Love in Tokyo
Director: Pramod Chakravorty
Music: Shanker-Jaikishan; Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri
& Shailendra
Year: 1966
Running Time: 2 hours and 50 minutes
“Love in Tokyo” takes us on a delightful romantic
stroll through the streets, parks, department stores and cherry blossoms
of Tokyo into the hearts of two Indians abroad. As one of the songs goes
“Step gracefully into my heart through my eyes” and this film with its
lovely palette of colors and sweet candy striped mood certainly does this
with the viewer. In the various readings I have done on Indian cinema this
is the sort of film never mentioned – light-hearted, youthful, full of
energy and enthusiasm and with a basket full of infectious songs – but
it breaks no cinematic ground nor addresses any deep social issues – it
is simply a pop gem that has lost none of its charm some thirty-five years
later.
It begins in India where Joy Mukerjee is doing
his best to avoid the entanglements of an engagement to a woman he doesn’t
feel anything for. It is almost a relief when he learns that he has to
travel to Japan to pick up his 8-year-old nephew Chicko and bring him back
to India. It seems that his now deceased brother had married a Japanese
woman – settled down there – and been disinherited from the family for
doing so. The stern narrow-minded mother unflinchingly refused to have
anything to do with him or initially the boy after the mother died. But
she relents and sends Joy to bring him back.
While taking Chicko (who has declared that
Japan is best and why should he go to India) for a shopping expedition,
he spots Asha Parekh on television performing a lavish musical number and
is enchanted with her. And who wouldn’t be? Asha is a small bundle of ever
changing expressions who will cast a spell on your affections. She is a
lovely dancer with big galooping eyes, a snub nose and a large mouth that
can switch from giggly delight to pouty dejection faster than a speeding
bullet train. Though she was a huge star back in the 1960s it seems unlikely
that she would have much opportunity in today’s film climate to be a leading
actress with her small stature, large hips and non-Western features, but
she is a fanciful pleasure to watch on the screen. Joy comments about her
while she walks ahead and he eyes her posterior – “You don’t find women
like this anymore. It’s swirling like a river”. How true. At one point
amusingly Joy tries to carry her across the street and can’t hold on and
drops her with a bang on the pavement and one senses that this was not
planned but kept in.
Her unscrupulous uncle has promised her and her
inherited wealth to his friend, Pran, who snakes across the screen with
an ever present cigarette – pulled underhanded to his lips as if a juicy
snail to suck on – a sneer written across his face in big bold neon – immaculately
neat but stained with a lack of morals like an oily rag. Both men are in
desperate need of funds and marrying Asha is the solution. She jettisons
this plan though by running away and hiding on the streets of Tokyo. There
she meets up with the similarly escaped nephew who rescues her from Pran
with some nifty judo moves.
To avoid further detection, Asha disguises herself
as a Sikh man and the film goes through some amusing gender confusions.
Both Asha and Chicko end up back with Joy – she still in Sikh mode – and
they get along swell though he keeps affectionately touching her/him much
to Asha’s consternation. She also finds a need to pretend to be Chicko’s
Japanese aunt and disguises herself as a Japanese maiden right out of a
Gilbert and Sullivan operetta and sings the capricious “Sayonara Sayonara”
with playback singer Lata hitting some high notes that may crack your light
bulbs. He now finds himself falling for this woman and turns to Asha as
the Sikh for wooing advice. She gladly gives him some.
The film introduces some notes of melodrama but
they are there more for form sake than anything because there isn’t a doubt
how this one will end. One mildly tiresome thing about the film is a comic
subplot that many of these romantic comedies seem to have from that period.
This part has Mehmood (famous comic actor and the servant in Gumnaam) chasing
after his love and though a few of the bits are amusing – dressed up as
a geisha and then becoming a human rubber ball and bouncing high above
Tokyo – much of it becomes tiresome and just detracts from the main story.
The main strength of the film though is the lovely
score from the fabulous team of Shanker-Jaikishan (Gumnaam, Janwaar, An
Evening in Paris) who deliver an eclectic set of songs from traditional
Indian film music, to one tinged heavily with a Japanese influence to ones
that reflect their love for Western pop sounds. Two songs in particular
are a total delight and have been played repeatedly by me. “Japan, Love
in Tokyo” - stretch out the Jaaaapan – had me singing it on
the subway – at least the one phrase in English. This song plays of course
when the two realize that they are in love with each other – and they sort
of dance around Tokyo with total abandonment. I say sort of dance because
Joy can’t dance a lick – his inability is almost endearing as he skips
and bounces – and at one point rolls on the ground for no reason – but
Asha is wonderful in her dance steps. The other classic is Aaja Re Aa Zara.
It is one of the most romantic songs/scenes I have seen – drenched in repressed
sexual passions. It plays out beautifully – the two of them come upon an
outdoor dance floor where a number of Westerners are dancing cheek to cheek
– and Asha looks at them and marvels wide eyed at their physical intimacy
with envy – good Indian girls don’t snuggle up in public – Joy quietly
begins reciting poetry to her:
Alone with each other, amidst the celebration
of life
A touch of the lips, a toss of the hair
Come to me
Then they play out a shadow game of nearly
coming together but always pulling away among the dancing couples. Then
the rain comes down – the couples desert the floor leaving the two of them
staring at one another across the floor with unmitigated desire –
her sari soaking wet – biting her finger to stop her need – then hesitantly
she approaches – his arms outstretched – she enters his embrace and as
they go for a kiss the camera pulls away and they are left completely alone.
It’s fabulous.
My rating for this film: 7.5
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