Aunty No.1

Aunty No.1 (Kirti Kumar, 1998)

One of the reasons to love Aunty: she is such a DIVA.

If you’re a Govinda fan, or you’ve been faithfully doing your Chi Chi homework, you’ll know that the phrase:  “(insert noun here) No. 1” comes from a series of six films he did, all with “No. 1” in the title (other than that, they are essentially unrelated to each other in terms of content, so I’m not sure “series” is the right word?).

Coolie No.1 was the first, and arguably still the most popular No.1, in 1995; the last was Jodi No.1 in 2001; personally, my favourite of the "series" is Hero No. 1 which I HIGHLY recommend as an EXCELLENT film. I’m pretty sure Aunty No.1, which comes smack bang in the middle of the No. 1 run, is NOBODY’S Number One No.1 (okay, first and last time I use that phrase).

The truth is that Aunty No.1 is kind of a hot mess of a film. Do you know my perverse taste well enough yet to know that (for the most part anyway) THIS MEANS I KIND OF SICKLY LOVED IT? There are some things you don’t know you’ve been craving until a film like Aunty No.1 collects them all together and presents them to you, like a perfect little checklist of your deepest, darkest, guilty pleasures. I loved it…right up until one of the most sincerely…unsettling endings I have ever witnessed in any Bollywood comedy film. We’ll get to that. (Hint: it's got EVERYTHING to do with how much I dislike Kader Khan).

 But basically, the subtitles sum up EXACTLY how I feel at the end of Aunty No.1. And yes, that is Chi Chi dressed as a woman getting it on with Raveena.

The basic plot of Aunty No.1 is that aspiring actor Gopi (Govinda) gets kicked out of his brother’s house by his sister in law until he can earn some money to help pay his keep. He reckons he can make it as a film actor and earn the big bucks as a Bollywood star – so he heads to Mumbai where his path crosses with Sandhya (Raveena Tandon) who he obviously falls in love with. And BOY, when Govinda falls in love, does he ever get steamy about it, FOR SERIOUS.

 Yeah I BET, you saucy minx!

Cracktastically awesomely OUT OF SYNC with the rest of the tone of the film thus far is this raunchy (well, by Hindi film standards of the era) number:

But then he is unfortunate enough to witness a murder! So back home he goes…

(This is anything but a  basic plot summary, amiright? I wonder – can a Bollywood plot EVER be basic, and not amazingly and wonderfully convoluted? Anyway, I digress…)

So at the same time as Gopi needs to sort of go into hiding/continue his life as a budding actor complete with costume and makeup trials, his two buddies have fallen in love too (only they choose to express their love in a much more sanitary fashion – a cute, peppy Grease/HSM-type musical number as opposed to Chi Chi and Raveena’s raunch-o-rama):

Aunty No. 1 - Chin China China

Bigadda.com: Most Viewed Videos | Sports Videos | Bollywood Videos

The boys Abhayankar and Raja are waiting for Abhayankar’s aunt, a QUEEN to arrive, to give her approval of their sweethearts. BUT SHE’S NOT COMING (or so they think - the Queen is kinda sneaky, and therein lies A KIND OF PREDICTABLE PLOT TWIST!).

So guess who has to fill in? And fend off the advances of not one, but TWO would be gentlemen suitors (including *shudder* Kader Khan)?

If you didn't guess CHI CHI then you suck at guessing games.

I cackled like a banshee, actually LOVING THE MAD FILM right up until Govinda dragged up, which is when the film actually drags the most. OH MY GOD, PUN SO NOT INTENDED, but I’m leaving it there because that was my subconscious talking. The drag part suffers, not because of Govinda, who is fantastic, but because of MY NEMESIS KADER KHAN whose presence as a would-be suitor is heightened during the drag segments. And I won’t say it’s not…disturbing…to see Kader Khan making goo-goo eyes at Govinda. BECAUSE IT IS.

Luckily there are all manner of hilarious subtitles to make up for it.

Heh heh, Chi Chi has a "concealed weapon", and I bet he knows how to use it.

Yep. Just grossed myself out a bit.

Given what is yet to come...this is slightly disturbing.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that can sufficiently balm the troubling ending.  

*Spoiler Warning* Govinda DRESSED AS AUNTY says “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of [I don't care enough about Kader Khan to learn his character's name]”. They go upstairs to the bedroom. Disappear underneath the sheets and wriggle around a lot.

IF I COULD ERASE THAT FROM MY MEMORY I WOULD.

And then…this:

Blurry because it was bad enough watching it once. THEY SWAPPED CLOTHES, GUYS. Ponder that implication.
(Govinda's mo' is cute though)

*SHUDDER*

I NEVER WANT TO WATCH THE ENDING AGAIN. It’s just….Chi Chi! REALLY!? KADER KHAN?!
Chi Chi. I AM SURE THAT IF THIS SCENARIO WERE EVER TO OCCUR YOU WOULD HAVE BETTER TASTE IN MEN THAN THAT. 

HIGHLIGHTS AND RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

I kinda love that the film opens with this ridiculously macho image:

Chi Chi is made of magic pure testosterone

as if to reassure us all against the preponderance of drag to come.

Govinda makes a scarily attractive woman and that’s all I will say about that.

What? Still hot.

His dance as Aunty is TOTALLY SPOT ON. Especially the bits where Kader Khan is making him gag. I feel you, Chi Chi, I feel you.

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I FREAKING LOVE self referential films. Aunty No.1 has a few glorious moments where Chi Chi appears to be referencing aspects of his own star persona (maybe the fact that his brother directed the film has something to do with it?):

HAHA FAVOURITE!

We all know. WE ALL KNOW.

Ah dramatic irony. I know of at least three separate instances in your filmography, Chi Chi, where you don womenswear.

There's no denying that Chi Chi has gained a little since his slim snaky hipped debut days. Still hot though.

OH MY GOD THE COSTUMES!

Its like the costumer designer said to himself “It’s my challenge…to make the costumes in each dance sequence BATSHIT INSANE”. Because, here’s a hint, beloved blog readers: the theme for the costumes in the songs in this film is “WE DON’T MAKE ANY SENSE”. It. Is. GLORIOUS.

Thus the costumes range from the fairly sedate:

A hark back to the glory of Hero No.1, perhaps?

...to the surrealism of Govinda after being shot in the back (for no reason, and with no lasting effect) with GIANT EYES ON HIS PEACHY BEHIND.

Oooh wait. I just thought! What if the theme is HIS PAST MOVIES? Making this Aankhen, I guess?

Then see Govinda in FULL SCOTTISH REGALIA! (whaaaaaat?!)

Yeeeeah so maybe the filmi theme thing falls down a little? Unless there's an obvious Scottish movie I don't know about.

And this is a subtle subliminal message suggesting….?

I never claimed to be mature.

The return of THE MESH SHIRT. With the glorious added bonus of…a leopard print turban. OF COURSE.

Is this Rajput or something? It’s traditional…ish…so kind of tame, for Chi Chi.

It wouldn't be a Chi Chi movie if he wasn't randomly dressed up like A SAILOR!

Freddie Mercury? I DIG the mustache.