Regular readers of the Gorilla’s Lament will know that, like all
right thinking people, I’m a fan of Sridevi. I’m also very fond of
Sanjay Dutt, especially in his “gunda with a heart of gold” persona.
Naturally, when I learned they costar in Gumrah (1993), I had to see it. And having seen it, I now have a pretty fair idea of why they only did one movie together.
Sharda Chadha (Reema Lagoo) has terminal cancer. Her one regret is that she has never told her daughter Roshni (Sridevi) the truth about what happened to her father. Since this is Bollywood, she deals with the guilt by telling a different lie, and sending Roshni off to Bombay. (Can’t reveal the family secret before the deathbed confession, after all.)
Once in Bombay, Roshni is introduced to Rahul Malhotra (Rahul Roy), a charming young man with an unspecified import/export business and creepy eyebrows. Rahul pulls some strings (okay, one string) and within the month, Roshni is a famous singer. (it’s absurdly easy to break into the music industry in Bollywood movies. Instant musical stardom is the single most important factor in preventing mass extinction of adorable orphans.)
Roshni has also picked up at least one devoted fan, ticket scalper Jaggu (Sanjay Dutt). Jaggu plans to attend every one of her concerts and present her with a garland of money. In order to make the garland, he decides to sell 200 tickets per show, and in order to buy the tickets, he raises money by competing in an underground pit fighting circuit. He’s very successful, and begins following her around the country to declare his devotion. Roshni is not amused, and finally points out to Jaggu that she is a major star while he is a small-time black marketeer. Jaggu sees her point, and promptly robs a bank in order to prove that he can support her in the style to which she has become accustomed. He’s promptly caught and sent to prison. This surprises no one, since he didn’t take any particular steps to conceal his crime.
Jaggu agreed to be arrested and go quietly only when Roshni agreed to visit him every week. She doesn’t, of course, and Jaggu quickly tires of prison, so he escapes and flees to Hong Kong. His plan is to make a lot of money through honest work, then go back to India and finish serving his sentence. He quickly finds work with expatriate Indian businessman (and lawyer, a fact which will be important later) Prakash Chadha (Anupam Kher), and begins his new life.
Sharda’s cancer worsens, and Roshni finally learns about her mother’s condition. She rushes home just in time for Sharda’s deathbed confession, and learns that her father is a lawyer and businessman from Mauritius named Prakash Chadha. Shortly after the marriage, Prakash was accused of embezzlement, and disappeared. She tracks down his family in Mauritius, and learns that he is now in Hong Kong. She decides to go there to meet him. Because he’s an apparently nice guy, Rahul insists on accompanying her. Because he’s actually a spineless drug-smuggling manweasel, he hides some cocaine in her luggage; she’s arrested at the airport, and Rahul makes himself scarce.
Roshni is sent to a prison run by a sadistic, unnamed warden (Bob Christo). Jaggu reads about her arrest in the newspaper, and rushes to the prison to visit her. She asks him to find her a lawyer, and to find her father; since Prakash is both, this isn’t as hard as one might think.
Gumrah is a fairly typical Bollywood movie. The only real problem with the film is that Sridevi and Sanjay have no romantic chemistry whatsoever. This isn’t too surprising, since they have radically different acting styles; Sridevi is a dedicated scenery chewer, while Sanjay relies on his laid back charm and the occasional mournful expression. The end result, though, is that they seem like they’re in two separate movies, and the final film is not greater than the sum of its parts.
Despite the lack of chemistry between the leads, Gumrah is a very watchable film. However, potential viewers should be warned that the film includes a Bob Christo sex scene. By Hollywood standards, it’s not terribly explicit, but that’s still more pasty white flesh than I really wanted to see.
Sharda Chadha (Reema Lagoo) has terminal cancer. Her one regret is that she has never told her daughter Roshni (Sridevi) the truth about what happened to her father. Since this is Bollywood, she deals with the guilt by telling a different lie, and sending Roshni off to Bombay. (Can’t reveal the family secret before the deathbed confession, after all.)
Once in Bombay, Roshni is introduced to Rahul Malhotra (Rahul Roy), a charming young man with an unspecified import/export business and creepy eyebrows. Rahul pulls some strings (okay, one string) and within the month, Roshni is a famous singer. (it’s absurdly easy to break into the music industry in Bollywood movies. Instant musical stardom is the single most important factor in preventing mass extinction of adorable orphans.)
Roshni has also picked up at least one devoted fan, ticket scalper Jaggu (Sanjay Dutt). Jaggu plans to attend every one of her concerts and present her with a garland of money. In order to make the garland, he decides to sell 200 tickets per show, and in order to buy the tickets, he raises money by competing in an underground pit fighting circuit. He’s very successful, and begins following her around the country to declare his devotion. Roshni is not amused, and finally points out to Jaggu that she is a major star while he is a small-time black marketeer. Jaggu sees her point, and promptly robs a bank in order to prove that he can support her in the style to which she has become accustomed. He’s promptly caught and sent to prison. This surprises no one, since he didn’t take any particular steps to conceal his crime.
Jaggu agreed to be arrested and go quietly only when Roshni agreed to visit him every week. She doesn’t, of course, and Jaggu quickly tires of prison, so he escapes and flees to Hong Kong. His plan is to make a lot of money through honest work, then go back to India and finish serving his sentence. He quickly finds work with expatriate Indian businessman (and lawyer, a fact which will be important later) Prakash Chadha (Anupam Kher), and begins his new life.
Sharda’s cancer worsens, and Roshni finally learns about her mother’s condition. She rushes home just in time for Sharda’s deathbed confession, and learns that her father is a lawyer and businessman from Mauritius named Prakash Chadha. Shortly after the marriage, Prakash was accused of embezzlement, and disappeared. She tracks down his family in Mauritius, and learns that he is now in Hong Kong. She decides to go there to meet him. Because he’s an apparently nice guy, Rahul insists on accompanying her. Because he’s actually a spineless drug-smuggling manweasel, he hides some cocaine in her luggage; she’s arrested at the airport, and Rahul makes himself scarce.
Roshni is sent to a prison run by a sadistic, unnamed warden (Bob Christo). Jaggu reads about her arrest in the newspaper, and rushes to the prison to visit her. She asks him to find her a lawyer, and to find her father; since Prakash is both, this isn’t as hard as one might think.
Gumrah is a fairly typical Bollywood movie. The only real problem with the film is that Sridevi and Sanjay have no romantic chemistry whatsoever. This isn’t too surprising, since they have radically different acting styles; Sridevi is a dedicated scenery chewer, while Sanjay relies on his laid back charm and the occasional mournful expression. The end result, though, is that they seem like they’re in two separate movies, and the final film is not greater than the sum of its parts.
Despite the lack of chemistry between the leads, Gumrah is a very watchable film. However, potential viewers should be warned that the film includes a Bob Christo sex scene. By Hollywood standards, it’s not terribly explicit, but that’s still more pasty white flesh than I really wanted to see.
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