Cinder Seeta and Ghetto Geeta

Seeta Aur Geeta (1972)

The movie opens on a dark stormy night in a shotgun shack. Suddenly, there's a knock at the door! It's Mr. and Mrs. rich upper caste. Their car has broken down and Mrs. rich upper caste is in labor. Mr. and Mrs. poor but kindly lower caste open their home to them. Mrs. poor lower caste takes control and sends Mr. poor lower caste and Mr. rich upper caste out into the storm to find the local Doctor.

At this point I'm convinced that the director has seen Start The Revolution Without Me (1970) because this is identical to the opening of that movie.

But when the Doctor and Mr. rich and Mr. poor get back to the shack Mrs. rich has already had a healthy baby girl. Cut to the next morning as Mr. and Mrs. poor are seeing off Mr. and Mrs. rich and their newborn daughter. Mr. rich offers Mr. poor money for their hospitality, which Mr. poor turns down as any good and virtuous person would do. Instead, Mrs. poor asks the couple to pray for them that they too could be blessed with a child as they have. Mr. rich replies that if they had twins he would surely give one to Mr. and Mrs. poor for their kindness. Once Mr. and Mrs. rich leave Mrs. poor leads Mr. poor to the back of the shack and where she has hidden healthy baby girl twin. Surprise!

And then we dive right into the opening credits.

Now, if you can buy that premise you're probably gonna enjoy this movie. Because this is pretty much a Prince and the Pauper/Cinderella/Parent Trap mistaken identity kinda movie. And maybe a bit more.

After the credits we're whisked to a mansion. You think, "Hey, must be where Mr. and Mrs. rich upper caste lives." But you're wrong. We've taken a turn into Cinderella. Beautiful, kindly Seeta is at the mercy of her cruel aunt, her cruel cousin, and her aunt's evil brother. Yes, these are very thinly defined stock villains, however the actors in this film are delicious hams and play their parts with mustache twirling glee.

Ok. I'm going just use the word. It's camp. It's a very campy movie. However, it's self aware of it's camp. This is a movie where Sickly Grandmother pleads through tears, "Won't somebody come and take her from this horrible life?" And we immediately cut to Doctor rich bachelor/Handsome poor guy with heart of gold. Right on cue.

Meanwhile, back in the ghetto, we meet Geeta. Geeta is a street performer, dancing, singing songs, walking tight ropes, throwing knives and dressing like a Gypsy. It's the same actress who was playing Seeta, but a completely different performance. Seriously, she's a very good actress and pulls off this duel role way better then a movie like this would deserve.

The actress, Hema Malini, is one of those actresses who are so charismatic they glow on screen. Hema Malini is the definition of a true screen goddess. When she smiles, you melt. When she talks, you can't help but fall in love with her. Even through a language barrier. It's a shame that I can't think of any western movie actress of recent years who display this kind of charm and glamor. Hema Malini recalls a Hollywood that no longer exists. Then again, the Bollywood that made this movie no longer exists, either.

As you know it's gonna happen, eventually Cinder Seeta and Ghetto Geeta switch places. But since the guys who made the movie know that you know what's gonna happen there's a couple false starts and a few teases before the switch actually occurs. When Seeta and Geeta finally switch lives the storyline slows down for a moment, like it's waiting for us to take a deep breath, before the fun really starts. Hema Malini really shines at this point of the movie, and her co-stars struggle to keep up.

Like any Bollywood movie, there are a couple of show stopping numbers. And the songs here aren't the best. Not to mention two of the four songs here are about alcohol and getting shitfaced. And they're not rousing cheery drunken ballads but booze sodden laments. I-dun-you-wrong turns out to be a universal theme that comes through in any language. What's interesting is that instead of playing these songs for camp they are used to underscore the confusion and sense of helplessness and self doubt of the characters.

I know you're thinking there must be split screen all over the place, what with one actress playing two leads. Nope. This movie doesn't have the budget for split screen overload. This is a blessing for the movie. You spend less time going, "oh hey, look at that effect," and more time just enjoying Hema Malini's preformance.

I don't wanna give away the ending, but you already know it'll all turn out alright and everybody lives happily ever after, except the bad guys, because that's what happens in these kind of feelgood movies.