There is something about “Mem-Didi”; not a very successful movie; not high on award winning performances; certainly forgettable on the music front; yet, it is a memorable journey that brings alive some stellar show by actors from a glorious past.
The cast is rich in terms of acting. Lalita Pawar, Jayant and David were stars in their own manner. They were stars who enriched the screen with their imposing presence, especially Jayant, a gentle giant. David and Lalita Pawar give a controlled exhibition of their skills, evoking admiration for their wonderful contribution to the movie in times when technical excellence did not overshadow the basic fabric of film-making, good acting and lilting music.
It may disappoint many that even the proven combination of Shailendra and Salil Choudhary does little justice to “Mem-Didi”. The songs don't appeal. There are not many but the few the movie has are not the kind you would hum or love to listen to. Music, sadly, remains the sore point in an otherwise pleasant movie.
Lalita Pawar towers above the rest in the title role. She is not the scheming mother-in-law which she came to patent in a career spanning seven decades. She is also nowhere close to the great heights she reached when playing character roles in movies like “Anari” and “Shri 420” but the grand old lady of Hindi film industry is at her best during scenes involving her and the pair of David and Jayant.
At 45, Lalita Pawar was at the peak of her acting career. She carries the movie forward most gracefully, displaying her versatility with amazing ease. Jayant and David bring quality to the movie. Hrishikesh Mukherjee is known to give his characters equal opportunity and he is not off the mark here. Rajinder Singh Bedi's dialogues make an impact on the proceedings and enliven the simple story by Sachin Bhowmick.
Tough but lovable
“Mem Didi” is set in times when the rich and poor were not expected to interact, let alone bind themselves in relations. The story revolves around the sacrifices by an old woman, Mrs. Roy. She comes to live in a chawl, which is ruled by two tough but lovable guys in Bahadur Singh (David) and Sher Khan (Jayant).
The movie opens to a typical chawl scene – the teeth-brushing crowd, scramble for water, eve teasing…Director Hrishikesh Mukherjee does not miss out on minute details when he narrates a story. This, of course, was not his best offering but it remains a clean movie with a social message….The transformation of Mrs. Roy from Mem-Saab to Mem-Didi after a confrontation between her and the two slum dadas is one of the highpoints of the movie.
Mrs. Roy has endured life-long hardship in bringing up Rita (Tanuja), hiding her poverty from her pretty ‘daughter', who heads a Boy Hater's Club at the institute she is studying in Simla. The Hrishikesh Mukherjee touch is so brilliantly evident in his introduction of Tanuja, standing under a shower, her face hidden by lather. As water trickles down her face, Tanuja is revealed to the world, a pretty 18-year-old. This is easily the most memorable shot from the movie and the camera does not, even for a moment, wander away from her smiling countenance.
Rita, unaware of Mrs. Roy's travail, falls in love with Dilip (Keysi Mehra), a rich boy. The movie follows their progress with the expected opposition from Dilip's wealthy father. Mrs. Roy is oblivious of the plans that Bahadur and Sher Khan devise to con the hero's father by posing as rich men. The truth is revealed by the righteous Mrs. Roy at the wedding and the climax is predictable…the boy and girl unite even as Bahadur and Sher Khan are escorted by the police….
Lalita Pawar, Jayant and David are not in our midst and the film industry certainly misses them. Actors like them don't come anymore.
