Sridevipalooza project: random video #2


"Main Tera Ashique Hoon" from Gumrah (1993)

Like yesterday's, this is another song that seems to give lots of clues to the overall story of the film (which I haven't seen - I think the only Sridevi films I've seen are Mr. India and Janbaaz). It uses many familiar elements that I think I can confidently assemble into some sort of context. For example, you can tell by her sleek, short bob and wicked shoulder pads that Sridevi is playing a snooty, wealthy, probably pampered, untraditional girl (let's call her Memsaab for the rest of this post, because you just know other characters call her that).

She's either a floral designer or, more likely, someone has left her a ton of arrangements as a token of his affection. A male voice wafts across the room in a slow, heartfelt introductino. She is not pleased about this and goes to the window to look around for the culprit.

She's also not pleased about what she sees:

To us, all seems well at first: lush garden, a sprinkling of "classy" lamps, a nice gazebo...

and then Sanjay Dutt leaps into action from his perch on one of the statues as the song picks up the pace.

He must be a sort of whimsical, unconventional love interest for her because his hat falls on his head from an unseen source above. How zany!

Granted I'm no particular fan of Sanjay Dutt, but these have to be just about the least flattering screen captures I've ever seen of him.
As he serenades her in his hat and tank top, she fumes by the window.


My screen captures cannot do justice to the hilarity of Sanjay's hip-wiggling in the first sequence of this song, and I highly recommend you watch the video. Memsaab is far less amused by his hip-wiggling than I am and remains huffy.

I didn't notice the gloves in any other shot but this one, so maybe it's just a really weird shadow, but I sure hope she is wearing black gloves with this outfit.
She won't stand for any more nonsense and calls the police.

Bad news for Sanjay

who exits quickly out of the garden as Memsaab exults.

Judging by his expression, I gather this is not the first time this character has run from the police; being a minor tapori might explain his dubious outfit, too.

We cut to Memsaab in a different interior

but with the same bad fortune awaiting her when she looks out of its window.

She flounces off in an outfit that would be completely at home in an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 of the same year

Wait til you see what she's wearing with this shirt. All you girls who are in your mid 30s will already have guessed.
while he lounges on the roof, continuing his song.

So impertinent!

Bike shorts FTW! Hers even have a snazzy trim on the bottom hem!
I don't know where this song is set, but like yesterday's, it features a few interesting modes of transportation: first a horse-drawn carriage (does this count as a tonga?)

and then, to remind us how fancy Memsaab is, yachts.

The song is clearly establishing that age-old principle from Hindi films: stalking=love. No matter where she goes, there he is. Memsaab doesn't have any lines in this song, but you can see the rrrrrr! on Sridevi's face.

By the end of the song, Memsaab and Sanjay have hopped ashore and he has put on either a bathrobe or a Jedi knight cloak.

Whatever he's done, it seems to have finally worn her down, and she grabs his arm and marches him down the beach as the song ends.


This Laxmikant-Pyarelal song is nothing special, though it does sound slightly beach-y to my ears, which suits the yacht sequence. Unfortunately, it does not showcase Sridevi in any way. So far my "pick random Sridevi videos" approach is not doing much to feature the worthy subject of Sridevipalooza! I have an ace up my sleeve to close out the week, but I still hope that the next three random clips will be better Sridevi-wise.

While researching this film, I was pleased to discover it features Anupam Kher, Bob Christo, and Tom Alter, who have already made appearances in my Sridevipalooza project. Credits for the film include "Bombay police inspector," "female cop in Mauritius," and "fighter in Hong Kong," so I assume Sanjay will, or possibly already has, beat the crap out of some people somewhere in Asia. The Wikipedia article says Memsaab is a professional singer, which explains the snazzy threads and hair...and all but promises at least one really dazzling/ridiculous stage number. While looking for it, I instead found this scene of Memsaab fighting back against a taunting prison warden.

And if you ever wanted to see a bunch of women fighting in Indian cinema, youtube's suggestions should fix you right up.

For more on Gumrah by a devoted Sanjay fan, click here.

Comments

memsaab said…
Oh my. I saw this ages ago and had forgotten all about it! (it was a bad movie, but I think I enjoyed it anyway).

I am glad to welcome Sridevi to the Memsaab club (you too) :D
VLoveMovies said…
Bob Christo plays a female cop in Mauritius???!!!
(the original) Memsaab - Did you! I don't think it sounds terrible but certainly won't rush out to investigate.

Hurrah for the club! I wish someone would hurry up and freshen our drinks.

V - Indeed! It is his most subtle performance yet!
saima said…
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saima - Thanks for commenting! I hope you enjoy. :)

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