Doodh Ka Karz (1990) is a movie about the bonds that can
develop between humans and their animal companions. It’s very much like
what a Bollywood Lassie movie would be, if Timmy’s father had been
falsely accused of theft and then brutally murdered, and Timmy fell in
love with the villain’s beautiful daughter, and Lassie were a snake
rather than a dog. Like a Lassie movie but much, much better, in other
words.
Raghuvir Singth (Amrish Puri), son of the local Thakur (Kamal Kapoor), is desperate. His prostitute girlfriend claims that she’s pregnant, and is threatening to tell his father everything if he doesn’t pay her off. Raghuvir doesn’t have the money, and his father won’t give him the money without knowing what it’s for. He discusses the problem with his friends Sampath (Prem Chopra) and Bhairon (Sadashiv Amrapurkar), and Bhairon has a suggestion: they could steal the diamonds from the local temple of Shiva. Then Raghuvir could pay the blackmail, and they’d be rich in their own rights rather than having to depend on the kindness of fathers. And since the shrine technically belongs to Raghuvir’s family, it wouldn’t really be stealing, just a horrifying act of sacrilege! Sampath and Raghuvir are reluctant, but finally agree. (What they don’t realize is that Bhairon is secretly even more evil than he lets on - he secretly orchestrated the entire blackmail scheme in order to convince Raghuvir to steal the jewels, and he’s already disposed of the prostitute. Evil.)
Meanwhile, a snake charmer (possibly played by Kuldip Pawr; the imdb isn’t clear) and his heavily pregnant wife (definitely played by Aruna Irani) seek shelter in the temple. The wife goes into labor, so the priest (Birbal) runs into town to find a midwife, and returns just in time to see Raghuvir and friends sneaking out of the shrine with a big sack of diamonds. Bhairon kills the priest, and Team Evil scampers away. The snake charmer discovers the fallen priest, and is standing over the body just as the midwife and assorted villagers arrive.
The next day, Raghuvir, Bhairon, and Sampath publicly whip the snake charmer to death, all the while demanding to know where he’s hidden the stolen diamonds. (They have apparently decided that if they’re going to be bad, they may as well be bad.) His wife drags his body out into the plains, builds a pyre, and cremates him. Then she sits down and breast feeds her son. Realizing that the family snake hasn’t eaten for two days, she gives the snake some milk and then tearfully pleads with it to go away and take care of itself. (This is, of course, a very significant moment.)
Having completed her religious duties, it’s time to confront the villains. Things do not go as planned, and by the end of the evening, the old Thakur is dead, Raghuvir is the new Thakur, and the snake charmer’s wife and infant son are presumed dead but secretly alive and in the care of the local blacksmith (Goga Kapoor.)
Years pass. Raghuvir has still not sold the stolen diamonds, and Bhairon and Sampath are getting desperate. While Raghuvir has carefully managed his inheritance, they are both out of money. Since Raghuvir won’t budge, Bhairon decides to try Plan B, and begins laying the groundwork for a marriage between Raghuvir’s daughter Reshma (Neelam Kothari, last seen in these parts as the talk show host in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) and his own son Ajit (Gulshan Grover.)
Meanwhile, the snake charmer’s son, Suraj, has grown into Jackie Schroff. His mother has carefully raised him to take revenge on the men who killed his father, but since she’s never mentioned any of this to him, he spends his free time performing dance numbers with the blacksmith’s obsessively devoted daughter Kajri (Varsha Usgaonkar.)
Reshma’s servant Haribhari (Guddi Maruti, who has the second best name in Bollywood) convinces her to attend a ceremony honoring the snakes at Shiva’s temple, and to see the mysterious snake which refuses to drink milk. Unfortunately, the snake recognizes her pendant (her father was wearing it when he helped kill the snake charmer) and attacks. She runs home, frightened and perplexed.
Perplexed or no, when she hears a snake charmer’s flute she sneaks out of the house and spies Suraj wandering in the woods. The snake spots her, and bites her foot. Luckily, Suraj hears her, and sucks out the poison. After an introduction like that, what choice do they have but to fall in love? The two young lovers are blissfully happy, but since he’s poor and she’s rich they keep the relationship a secret. That never works. Raghuvir finds them, and Suraj is brutally beaten (only to be saved by the snake), while Reshma is locked away in her room.
When Suraj’s mother finds out, she finally explains the whole vengeance thing. Suraj is conflicted, but as a good Indian boy he does what his mother wants and immediately starts plotting revenge.
W. C. Fields once warned that actors should never work with children or animals, and Jackie Shroff probably should have listened. He’s seriously upstaged in this movie. The average Bollywood hero can usually handle five goons at a time. Suraj never gets more than two, because the snake is hogging all the action. The snake also gets to finish off all of the main baddies, and is acknowledged by Suraj’s mother as the more dutiful of her sons. The only thing missing is a shot of the snake and Reshma riding off into the sunset together.
On the other hand, nobody ever upstages Amrish Puri. The man spent nearly his entire film career playing variations of the same two roles, and he did it brilliantly, always bringing something different to the table. His performance in Doodh Ka Karz is particularly good; Raghuvir does very bad things, but he comes very close to being a sympathetic character. He’s obsessed with his own status in society, easily led, and simply too weak to make the right choices.
As good as Puri is, though, the real reason to see Doodh Ka Karz is the climax. This is, simply put, the snakeiest movie I’ve ever seen. Suraj is forced to use his flute to lead the snake into a trap, but the snake brings friends. Lots of friends. Great heaping handfuls of friends. Soon the mansion is full of hissing, growling, flying snakes, striking down guards and cultists and Bob Christo left and right. It really has to be seen to be believed.
