The 1971 film Chhoti Bahu directed by KB Tilak and starring Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila
Tagore was based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Bengali novel Bindur Chhele written in
- It was a remake of Telugu film, Muddu Bidda and a super hit. This was the phase when
every film featuring the lead pair was a super success and Chhoti Bahu was loved for its
music and complex characters. It was a story of a couple unable to consume their marriage
because the heroine suffers some mental blockage.
I did not follow the story when I watched it as a little girl and never watched it again. What I
remember though was that it was about a dark secret related to Sharmila Tagore and not
shared with Rajesh Khanna and his family before marriage. The film was a super success
because it was that phase when Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna together could do no
wrong. Those were the days!