The Dada Of Double Entendre

King Of Kink & Crown Prince Of Crude

Simple storylines, double-meaning dialogues and songs endeared Dada Kondke's films to the masses. The classic Andheri Raat Mein Diya Tere Haath Mein is an example.

Amborish Roy Choudhury

THE TITLE was sheer genius. The layers in it, the sublime beauty and complexity of it were unparalleled in Hindi cinema. When you come across the title Andheri Raat Mein Diya Tere Haath Mein, the picture that emerges before you is of a woman holding a ‘diya’ in the darkness. Then a few days, months or even years later, its sheer brilliance will reveal itself to you. And the adolescent (or dirty old man) inside you breaks into an evil grin. The genius behind this staggering work of art was Dada Kondke. He was the king of kink and the crown prince of crude. He has amongst his fans the great Naseeruddin Shah, who once revealed to me that Kondke had at one time planned a film called Love Day. His films' songs had lyrics like "chhup chhup ke deti hoon tu leta ja" and "petrol dalun ya kuye ka paani". If this is not genius, what is?

Krishna Kondke, popularly known as Dada Kondke, could very well be one of the biggest superstars Marathi cinema has ever seen. Reportedly, he was once gunning for an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the maker of the largest number of silver-jubilee hits. Silver and Golden “jubilees” are unheard of today, but were once indicators of how well a film was doing. A silver jubilee film would have run for 50 weeks in a single theatre, which is almost a year. When was the last time a Hindi film ran for a full year in a multiplex? Kondke’s films achieved this feat consistently, over and over again. His office in Tardeo was chock-a-block with fans, who travelled from various corners of Maharashtra to see their favourite superstar. The kind of adulation he enjoyed amongst the masses and the working classes was unparalleled. What endeared him to them were his simple storylines, and double-meaning dialogues and songs. Bollywood fans mostly know him for the classic Andheri Raat Mein Diya Tere Haath Mein.

Why do I call it a classic? The film opens with Mehmood seemingly breaking the fourth wall and asking you: “Hum kab tak dete rahenge aap ko? Aur aap kab tak lete rahenge? Arre hum toh dete dete thak gaye, lekin aap log lete lete nahin thake.” The camera zooms out and you realise it’s the villagers he’s talking to. All this while, he has been talking about borrowing money. Our hero Gullu (Dada Kondke) and heroine Gilauri (Usha Chavan) meet at the temple with a bunch of coconuts as offerings. She passes him one of the coconuts as he, fumbling with the fruit, blurts out “Ye badwala tumhara hai…Nahin ye mera hai, wo tumhara hai.” There is another psychologically complex scene where Gullu tries to teach Gillauri how to thread a needle. He keeps howling instructions as she attempts to achieve the seemingly impossible task: “...Ab dhaaga daal de andar! Seedha daal de! Dekha…andar gaya ke nahi! Bolo kyon gaya? Thook lagaya tha!” Mehmood, the Thakur, moans as his men give him a massage: “Ye tum log Thakur sahab ki maalish kar rahe ho, ya Thakur sahab ko Thakurain samajh ke maalish ka mazaa uda rahe ho?”

An Arab sheikh named Sultan (Amjad Khan) joins the melee and the village is aflutter. Sultan is as stereotypically “Arab” as they come — he lives in a tent and rides a camel. Gulloo and the sheikh get along, and he brings stitched clothes for the camel. Sultan says, “Chal khol ke dikha!”. “Khol ke dikhaun?” Gullu starts disrobing. Utterly scandalised, the sheikh screams, “Abey woh nahin! Oonth ke kapde!” And then there is this gem of a conversation between the Sultan and the village priest:

Priest: Ek baat kaan mein kehni hai (deliberately pronounces the word “kaan” in a suggestive way)

Sultan: Kis mein kehni hai?

Priest: Kaan mein (uttered in the same suggestive way)

Sultan: Abey toh kaan bol na! Main samjha… (starts laughing)

These priceless exchanges are interspersed with lyrical outbursts like “Chu chu chu chu…teri chu chu chunri ko chuha kha gaya/ Kas ke na dalo toot jaayegi…choodi kaanch ki!” But while indulging in all this tomfoolery, Kondke doesn’t forget to make a bit of political jibe here and there. When Gulloo struggles with untangling a knot, Sultan wonders, “Lagta hai yeh gaanth Reagan ne apne haathon se maari thi.” Confused, Gulloo asks “Kya maari thi?” “Gaanth!” clarifies Sultan. Like I said, classic! There is subtle social commentary when Sultan asks why the temple, the mosque and the church are not in the same vicinity, and Gullo laughs out loud, “What will happen to the politicians then?” The manager of the only bank in the village assures Sultan that it is a bank dedicated to the needs of the rural folk and they’re all that it really cares about. The title of the bank, as we learn, is “Urban Bank”.

It’s nothing short of astonishing what Kondke was able to achieve within his means, way back when. His films were stripped down, bare-bones affairs and devoid of A-list superstars — and yet, incredibly successful among the masses. The man could deliver salvoes of double entendre while having a little laugh at society’s expense. So let’s raise our glasses to the man who made us laugh, cringe and question our sanity — all at the same time.

Amborish Roychoudhury is the National Award-winning author of 'In a Cult of Their Own: Bollywood Beyond Box Office'. His book 'Sridevi: The South Years' was released in August 2023.

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