“The most unusual film ever produced in India.” So proclaims the DVD cover of the 1971 Bollywood epic HAATHI MERE SAATHI (ELEPHANT IS MY COMPANION), a remake of producer Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar’s 1967 Tamil production DEIVA CHEYAL (and the inspiration for a subsequent Thevar film, 1972’s NALLA NERAM). A massive hit in ‘71, HAATHI MERE SAATHI was the premiere credit of the Saleem-Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) screenwriting team, who would go on to irrevocably transform the Indian film industry. I’m not sure the “most unusual” designation is warranted (I can think of many films produced in India that are more unusual than this one), but HAATHI MERE SAATHI is a solid example of Bollyweird lunacy, and one of the best elephant movies on the market (handily beating out the likes of ELEPHANT BOY and HANNIBAL BROOKS).
HAATHI MERE SAATHI (1971) Trailer
Raju is a young boy who survives a car accident that sends him rolling down the side of a mountain and deposits him on a grassy plain, where he’s attacked by a cougar(!) but rescued by an elephant. Said elephant, Ramu, and three of his fellows become Raju’s lifelong companions.
Raju grows into a young man (Rajesh Khanna) who makes money by entering his animal friends in elephant races. In so doing he upsets one of his major competitors, the wealthy Shravan Kumar (K.N. Singh), who tries to buy Raju’s elephants from him. Raju refuses the offer, electing to put on a private circus involving the elephants and several tigers. This makes him a rich man, but his wife Tanu (Tanuja) grows increasingly jealous of her hubbie’s elephant companions, who are allowed free reign in his mansion. Tanu births a son, Surah, who she believes is endangered by the elephants, especially after Surah falls into a swimming pool and Ramu takes the blame.
Rajesh Khanna, Tanuja Samarth
Another problem is Mr. Kumar, who is still afoot, and seemingly determined to prove the adage that “In this world the animal with two legs is the most dangerous animal.”
The work of director M.A. Thirumugam isn’t exceptional by any means, following old school Bollywood conventions to the letter. This means a hysterical tone with overwrought performances, slapstick interludes so dopey they wouldn’t pass muster in a POLICE ACADEMY movie, and (of course) musical numbers. The impressive elephant training by Prof. D. Kesava Rao (who, as the opening credits make sure to inform us, was a ringmaster of the Great Oriental Circus) is especially evident in those numbers, with the elephant performers dancing quite seamlessly in concert with their human co-stars.
The elephants also acquit themselves well in the ultra-intense climactic scenes, which call for Ramu the head elephant to break down doors, climb stairs, battle a cobra and get beaten with a chain(!) by his (supposed) best friend and owner. This film has been compared with the Disney products of the 1970s, but as I believe those descriptions adequately demonstrate, a Disney film HAATHI MERE SAATHI most definitely isn’t.
Vital Statistics
HAATHI MERE SAATHI
Devar Films
Director: M.A. Thirumugam
Producer: Sandow M.M.A. Chinnappa Thevar
Screenplay: Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar
Cinematography: K.S. Prasad
Editing: M.G. Balu Rao, P. Babu, R. Thiyagarajan
Cast: Rajesh Khanna, Tanuja, “David” (David Abraham), Sujit Kumar, K.N. Singh, Abhi Bhattacharya, Krishnakant, Randhir, Behari, Gurnam Singh