Chachi 420
Encyclopedia
Chachi 420 is a 1998 comedy film, made in India and directed by Kamal Haasan
who also starred in the film as the main character. Other actors include Amrish Puri
, Tabu
, Om Puri
, Johnny Walker
, Paresh Rawal
, Rajendranath Zutshi
, Ayesha Jhulka
, Nassar
and Baby Sana. The Executive Producer is Sab John aka John E. This is a remake of Tamil
film Avvai Shanmugi
also starring Kamal Hassan which was in turn inspired by the American film, Mrs. Doubtfire
.
) are fighting for divorce. Janki was the only daughter of Durgaprasad Bharadwaj(Amrish Puri
), a staunch Brahmin businessman. Jaiprakash was an assistant music director. The duo fell in love & married against the will of Durgaprasad. However, Janki buckled under the pressure of living a life of a middle class housewife. Differences soon cropped up between the duo & they got divorced. Jai is allowed to meet their daughter Bharti(Baby Sana), once a week, but when he sneaks into the Bharadwaj house to meet Bharti, he loses the right.
Meanwhile, Durgaprasad puts an ad in local newspaper for a nanny for Bharti. Jai sees this as an opportunity & calls Durgaprasad, impersonating as a female. He calls himself Laxmi Godbole & applies for the position. With help of a drunkard makeup artist Joseph(Johnny Walker
in his last & memorable role), Jai goes a complete transformation as Laxmi. Jai goes to the interview, where he is generally viewed as the last pick. But when Bharti has an accident & Laxmi saves her, Laxmi gets the job & respect of the family.
Jai/Laxmi takes the job, but creates plausible stories so that his real job schedule does not clash with the job in Bharadwaj's home. Nobody knows Jai's secret other than Joseph & Bharti(who is the only person who recognizes the real identity of Laxmi). Jai learns that Durgaprasad's secretary Banwari(Om Puri
) is not exactly thrilled on Laxmi's entry. The reasons are various, ranging from his womanizing nature(which naturally views an old woman like Laxmi as unacceptable) & his inability to siphon Durgaprasad's money via the maids.
Jai also learns that although Janki loves Laxmi, who by now has earned the affectionate title of Chachi(a respected aunt), she still loathes Jai. Meanwhile, Jai has other problems in his own home as well. His landlord Haribhai(Paresh Rawal
), is behind Jai for his rent. After he sees Laxmi, Haribhai falls for her. As if that is not enough, a struggler named Ratna(Ayesha Julka) tries to cozy up to Jai. Meanwhile, Durgaprasad also falls for Laxmi & goes to the extent of proposing her.
As Laxmi, Jai buys time by telling to Durgaprasad that she is married but her husband has left her & got converted into a Christian man named Joseph. But Laxmi also convinces Durgaprasad that she still waits for her husband, who has converted. On the other hand, Jai tells Haribhai that Banwari is Laxmi's husband Durgaprasad, but calls himself Banwari as he has converted. He also makes clear to Haribhai that he should harbour no feelings for Laxmi. At same time, Jai tells Banwari that Laxmi's husband has converted & calls himself Haribhai.
Before this tangle gets complicated, Jai decides to take matters in his hands as Laxmi. Meanwhile, Durgaprasad decides to get Janki remarried to Dr.Rohit(Rajendranath Zutshi
), Durgaprasad's doctor & Janki's childhood friend.When Janki & Rohit get attacked by goons in market, Rohit scampers. Chachi saves both of them as well as Janki's modesty. Later, Durgaprasad tells Laxmi about his plans. Laxmi is more than relieved to know that Durgaprasad has cancelled the plans forever, learning of Rohit's cowardice.
Laxmi exposes the maid in the house, causing her to be fired. Banwari has no other option but to let male cook be appointed at home. Jai runs into his old friend Siraj(Nassar
), a restaurant chef, who is now running his own shop. Jai learns that Siraj's master fired him after he found the latter stealing money(although Siraj was keeping money back). Laxmi introduces Siraj to the household as Pandit Shivraj Sharma, a mute cook. Interestingly, even Siraj does not know that Chachi & Jai are same person.
Banwari intensifies his efforts to discredit Chachi in eyes of both Durgaprasad & Janki, but in vain, as the duo already seem to know what he is trying to tell. Meanwhile, Janki & Durgaprasad realize that they have punished Jai too hard for all the things he has done. Janki goes to reconcile with Jai, but on seeing Ratna in his home, gets a wrong message & turns back. Banwari gets a small victory when he blows up Siraj's cover. But Laxmi makes Durgaprasad see sense. Durgaprasad keeps mercy on Siraj, giving a verdict that Siraj can stay & he need not put up his act anymore. However, now Durgaprasad ends up hurting Janki.
Banwari & Janki see that there is something fishy about Chachi. Due to a goof up, they think that Laxmi is a loose charactered woman. Janki, who is very hurt by the turn of events, leaves her home & goes to commit suicide. Laxmi follows her on a motorcycle & jumps in a river with Janki. There, Laxmi reveals her true self to Janki. Janki realizes the whole story & reconciles with Jai. They come up with a story that Chachi died trying to save Janki.
