Bawarchi: Difference between revisions

Unlike most [[Cinema of India|Indian films]] that open with credit titles, the film has the narrator [[Amitabh Bachchan]]'s booming voice introducing the cast. Satirical in tone and treatment, the fast-paced narrative opens in a noisy, crowded household, paradoxically named "Shanti Niwas" ("Abode of Peace"). No domestic work sticks in this household, consisting of the elderly, widowed patriarch, the retired postmaster Shivnath Sharma ([[Harindranath Chattopadhyay]]), affectionately called Daduji, and his three sons and their extended families. The first son is Ramnath ([[A. K. Hangal]]), a lowly-paid clerk, with a cantankerous wife Seeta ([[Durga Khote]]), and their daughter Meeta (Manisha), a [[Kathak]] dancer of sorts. The third son is Kashinath ([[Kali Banerjee]]), a pompous schoolteacher, with his quarrelsome wife Shobha ([[Usha Kiran]]), and their young son Pintoo ([[Raju Shrestha]]). The fourth son is Vishwanath ([[Asrani]]), an unmarried aspiring [[music director]], and the last member of the Sharma family is Krishna ([[Jaya Bhaduri]]), the talented but reclusive, orphaned daughter of Daduji's second son and daughter-in-law, who both passed away in a car accident several years ago. Krishna is in love with a handsome wrestler named Arun whom the Sharma family does not approve of.  

Into this tensed up household enters a fun-loving multifaceted character, Raghunandan ([[Rajesh Khanna]]), also known as Raghu, who just appears on the doorstep one day, volunteering to be their new domestic worker. Raghu is a master of all, a smooth-talker, boasting of mastering various skills while working with real-life legendary characters, and a singer, dancer, and a no-mean musician as well. He loses no time in winning everyone's hearts through his cooking expertise and insistence on a low salary. Raghu also teaches each of the family members the truths that doing something for someone is a pleasure, that joy grows from sharing it with others, that there is no greater happiness than making someone happy, and reprimanding elders is an expression of their love. The family does not notice when the daily arguments over who goes to the bathroom first stop, Shobha massages the pain of the sick Seeta, who in turn pleases her by preparing her favourite delicacies. Meeta, who was previously only practicing dancing and partying, also appears in the kitchen and Ramnath no longer has to drink away his sorrows every night. Shivnath finally leaves his bed for a walk as well, unable to praise Raghu's service enough, and the constantly abused Krishna finds the figure of mothers in her two aunts. The family begins to meet not for arguments but for shared meals and praises life through singing and dancing together and Shanti Nivas truly becomes an abode of peace.