Chhoti Bahu 1971

Chhoti Bahu is a 1971 Indian Bollywood social film released on 1971. The film is directed by K. B. Tilak, produced by Garius Gotla.

Chhoti Bahu is a family drama that upholds human relationships over all other emotions. It shows the triumph of love over everyhting else and also shows that maternal love need not always come from the biological mother. Radha and Madhu is a newly married couple and soon after marriage, to the shock of Madhu, it is revealed that Radha is a patient of epilepsy. Her guardians claim that doctors had said that the seizures would cease soon after wedlock. It is seen that Radha is seized by the attacks only in situations of mental pressure. When Radha's special fondness for children is noticed, Seeta and her husband (Madhu's elder brother and sister-in-law) gladly make Radha the foster mother of their son Gopi. Radha is only too happy with the new responsibility. She takes care of the little boy just like her own son. The family lives in happiness nurturing traditional values of respect and affection. When Madhu's medical practice flourishes, the younger couple force the elder brother to give up his job because the latter and his wife have toiled very hard in order to make Madhu a successful doctor in the absence of their parents. Gopi is also growing up happily enjoying the love of his surrogate parents as well as his real parents. Everything seems to run well for the family till Madhu's sister Paro comes over with her son and husband for good. Her husband is terrified of her and she has spoilt her son Nikkoo. He is a persistent failure in his school and has run into bad ways. Being of a similar age, Nikkoo and Gopi become fast friends and it is not long before the latter gets influenced by the former's wrong habits. Successive cases of wrong conduct in school raise Radha's ire and she decides to teach Gopi a lesson. Gopi realises his mistakes and turns to Seeta for shelter. In a war of words between the two sisters-in-law, Seeta casually refers to Gopi as "her son" which complicates matters further. Radha feels deprived of her rights on Gopi and she retorts back. The argument takes up greater proportions owing to Paro's vicious interferences. She aims at Radha's disownment of Gopi and adoption of Nikkoo. To make matters worse, she succeeds in maligning the tender mind of the innocent Gopi. Matters come to a head and Radha leaves the household. She goes back to her maiden home where she vows not to touch food or water. The extended family realise the seriousness of the situation and rush to see her. Paro's evil intentions are exposed and peace is restored between Gopi and Radha and the family go back to their own homes to live in happiness.

The movie is a drama which rotates around a family of three sons, their wives & their daughter. The head of family is Kadar Khan who is blind. His first wife had died. They had a son named Adarsh & his wife was Sita. With his other wife Durga, he has a son and one daughter, Badal & wife Shobha, Ravi & wife Radha & daughter Mohini. Everyone in the family dominated over Sita. But her father-in-law always supported her. But after Ravi's marriage the situation changes. Radha treats Sita as a mother & comes to her rescue. Durga the mother in law falls sick & only Adarsh, Ravi & their wives come forward to help. Thus she realises her mistake.

Chhoti Bahu is a family drama that upholds human relationships over all other emotions. It shows the triumph of love over everything else and also shows that maternal love need not always come from the biological mother.
Radha and Madhu are a newly married couple and very soon after marriage, much to the shock of Madhu, it is revealed that Radha is a patient of epilepsy. Her guardians claim that doctors had said that the seizures would cease soon after wedlock. It is seen that Radha is seized by the attacks only in situations of mental pressure. When Radha's special fondness for children is noticed, Seeta and her husband(Madhu's elder brother and sister-in-law) gladly make Radha the foster mother of their son Gopi. Radha is only too happy with the new responsibility. She takes care of the little boy just like her own son. The family lives in happiness nurturing traditional values of respect and affection. When Madhu's medical practice flourishes, the younger couple force the elder brother to give up his job because the latter and his wife have toiled very hard in order to make Madhu a successful doctor in the absence of their parents. Gopi is also growing up happily enjoying the love of his surrogate parents as well as his real parents.
Everything seems to run well for the family till Madhu's sister Paro comes over with her son and husband for good. Her husband is terrified of her and she has spoilt her son Nikkoo. He is a persisitent failure in his school and has run into bad ways. Being of a similar age, Nikkoo and Gopi become fast friends and it is not long before the latter gets influenced by the former's wrong habits. Successive cases of wrong conduct in school raises Radha's ire and she decides to teach Gopi a lesson.
Gopi realises his mistakes and turns to Seeta for shelter. In a war of words between the two sisters-in-law, Seeta casually refers to Gopi as "her son" which complicates matters further. Radha feels deprived of her rights on Gopi and she retorts back. The argument takes up greater proportions owing to Paro's vicious interferences. She aims at Radha's disownment of Gopi and adoption of Nikkoo. To make matters worse, she succeeds in maligning the tender mind of the innocent Gopi. Matters come to a head and Radha leaves the household. She goes back to her maiden home where she vows not to touch a morsel of food or water. The extended family realise the seriousness of the situation and rush to see her. Paro's evil intentions are exposed and peace is restored between Gopi and Radha and the family go back to their own homes to live in happiness.

Love is the most abiding factor in life - the pure, unadulterated, selfless love of a mother for her child; the love of a brother for brother and son for his mother. . Radha, only daughter of a rich landlord, leading a lonely life with her pet doll and given to attacks of fits, little imagined what was in store for her when she entered the bridal home of Dr. Madhu, his step-brother Sriram and his sister-in-law Seeta. Dr. Madhu adored them bothe, for they were his parents, more than brother and sister-in-law. . Sriram only surviving son, Gopi, takes the place of her pet doll in Radhas life. Madhu realises that Gopi could be the answer to the frequent attacks of fits his wife is prone to. Radha lavishes all her love, affection and attention to Gopi, to bring him up as an ideal child. . Srirams sister, paro, scheming, sherwish and with a wasp-like tongue, comes with her husband, Premnath and vagrant son, Nikku to stay with her brother. Her one design in life is to have her own son take the place of Gopi in the affections of her brothers and sisters-in-law. She plants misunderstandings and jealousies in the minds of the members of the once-compact, devoted family. Soon the whole house is aflame. . Out of the devastating fire, two persons emerge chastened and reformed Paro herself and her vagrant son. Radha, Sriram, Madhu, family undergo a trai,atoc experience. The nobility of a womans character and the purity of her love transform each one of them. The emotional experience they live through could hardly have been narrated better than by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. [Source: Booklet] Check out this page for more updates on Chhoti Bahu.