Raghuvir Singth (Amrish Puri), son of the local Thakur (Kamal Kapoor), is desperate. His prostitute girlfriend claims that she’s pregnant, and is threatening to tell his father everything if he doesn’t pay her off. Raghuvir doesn’t have the money, and his father won’t give him the money without knowing what it’s for. He discusses the problem with his friends Sampath (Prem Chopra) and Bhairon (Sadashiv Amrapurkar), and Bhairon has a suggestion: they could steal the diamonds from the local temple of Shiva. Then Raghuvir could pay the blackmail, and they’d be rich in their own rights rather than having to depend on the kindness of fathers. And since the shrine technically belongs to Raghuvir’s family, it wouldn’t really be stealing, just a horrifying act of sacrilege! Sampath and Raghuvir are reluctant, but finally agree. (What they don’t realize is that Bhairon is secretly even more evil than he lets on - he secretly orchestrated the entire blackmail scheme in order to convince Raghuvir to steal the jewels, and he’s already disposed of the prostitute. Evil.)
Meanwhile, a snake charmer (possibly played by Kuldip Pawr; the imdb isn’t clear) and his heavily pregnant wife (definitely played by Aruna Irani) seek shelter in the temple. The wife goes into labor, so the priest (Birbal) runs into town to find a midwife, and returns just in time to see Raghuvir and friends sneaking out of the shrine with a big sack of diamonds. Bhairon kills the priest, and Team Evil scampers away. The snake charmer discovers the fallen priest, and is standing over the body just as the midwife and assorted villagers arrive.
The next day, Raghuvir, Bhairon, and Sampath publicly whip the snake charmer to death, all the while demanding to know where he’s hidden the stolen diamonds. (They have apparently decided that if they’re going to be bad, they may as well be bad.) His wife drags his body out into the plains, builds a pyre, and cremates him. Then she sits down and breast feeds her son. Realizing that the family snake hasn’t eaten for two days, she gives the snake some milk and then tearfully pleads with it to go away and take care of itself. (This is, of course, a very significant moment.)
Having completed her religious duties, it’s time to confront the villains. Things do not go as planned, and by the end of the evening, the old Thakur is dead, Raghuvir is the new Thakur, and the snake charmer’s wife and infant son are presumed dead but secretly alive and in the care of the local blacksmith (Goga Kapoor.)
Years pass. Raghuvir has still not sold the stolen diamonds, and Bhairon and Sampath are getting desperate. While Raghuvir has carefully managed his inheritance, they are both out of money. Since Raghuvir won’t budge, Bhairon decides to try Plan B, and begins laying the groundwork for a marriage between Raghuvir’s daughter Reshma (Neelam Kothari, last seen in these parts as the talk show host in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) and his own son Ajit (Gulshan Grover.)
Meanwhile, the snake charmer’s son, Suraj, has grown into Jackie Schroff. His mother has carefully raised him to take revenge on the men who killed his father, but since she’s never mentioned any of this to him, he spends his free time performing dance numbers with the blacksmith’s obsessively devoted daughter Kajri (Varsha Usgaonkar.)
Reshma’s servant Haribhari (Guddi Maruti, who has the second best name in Bollywood) convinces her to attend a ceremony honoring the snakes at Shiva’s temple, and to see the mysterious snake which refuses to drink milk. Unfortunately, the snake recognizes her pendant (her father was wearing it when he helped kill the snake charmer) and attacks. She runs home, frightened and perplexed.
Perplexed or no, when she hears a snake charmer’s flute she sneaks out of the house and spies Suraj wandering in the woods. The snake spots her, and bites her foot. Luckily, Suraj hears her, and sucks out the poison. After an introduction like that, what choice do they have but to fall in love? The two young lovers are blissfully happy, but since he’s poor and she’s rich they keep the relationship a secret. That never works. Raghuvir finds them, and Suraj is brutally beaten (only to be saved by the snake), while Reshma is locked away in her room.
When Suraj’s mother finds out, she finally explains the whole vengeance thing. Suraj is conflicted, but as a good Indian boy he does what his mother wants and immediately starts plotting revenge.
W. C. Fields once warned that actors should never work with children or animals, and Jackie Shroff probably should have listened. He’s seriously upstaged in this movie. The average Bollywood hero can usually handle five goons at a time. Suraj never gets more than two, because the snake is hogging all the action. The snake also gets to finish off all of the main baddies, and is acknowledged by Suraj’s mother as the more dutiful of her sons. The only thing missing is a shot of the snake and Reshma riding off into the sunset together.
On the other hand, nobody ever upstages Amrish Puri. The man spent nearly his entire film career playing variations of the same two roles, and he did it brilliantly, always bringing something different to the table. His performance in Doodh Ka Karz is particularly good; Raghuvir does very bad things, but he comes very close to being a sympathetic character. He’s obsessed with his own status in society, easily led, and simply too weak to make the right choices.
As good as Puri is, though, the real reason to see Doodh Ka Karz is the climax. This is, simply put, the snakeiest movie I’ve ever seen. Suraj is forced to use his flute to lead the snake into a trap, but the snake brings friends. Lots of friends. Great heaping handfuls of friends. Soon the mansion is full of hissing, growling, flying snakes, striking down guards and cultists and Bob Christo left and right. It really has to be seen to be believed.
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