Back in the days, Chadi Jawani Budhe Nu was a famous Punjabi Theatre play and Delhi based Sapru House was known for
Punjabi plays.
FC Mehra,a famous Hindi Film Producer, had his own chain of cinemas in Bombay & Delhi. He would often visit Delhi and during one such visit he got to watch the play “Chadi Jawani Budhe Nu”. He was a big shot in the Hindi Film fraternity but even then chose to make a Punjabi film based on this play and that too with the same title.
Chadhi Jawani Budhe Nu Starcast
Chadhi Jawani Budhe Nu had BK Sood, Kimti Anand, Dheshi Kamleshwar, Subhash Sethi, Dolly Mehra, Vasundhara, Dolly Walia, Daman Kaushik as the main cast and there were special appearances in the film by Rajendranath,Agha and Katy Mirza.
Produced by FC Mehra, Chadhi Jawani Budhe Nu was directed by A Salam.
Storyline
The story was about a man’s changing behaviour when in his 40s. The titular role was played by BK Sood.
This ‘naughty budha’ plans to divorce his wife (played by Dheshi Kamleshwar) so as to marry his beautiful mistress (played by Dolly Walia). His son (Subhash Sethi) & Daughter (Vasundhara) who had returned home right after completing their college education, choose to take the matter in their hands.
“Chadhi Jawani Budhe Nu was a trendsetter in a wrong way” – Jagjeet
Actor Kimti Anand, who had played the role of Patwari in the film reveals, “Most of the actors including me and BK Sood were from the Delhi theatre circle. Mr FC Mehra had taken some known faces like Rajendranath and Agha for cameos. With minor changes in the original play script, we shot the film in Amritsar, majorly based on the play.”
Putt Jattan De fame director Jagjeet had once said in an interview that Chadhi Jawani Budhe Nu was a trendsetter in a wrong way, as it encouraged Punjabi filmmakers to include double meaning and vulgar jokes in their films.
A popular Hindi producer’s small Punjabi film which had no celebrity face in it still managed to do well owing to the play’s popularity in the region. It was even exempted from tax for reasons best known to the then Government, which further helped it to become a profitable venture.
Out of all the old Punjabi films, Chadhi Jawani Budhe Nu is a rare one that’s available on Netflix with a very good print. Back then many believed that that play version was much better than the film but let’s accept the fact that the film had its own share of moments.
Trivia
- BK Sood – The Delhi based theatre actor had last worked in Rajkumar Hirani-Aamir Khan’s PK. He passed away in the year 2016.
- Actor Kimti Anand was another Delhi based actor who had last worked in Akshay Kumar’s Toilet Ek Prem Katha.
- FC Mehra’s son Umesh Mehra (Now a known Hindi Film Director) had written the script for the film and had also made an appearance in the it.
- Actress Rajni Sharma was considered for one of the female lead roles.
- Known as Buxom Beauty, Katy Mirza was a famous Playboy magazine’s model. Chadhi Jawani Budhe Nu was her only Punjabi film,in which she did a small cameo.
- The film was released in December 1976 among Hindi films like Zindagi, Bullet etc.
- Mehar Mittal was also considered for one of the roles. Years later he got to work in FC Mehra production Sohni Mahiwal (1984).
- It’s the only Punjabi film, for which the famous music director Ravinder Jain had composed music.
Photo Credits-BK Sood Blog
