Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!

Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!
Directed by	Saeed Akhtar Mirza
Produced by	Saeed Akhtar Mirza
Written by	Yusuf Mehta (Screenplay) Saeed Akhtar Mirza (Story) Sudhir Mishra (Dialogue)
Starring	Naseeruddin Shah Deepti Naval Bhisham Sahni Dina Pathak
Music by	Vanraj Bhatia
Cinematography	Virendra Saini
Editing by	Renu Saluja
Release date(s)	1984
Running time	130 min
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (Summons for Mohan Joshi ) is a 1984 Hindi art film, made by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, based on his own story, during the Parallel Cinema period of Indian cinema.^[1]

The film is a comic satire on a judicial system, where cases drag on for decades, where plaintives either die or lose hope and money, while the corrupt run scot free, thanks to their nexus with corrupt lawyers.

The film won the 1984 National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare.

Synopsis

An old couple, Mohan Joshi (Bhisham Sahni) and his wife (Dina Pathak) decides to sue their landlord (Amjad Khan) for not maintaining their 'collapsing' apartment building. For this, they hire two cunning lawyers (Naseeruddin Shah and Satish Shah), while Rohini Hattangadi is the opposition lawyer.

The court case drags on for years and the lawyers milk the old couple dry, while they become rich. Back home in the society, the old couple is ridiculed for fighting the landlord, but they fight on nevertheless.

In the end when the judge comes to check the condition of the chawl, Kapadia's men prop up the place thus convincing the judge that all is well with the chawl. Finally, Joshi gathers all his strength and pulls down the temporary supports put up by the men causing the building to collapse on himself.^[2]

The film provides deep insight into the struggles of Indian 'middle class', which rarely gets space on the film screen.

Cast

• Naseeruddin Shah as Advocate Malkani
• Bhisham Sahni as Mohan Joshi
• Dina Pathak as Joshi's wife
• Deepti Naval
• Mohan Gokhale
• Rohini Hattangadi as Advocate
• Pankaj Kapur
• Amjad Khan as Kundan Kapadia, landlord
• Satish Shah as Advocate
• Salim Ghouse as Advocate

Trivia

The film was shot at Kamithapura, Bapty Road, & Duncan Road ( Two Tanks / Do Tanki) at Mumbai's middle class Hindu Muslim Locality.

References

1. ^ Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! One Hundred Indian Feature Films: An Annotated Filmography, by Shampa Banerjee, Anil Srivastava. Taylor & Francis, 1988. ISBN 0824094832. page 123.
2. ^ Synopsis: Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!

External links

• Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! at the Internet Movie Database