25 years of Chachi 420: Kamal Haasan film is a lesson on how not to mock a man playing a woman, and still be funny
Kamal Hassan looked convincing as Lakshmi Godbole in Chachi 420. Cross-dressing of men as women in movies or TV shows is a time-tested trope when you are looking for some easy laughs. While cross-dressing itself finds its roots in nautankis when female roles were played by men dressed in drag, the recent experiments have rarely passed muster. The recent memory is of Kapil Sharma’s ‘relatives’ played by men in drag in his comedy show, The Kapil Sharma Show or the comedies such as Apna Sapna Money Money, Humshakals and Golmaal Returns. All the above examples are distasteful and cringe, to say the least.
This wasn’t always the case. Until a few years ago, filmmakers used the device of cross-dressing not just to get laugh but because it also naturally fit it into the plot. One such film was the 1997 film Chachi 420, written, directed, produced and acted by Kamal Haasan.
Released 25 years ago, Chachi 420 featured Kamal Haasan, along with Amrish Puri, Om Puri, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Walker and Tabu. One of the most endearing things about the film where Haasan plays a middle-aged woman is that the character is never reduced to a caricature. The laughs never comes from misogyny or a perverted gaze. Chachi 420 works as a story, not as a gimmick.
Inspired by Hollywood films Mrs Doubtfire, Tootsie and a few others, Chachi 420 is about a man who disguises himself as a nanny to meet his daughter after getting divorced from his wife. Haasan plays an assistant dance director Jaiprakash Paswan who marries Janki Bhardwaj (Tabu) against the wishes of her rich father Durgaprasad Bhardwaj (Amrish Puri). But a few years later, problems crop up in Jaiprakash and Janki’s marital life, leading to their divorce and custody of their daughter Bharti (Fatima Sana Shaikh) going to the mother. And, here begins all the drama as desperate to meet his daughter, Haasan transforms into a nanny Lakshmi Godbole and enters the Bhardwaj mansion as Bharti’s nanny.
Kamal Hassan and Tabu in Chachi 420. (Express archive photo)
Haasan is fairly plausible as Lakshmi Godbole. With the prosthetic makeup, shaved legs and hoarse voice, he looks like an actual woman. Not just the makeup, Haasan’s mannerisms as a woman are spot on too. He enters the lives of Bhardwaj’s as an angel, and as lyricist Gulzar has put it, “Chachi ke paas mushkilon ki saari chaabiyaan hain,” he solves all problems – small or big.
Haasan has earlier said that his transformation into a woman for the movie was a ‘complicated’ process. He told reporters during the film’s ‘mahurat’, “Fitting me into a bra is a difficult situation and also making me comfortable so that I can last 7-8 hours is also a difficult situation.”
He also patted his back for being patient enough to sit in one place for hours to get his makeup done. But he gave half of the credit for his authentic transformation to his makeup artist and costume designer. “More than 50% credit goes to the makeup artist and costume designer. It is only after you have donned the makeup, that you have to present yourself,” he had said.
Chachi 420 is also a film which isn’t afraid to mix up absurdity with seriousness, social comment on casteism with farce, and a little heartfelt tenderness right in there with the laughs, which, mind you, is not because of Haasan being dressed as a woman.
Instead, laughs are doled out of plot complications due to mistaken identities. Many funny moments came from the situations when Lakshmi Godbole and Jaiprakash had to be at the same place and at the same time. Also, getting to watch men fall in love with a man dressed as a woman was hilarious.
Kamal Haasan and Johnny Walker in Chachi 420. (Express archive photo)
All the central characters of Chachi 420 are designed in a comical manner, and the actors playing them are excellent with their craft. Om Puri as Bhardwaj’s manager, who always sticks his nose into the family’s private life, is hilarious. Paresh Rawal takes his act as Jaiprakash’s Gujarati landlord, who falls in love with Lakshmi takes it to another level. Amrish Puri, as an authoritarian, no-nonsense father to Tabu, shines as well. It is good to know that this iconic villain of Hindi cinema could do comedy with as much convention as he said, “Mogambo khush hua”. Johnny Walker as a drunkard makeup artist cannot be ignored in this ensemble despite only a few scenes. The only underwhelming character is Tabu, not because of her acting but because of how it has been written.
Today Chachi 420 completes 25 years of its release, and I am still waiting for Hindi cinema to make a comedy as funny and intelligent as this one.
