Bawarchi

Bawarchi
Promotional Poster
Directed by	Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Produced by	Hrishikesh Mukherjee, N.C. Sippy, Romu N. Sippy
Written by	Tapan Sinha
Starring	Rajesh Khanna, Jaya Badhuri, Asrani
Narrated by	Amitabh Bachchan
Music by	Madan Mohan
Release date	July 7, 1972
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Bawarchi (Devnagari: बावर्ची, translation: The Chef) is a 1972 Indian film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee starring Rajesh Khanna and Jaya Badhuri with Asrani, A.K. Hangal, Usha Kiran and Durga Khote in supporting roles. The film was ranked the eight highest grossing film of the year 1972. In an interview, Khanna quoted “In ‘Bawarchi’ I did exactly the opposite of what Hrishida had made me do in ‘Anand’. He allowed me to interpret the role and perform my way. I had done enough intense roles, and ‘Bawarchi’ gave me the opportunity to interpret and perform the role the way I wanted. So I let myself go.”

In Mukherjee's classic style, the film contains no violence or obscenities, and focuses on spreading family values and morals through clean comedy. Khanna won his second BFJA Awards for Best Actor (Hindi) for his performance in this film.

The movie is inspired by the Bengali film Galpa Holeo Satyi (1966) by Tapan Sinha. The film was remade in Tamil as Samayalkaaran with M. K. Muthu. It was remade twice in Kannada - first as Sakala Kala Vallabha starring Shashikumar and second as #73, Shaanthi Nivaasa with Sudeep. It served as a great inspiration for the 1997 Hindi film Hero No. 1.

The story is centered around the squabbling Sharma family, headed by their eccentric Daduji (Harindranath Chattopadhyay), which has a dubious reputation of the inability to retain a cook for more than a few months due to their ill treatment of their servants. The family's disrepute spreads to such an extent that no person wants to be employed as a cook in their home, ironically named Shanti Niwas (abode of peace).