To tie up other loose ends, they convince Banwari that Chachi is dead. They also threaten & blackmail Banwari with his secrets. They tell Haribhai to let it go. Joseph almost accidentally leaks some part of the truth, but Jai hushes up the matter by saying that Chachi will always remain alive in hearts of everybody who knew her.
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
who also starred in the film as the main character. Other actors include Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri
Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
, Tabu
Tabu (actress)
Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
, Om Puri
Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
, Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker (actor)
Johnny Walker is the screen name of an Indian movie comedian, who acted in over 300 movies. He was born as Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi in Indore, India, the son of a mill worker. The family shifted to Mumbai when the textile mill his father worked in closed...
, Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal is an Indian actor of Gujarati background.Making his film debut in 1984, he mainly played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000 he has mostly played comic roles.- Family and early life :...
, Rajendranath Zutshi
Rajendranath Zutshi
Rajendranath Zutshi, aka Raj Zutshi, is a Mumbai-based Indian film and television actor. He is actor Aamir Khan's ex-brother-in-law, as he was married to producer-director-writer Nasir Hussain's daughter Nuzhat...
, Ayesha Jhulka
Ayesha Jhulka
Ayesha Jhulka is a Bollywood actress. She is the daughter of Wing Commander Jhulka, an Indian Air Force Officer. During her career, she has worked with major stars like Mithun Chakraborty, Govinda, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, Suniel Shetty, Akshay Kumar,...
, Nassar
Nassar
Nassar is a Tamil actor, producer, writer, director, lyricist, and singer. He has appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English films. He is often cited as part of India's specialist character actors, along with the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Nana Patekar...
and Baby Sana. The Executive Producer is Sab John aka John E. This is a remake of Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
film Avvai Shanmugi
Avvai Shanmugi
Avvai Shanmugi is a 1996 Tamil comedy film directed by K. S. Ravikumar and written by Crazy Mohan, which is an Indian adaptation of the American comedy film, Mrs. Doubtfire. The film features Kamal Haasan in the lead role with Meena, Gemini Ganesan, Nagesh, Heera, Manivannan and Nassar...
also starring Kamal Hassan which was in turn inspired by the American film, Mrs. Doubtfire
Mrs. Doubtfire
Mrs. Doubtfire is a 1993 American comedy film starring Robin Williams and Sally Field and based on the novel Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. It was directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup...
.
Plot
Jaiprakash Paswan aka Jai(Kamal Hassan) & Janki Paswan aka Janki(TabuTabu
Tabu may refer to:*Tapu , a Polynesian cultural concept, from which the word taboo derives*Tabu , a 1931 award winning film*Tabu , Indian actress*Tabu Ley, Congolese musician...
) are fighting for divorce. Janki was the only daughter of Durgaprasad Bharadwaj(Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri
Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
), a staunch Brahmin businessman. Jaiprakash was an assistant music director. The duo fell in love & married against the will of Durgaprasad. However, Janki buckled under the pressure of living a life of a middle class housewife. Differences soon cropped up between the duo & they got divorced. Jai is allowed to meet their daughter Bharti(Baby Sana), once a week, but when he sneaks into the Bharadwaj house to meet Bharti, he loses the right.
Meanwhile, Durgaprasad puts an ad in local newspaper for a nanny for Bharti. Jai sees this as an opportunity & calls Durgaprasad, impersonating as a female. He calls himself Laxmi Godbole & applies for the position. With help of a drunkard makeup artist Joseph(Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker (actor)
Johnny Walker is the screen name of an Indian movie comedian, who acted in over 300 movies. He was born as Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi in Indore, India, the son of a mill worker. The family shifted to Mumbai when the textile mill his father worked in closed...
in his last & memorable role), Jai goes a complete transformation as Laxmi. Jai goes to the interview, where he is generally viewed as the last pick. But when Bharti has an accident & Laxmi saves her, Laxmi gets the job & respect of the family.
Jai/Laxmi takes the job, but creates plausible stories so that his real job schedule does not clash with the job in Bharadwaj's home. Nobody knows Jai's secret other than Joseph & Bharti(who is the only person who recognizes the real identity of Laxmi). Jai learns that Durgaprasad's secretary Banwari(Om Puri
Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
) is not exactly thrilled on Laxmi's entry. The reasons are various, ranging from his womanizing nature(which naturally views an old woman like Laxmi as unacceptable) & his inability to siphon Durgaprasad's money via the maids.
Jai also learns that although Janki loves Laxmi, who by now has earned the affectionate title of Chachi(a respected aunt), she still loathes Jai. Meanwhile, Jai has other problems in his own home as well. His landlord Haribhai(Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal is an Indian actor of Gujarati background.Making his film debut in 1984, he mainly played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000 he has mostly played comic roles.- Family and early life :...
), is behind Jai for his rent. After he sees Laxmi, Haribhai falls for her. As if that is not enough, a struggler named Ratna(Ayesha Julka) tries to cozy up to Jai. Meanwhile, Durgaprasad also falls for Laxmi & goes to the extent of proposing her.
