Chhoti Si Baat (1976)

Film: Chhoti Si Baat

Year of release: 1976

Director: Basu Chatterjee

Writer: Sharad Joshi, Basu Chatterjee (dialogue)

Producer: BR Chopra

Lead Actors: Amol Palekar, Vidya Sinha, Ashok Kumar, Asrani, Dharmendra, Hema Malini

Chhoti Si Baat was an uncredited remake of British comedy School of Scoundrels (1960).

Palekar plays a simpleton who is in love with a woman colleague but struggles to woo her owing to his low confidence. His life becomes miserable when a brash, smooth-talking Asrani joins the office, and is able to catch the attention of the woman with ease.

A scene from the film shows Palekar wincing over use of Sanskrit words and replacing them with Urdu while rehearsing for a speech, hoping it would work as a charm on the woman.

This is yet another example of how Urdu (the great Hindi literary icon Bhartendu Harishchandra described Urdu as language of dancing girls and prostitutes) has been subtly pushed as classy while the language of wisdom (Sanskrit) sidelined by Bollywood.

Watch the scene here:

"Not Sanskrit. Urdu is classy language"

This is how the language of brothels was subtly pushed and language of wisdom was sidelined by Urduwood.

Award-winning film Chhoti Si Baat by BR Chopra and Basu Chatterjee "inspired" from School of Scoundrelspic.twitter.com/dBR5Z3eAva— Gems of Bollywood ??????? ?? ???? (@GemsOfBollywood) September 12, 2021