36 Ghante(1974)

I don't know if it's because I wasn't really in the mood to watch it, but I found this movie rather boring. I switched it off just as Ashok(Raj Kumar) was advising his sister, Naina(Parveen Babi), to not let on that the three escaped criminals the police were looking for were hiding out at their house. At this point, I don't care how it ends. Maybe sometime in the distant future I'll rewatch it, or just skip ahead to the end, but right now, it's going into the "buyer's remorse" pile.

36 Ghante is based on the 1955 Hollywood movie, The Desperate Hours. I haven't watched that version, so I don't know how its Hindi counterpart compares, but I'm sure the picture quality on the Paramount DVD is not as bad as the non-effort put out by Yash Raj Films. "Nostalgic appeal" my ass! They just didn't want to spend the money to produce a better print. I'm not really a stickler for flawless pic quality, especially since I watch my movies on an analog TV, but still...YRF? Stop being so cheap when it comes to your older titles.

Parveen Babi is the reason I got this. In spite of being less-than-impressed with this film, I did enjoy watching her, as she's very telegenic. And when she fake-fainted, giving Ashok an opportunity to take the gun from one of the goons, Ajit(Ranjeet) and force him outside, I thought "Yes!" But my excitement was quickly dashed when I saw the little boy, Raju, choose that moment to jump out of his bedroom window and right into the arms of the ringleader, Himmat(Sunil Dutt). Don't get me started on Ashok failing to quickly SHUT THE DOOR after Himmat turned Raju loose and let him go back inside. **sigh**

ETA 01/22/10: Ha! I was about to comment in someone's blog that I hadn't watched any of Mala Sinha's movies and then I saw the tag for her name and remembered this movie. Still haven't gotten around to rewatching it. Maybe one day.

My viewing experience wasn't a total bust. Here are the few gems I found either amusing or asethetically pleasing:


The wife, Deepa's(Mala Sinha) sari


Himmat's bikini-clad girlfriend, Kamini, getting
a rub-down from a skinny masseuse


Kamini's red and white ensemble,
and huge bug eye sunglasses


Her snazzy ride


Nearly running over a pedestrian in her
haste to escape from the cops


The beautiful Parveen


The fiance's poor parents having to sit outside
in the cold, and leaving with the impression
that Ashok and Deepa didn't approve of their son


Vijay, the aforementioned fiance, imploring Naina
to talk to him in the "Chup Ho Aaj Kaho" song


Himmat(middle) ripping Dilawar(Danny, left)
a new one for trying to rape Naina.
A criminal with a conscience, gotta love it.