinema. However, on the other side, it was little conservative, managing eventually to satisfy both; the youth generation of 1972, and the older one as well.
Holding a gun, by a member of the gang, in the bus was naive. I mean if he wanted to kill the girl, then how to shoot her among all of these people, and without a silencer? And if he wanted to threaten her to leave with him, then he waited SO LONG! Moreover, I hated that the title song "Bombay Goa" used the music to the Beach Boys song "Help Me Rhonda". Why to do such a foolish deed? Clearly, the movie's song writers weren't any short of creativity to plagiarize. But anyway, those were the movie's only shortcomings for me.
In the final analysis, and based on this movie's amount of fun, (Bombay to Goa) isn't a Feast movie; it is a Feast in itself, which I live every time I watch it. I know it's hard to believe, but I love it more than that kid loved the Pakoras!
As a regular viewer of the Indian cinema, I didn't run into this high-level writing in the Indian comedies before. Actually, the comedy in this movie is intelligent, electrifying and endless, with a lot of situations, gags, and lines. And the best about it is that it's international. I found out that this movie could allure different nationalities by its humor, which is rare for any comedy to achieve.
Originally, it is usual romantic comedy, with 2 from-haters-to-lovers young leads, evil antagonist, many songs, and big fight before the happy ending. However, all of that is mixed into a one of a kind road movie, and a wild variety of hilarious characters.
By using a bus's journey to tell its story, the movie depicts something like 100 funny quarrels between the passengers and the bus conductor (played unforgettably by Mehmood at one of his best performances and movies), while keeping the basic romantic comedy, and its leaning to a thriller, on. And so, the bus extravaganza, beside the love story, were being focused on in equal portions. No wonder if knew that Mehmood produced it.
Many moments refer to the talent which this comedy is filled with. For a few instances: The huge falling-out between the riders over the necessity of war, where smart sound effects of bullets and bombs were used. The funniest and shortest boxing match ever was in a Bollywood movie. The way all the riders were peeping at the 2 lovers, then their gallant attempt to defense the lovers against the evil guys at the end; that was genius. And, yes, the Pakoras madness; which some may nominate as the movie's biggest laugh.
As a musical, it is pure WAW. All the songs are no less than great delight; especially what I call it "the singing duel", in which the very superb singer Usha Utthup performs a medley of American pop songs as a part of a combat between the movie's 2 lovers. Now as a song; this is so enjoyable, and as a comic situation; another proof for how exceptionally intelligent this movie is.
Amitabh Bachchan was awfully thin, and - most importantly - too gleeful, with extremely gay shirts; that violet shirt had gleam which could bring daylight in night! I think, in his third year in the movies, he was sort of searching for a persona. Yes, he loves, sings, does comedy, and fights well, doing 95 % of his own stunts, but being angry is what would secure him the distinct persona that he would win, and be famous for, later, to do all of the above yet as Amitabh Bachchan, not that strutting, very jubilant, fellow who we watched here. Aruna Irani wasn't as funny as everyone and everything in this movie. Her face seemed dead serious, perhaps compared to this party of a movie.
You must notice that the movie has a message about releasing the Indian girl, even a bit, from her traditional decency, according to time change, and for being in conformity with the development of things, through the clash of Irani as the heroine, who wants to work in cinema, with her parents' raging refusal for that, since it demands actions like dancing or wearing indecent customs (observe a line, from her argument with them, like: "riding bulls in the time of jetliners is wrong"!). But somehow the movie suspected its own message by turning the cinema guys into evil men and cold killers, and pushing the heroine, under her love for cinema, to do crimes, be liable to drugs, and finally be a target of killing herself. Let alone that the end hinted at the fact that she would be a housewife not a movie star. So, was the movie with the message, or against it?! I think with the appearance of Kishore Kumar, the cinema icon, as kind and lovely character, the movie loved cinema. However, on the other side, it was little conservative, managing eventually to satisfy both; the youth generation of 1972, and the older one as well.
Holding a gun, by a member of the gang, in the bus was naive. I mean if he wanted to kill the girl, then how to shoot her among all of these people, and without a silencer? And if he wanted to threaten her to leave with him, then he waited SO LONG! Moreover, I hated that the title song "Bombay Goa" used the music to the Beach Boys song "Help Me Rhonda". Why to do such a foolish deed? Clearly, the movie's song writers weren't any short of creativity to plagiarize. But anyway, those were the movie's only shortcomings for me.
In the final analysis, and based on this movie's amount of fun, (Bombay to Goa) isn't a Feast movie; it is a Feast in itself, which I live every time I watch it. I know it's hard to believe, but I love it more than that kid loved the Pakoras!