Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai (1969)

There’s a languid start to the movie, with the first half entirely devoted to frolic and romance as was typical of the era—the dramatics usually began with a killer scene that brought the intermission curtain down; only then would the serious stuff and intrigue genuinely start.

This was the case with Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai, featuring a portly, balding Mohd Ali and prerequisite comic sidekick Rangeela (supposedly college students) cavorting around Hill Stations wooing beautiful Zeba and her friends.  The two use every trick in the book—pranks, song, dance routines, picnics, more songs, more stunts, more songs—the usual thing.

Love eventually finds its way, and Mohd Ali musters up the courage to ask Zeba’s dad for her hand in marriage.  Before that can happen, fate brings Mohd Ali to the point where he has come for a job at the vile Seth’s house.  Moments later, Zeba shows up.  Mohd Ali is humiliated and called a lowly “servant” by the miserable Seth, and his dreams of marrying Zeba appear shattered.  Yet Zeba remains adamant and beckons Mohd Ali to ask for her hand despite the humiliation and sings a stirring song to keep him interested.

The father is a renowned and super-rich businessman known for keeping the company of a very exclusive elite and never associates with the mere common folk.  The problem is Mohd Ali is a man who has hit hard times financially and falls woefully below the expected standards of the big Seth Sahib.  So blossoming love is nipped before it can flower, and there is much despair and, in Mohd Ali’s case, a lot of quivering and the tendency to lapse into Mehdi Hassan songs of angst and betrayal.

Will Zeba marry the creep lined up by her father, played by Yusuf Khan, or will he somehow accept Mohd Ali as his future son-in-law?  Will the loyal doddering servant who seems to perpetually be in agony as though suffering from an acute case of haemorrhoids and keeps muttering prophetic sayings hiding a dark secret that he has sworn never to reveal?  Will he make a startling revelation when push comes to shove!?

The film is typical of the “class-based” drama where the petty morals of the rich are juxtaposed and shown up by the superior morals of the less privileged masses.  It’s a pretty convoluted and excessively overwrought affair which though engaging, is somewhat predictable.  The film doesn’t pull punches or spring any exciting surprises on the way to its rather taken-for-granted conclusion.

It’s merely an adequate Lollywood film from the late 60s but an entirely formulaic and safe effort with pleasing songs, but it lacks a certain spark or oomph, and the masala is just a bit bland and even stale.  This sort of rich vs poor struggle with the rich representing evil shallow scum was quite the norm during the 60s and 70s.

The climax is stirring but perhaps not quite dramatic enough by desi standards.  There is no jumping in front of bullets to save others, no squirming death speeches, no miracles, no mask revelations, no amnesia or blindness suddenly being cured by a furious song.  The revelation, when it comes, had been telegraphed very clearly throughout the movie, so even the shock revelation isn’t quite the killer jolt that the filmmakers and audiences had hoped for.

Though the wrong side of 40 and with a well-rounded belly, Mohd Ali is none too convincing as a second-year student—which has some nostalgic charm.  He is endearing and plays his role with distinct ease, and Zeba does the bimbo thing effortlessly while Ibrahim Nafees huffs and puffs as the beastly father/Seth sahib.

It’s a perfectly reasonable Lollywood flick yet lacks a certain spice or dimension of intrigue, a twist or any fireworks to make it memorable in any way.  The film also fatally lacks tension.  With its inability to get its audience emotionally involved, it’s no surprise that it failed to cause many ripples Box Office-wise upon release.

Worst of all, Rozina is featured in the cast that adorns the VCD release of the movie.  Sadly she fails to materialize at all, which was a bit of a letdown considering her presence in the cast was the motivation for watching the film, to begin with!