As Laxmi, Jai buys time by telling to Durgaprasad that she is married but her husband has left her & got converted into a Christian man named Joseph. But Laxmi also convinces Durgaprasad that she still waits for her husband, who has converted. On the other hand, Jai tells Haribhai that Banwari is Laxmi's husband Durgaprasad, but calls himself Banwari as he has converted. He also makes clear to Haribhai that he should harbour no feelings for Laxmi. At same time, Jai tells Banwari that Laxmi's husband has converted & calls himself Haribhai.
Before this tangle gets complicated, Jai decides to take matters in his hands as Laxmi. Meanwhile, Durgaprasad decides to get Janki remarried to Dr.Rohit(Rajendranath Zutshi
Rajendranath Zutshi
Rajendranath Zutshi, aka Raj Zutshi, is a Mumbai-based Indian film and television actor. He is actor Aamir Khan's ex-brother-in-law, as he was married to producer-director-writer Nasir Hussain's daughter Nuzhat...
), Durgaprasad's doctor & Janki's childhood friend.When Janki & Rohit get attacked by goons in market, Rohit scampers. Chachi saves both of them as well as Janki's modesty. Later, Durgaprasad tells Laxmi about his plans. Laxmi is more than relieved to know that Durgaprasad has cancelled the plans forever, learning of Rohit's cowardice.
Laxmi exposes the maid in the house, causing her to be fired. Banwari has no other option but to let male cook be appointed at home. Jai runs into his old friend Siraj(Nassar
Nassar
Nassar is a Tamil actor, producer, writer, director, lyricist, and singer. He has appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English films. He is often cited as part of India's specialist character actors, along with the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Nana Patekar...
), a restaurant chef, who is now running his own shop. Jai learns that Siraj's master fired him after he found the latter stealing money(although Siraj was keeping money back). Laxmi introduces Siraj to the household as Pandit Shivraj Sharma, a mute cook. Interestingly, even Siraj does not know that Chachi & Jai are same person.
Banwari intensifies his efforts to discredit Chachi in eyes of both Durgaprasad & Janki, but in vain, as the duo already seem to know what he is trying to tell. Meanwhile, Janki & Durgaprasad realize that they have punished Jai too hard for all the things he has done. Janki goes to reconcile with Jai, but on seeing Ratna in his home, gets a wrong message & turns back. Banwari gets a small victory when he blows up Siraj's cover. But Laxmi makes Durgaprasad see sense. Durgaprasad keeps mercy on Siraj, giving a verdict that Siraj can stay & he need not put up his act anymore. However, now Durgaprasad ends up hurting Janki.
Banwari & Janki see that there is something fishy about Chachi. Due to a goof up, they think that Laxmi is a loose charactered woman. Janki, who is very hurt by the turn of events, leaves her home & goes to commit suicide. Laxmi follows her on a motorcycle & jumps in a river with Janki. There, Laxmi reveals her true self to Janki. Janki realizes the whole story & reconciles with Jai. They come up with a story that Chachi died trying to save Janki.
To tie up other loose ends, they convince Banwari that Chachi is dead. They also threaten & blackmail Banwari with his secrets. They tell Haribhai to let it go. Joseph almost accidentally leaks some part of the truth, but Jai hushes up the matter by saying that Chachi will always remain alive in hearts of everybody who knew her.
Cast
- Kamal Hassan - Jaiprakash Paswan/Laxmi Godbole
- Amrish PuriAmrish PuriAmrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
- Durgaprasad Bhardwaj - Om PuriOm PuriOm Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
- Banwarilal Pandey aka Banwari - Tabu (actress)Tabu (actress)Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
- Janki Paswan/Janki Bharadwaj - Johnny WalkerJohnny Walker (actor)Johnny Walker is the screen name of an Indian movie comedian, who acted in over 300 movies. He was born as Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi in Indore, India, the son of a mill worker. The family shifted to Mumbai when the textile mill his father worked in closed...
- Joseph (as Johny Walker) - Paresh RawalParesh RawalParesh Rawal is an Indian actor of Gujarati background.Making his film debut in 1984, he mainly played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000 he has mostly played comic roles.- Family and early life :...
- Hariharan 'Haribhai' - NassarNassarNassar is a Tamil actor, producer, writer, director, lyricist, and singer. He has appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English films. He is often cited as part of India's specialist character actors, along with the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Nana Patekar...
- Siraj Akhtar / Pandit Shivraj Sharma - Ayesha JhulkaAyesha JhulkaAyesha Jhulka is a Bollywood actress. She is the daughter of Wing Commander Jhulka, an Indian Air Force Officer. During her career, she has worked with major stars like Mithun Chakraborty, Govinda, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, Suniel Shetty, Akshay Kumar,...
- Ratna - Baby Sana - Bharti
- Rajendranath ZutshiRajendranath ZutshiRajendranath Zutshi, aka Raj Zutshi, is a Mumbai-based Indian film and television actor. He is actor Aamir Khan's ex-brother-in-law, as he was married to producer-director-writer Nasir Hussain's daughter Nuzhat...
- Dr. Rohit