''Chhoti Si Baat'' (translation: ''A Small Matter'') is a

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film directed by Basu Chatterjee. Considered one of the best Hindi comedy films of the 1970s, it is a nostalgic favourite for its quirky take on pre-hypercongestion

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. The film became a box office hit and stars

Amol Palekar Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema. Early life and education Palekar was born to Kamlakara and Suhasini Palekar in a Marathi language, Marathi speaking middle-class family ...

, Vidya Sinha,

Ashok Kumar Ashok Kumar (born Kumudlal Ganguly; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is considered to be the first Super-st ...

and Asrani in lead roles. and also earned six

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...

nominations and a Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay for Basu Chatterjee. The film is a remake of the 1960 British film '' School for Scoundrels''. It also established

as having an uncommon comic talent for playing mousy characters, a role he would go on to repeat several times in his career. As with other Basu Chatterjee films, movie stars have small cameos playing themselves:

Dharmendra Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol (born 8 December 1935), known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who is primarily known for his work in Hindi films. Dharmendra is widely considered one of the greatest, most h ...

and Hema Malini (whose mother Jaya Chakravarthy helped produce the film) are in a movie-within-a-movie for the song ''Janneman Janneman'', while

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

plays himself in another scene, where he seeks advice from

's character. He is dressed in costume from Zameer, whose film poster is prominently displayed at the bus stop scenes in ''Chhoti Si Baat''. B.R. Chopra is the producer for Zameer, just as he is for ''Chhoti Si Baat.''

Plot

''Chhoti Si Baat'' is a romantic comedy about a painfully shy young man named Arun Pradeep (

), who lacks self-confidence and fails to stand up for his convictions, in the process letting all and sundry walk all over him. He falls in

love at first sight Love at first sight is a personal experience and a common theme in creative works: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. It has been desc ...

with Prabha Narayan ( Vidya Sinha), whom he sees daily at a bus stop en route to work. Lacking enough courage and unsure if his feelings are reciprocated, Arun pines for her from afar and follows her around at a safe distance or so he believes. Prabha, completely aware of his affections, secretly relishes his discomfort, while waiting for him to make the first move. While Arun is hopelessly stuck, in comes the suave, brash Nagesh Shastri ( Asrani), a colleague of Prabha, and emerges a serious

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

for her attention. It does not help that Nagesh appears to be miles ahead of Arun in the "race" and is all that Arun is not; Nagesh is gregarious while Arun is shy, Nagesh is confident and boastful while Arun is besieged with self-doubt, Nagesh is smooth while Arun is awkward, Nagesh is street-smart while Arun's

naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...

, and Nagesh is assertive while Arun is timid. Besides this, Nagesh owns a scooter and ensures that he has opportunities to offer Prabha a ride, while Arun can only look on. A gullible Arun, trying to match Nagesh with a

motorbike A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat. Motorcycle designs var ...

of his own, is conned into buying a dud, further embarrassing him in front of Prabha. Arun seeks

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

, tarot cards, and dubious godmen only to land with egg on his face. In desperation, Arun finally turns to

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh (

) of Khandala, who has made it his mission to assist those in love find their true destiny. Colonel Singh agrees to help Arun and thus begins the turn-around as Colonel Singh begins to mould Arun into a mature, confident young man through meticulously designed lesson plans, peppered with philosophy and " hands-on" training. A "

born-again To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

" Arun returns to

with a distinguished swagger, brimming with newly-discovered

self-esteem Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Macki ...

, ready to take on the world and win over Prabha.

Cast

Soundtrack

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Chhoti si baat detailed star cast and crew
{{Authority control 1970s Hindi-language films 1970s Indian films Indian romantic comedy films Films directed by Basu Chatterjee Indian films with live action and animation Films scored by Salil Chowdhury Films set in Mumbai Hindi-language romance films 1975 romantic comedy films 1975 films