indian cinema heritage foundation

Do Dooni Chaar (1968)

  • Release Date1968
  • GenreComedy
  • FormatB-W
  • LanguageHindi
  • Run Time134 min
  • Length3874.31 meters
  • Number of Reels13
  • Gauge35mm
  • Censor RatingU
  • Censor Certificate Number55220-Mumbai
  • Certificate Date11/10/1968
  • Shooting LocationMohan Studios
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Two sets of twins separated at birth cause bedlam in a small town in this witty adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. The film introduces the four central characters at the beginning. The first Sandeep is easy-going and a cigarette smoker, while the second is ill-tempered and a snuff addict. Their servants are also twins, both called Sevak. The first is gruff and sombre, while the other is carefree. The first Sandeep lives with the gruff Sevak in Bombay with his mother. He is involved in the timber business and must journey to the small town of Shikharpur to conclude a deal. Unfortunately for them the second Sandeep and Sevak also live there. This Sandeep is married to Suman, while Sevak is married to Pyari. Suman’s sister Anju also lives with them. 

Sandeep of Shikharpur departs from his home in a fit of pique because of the continuous demands of Suman for a new cummerbund. Once in office he orders the cummerbund to be made. Sandeep of Bombay arrives in the town and immediately starts getting mistaken for the other Sandeep. Thus begins a series of mistakes in which the two Sandeeps and two Sevaks keep exchanging places. Suman takes the wrong Sandeep to be her husband, while her actual husband gets locked out of the house. Sandeep from Bombay, on the other hand, has eyes only for Anju, who is understandably scandalised thinking he is her brother-in-law. The expensive cummerbund also falls into the wrong hands, adding to the chaos and confusion. Suman and Anju, distraught at this perceived strangeness of Sandeep and Sevak, even have them taken away by exorcists to cure them of their affliction. 

The film reaches its resolution when the two sets of twins finally come together. Sandeep from Bombay had heard from his mother of a twin brother who was lost in a ship accident. Together they travel to Bombay to meet their mother. Their mother recounts the tale of one day finding the other twins – the Sevaks. On the same day one half of the four were lost in a shipwreck. Anju also accepts Sandeep from Bombay’s proposal bringing the film to a happy conclusion.

 

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