PLOT NO. 5 (1981) article by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com

PLOT NO. 5 (Hindi/1981) - A unique but forgotten crime thriller with a few rare features. (Did You Know Facts of Hindi Cinema by Bobby Sing)

22 Oct, 2018 | Articles on Cinema / Did You Know!

Released in 1981, this is one of those forgotten or rather unknown ‘who-dun-it’ crime thrillers written and directed by Yogesh Saxena, which was a unique kind of experiment tried in those changing times that failed to perform at the box office due to its incompetent execution. Revolving around a chain of young girls murdered by a serial killer, though the film cannot be rated as a well directed one, it still had a few engaging sequences repeatedly shifting the suspicion upon its various characters.

However the reason why PLOT NO.5 is being discussed here is its rare status and many interesting first-time features as mentioned below:

A. It has a quite strange or rather unusual cast ensemble with names such as Uttam Kumar, Amol Palekar, Amjad Khan, Pradeep Kumar, Dr. Shri Ram Lagoo, Viju Khote and Sarika playing the key roles.

B. As one of the last released films of the Bengali legend Uttam Kumar (he passed away in 1980), PLOT No. 5 also remains the only Hindi suspense thriller he had opted for, playing a wheel-chair bound character having strong grey shades.

C. The only film wherein Uttam Kumar and Amol Palekar share the screen presence together as brothers and Amjad Khan interrogates them as the detective/inspector. No doubt, it’s a quite unique casting, bringing together three completely distinctive personalities in a murder mystery.

D. A courageous and experimental ‘who-dun-it’ suspense movie of its times with no songs, no comedy and no elaborate romantic angle providing the glamour element, its official booklet also Indicated the same with taglines as “A first-rate song-less super suspense” and “Eluding your imagination throughout 9000 suspenseful seconds”.

E. It was the third crime thriller post B. R. Chopra's KANOON (1960) and ITTEFAQ (1969) with music by Salil Chowdhury, wherein the maestro got no songs to compose but only background score, which he did quite innovatively as an achievement in those years when mostly stock music was used in the backdrop.

Yet we do find a song being played in the disco sequence of the film that interestingly is the famous track of the 80s ‘Chic Chic Chic Chica Chica’ composed by the internationally acclaimed music director Biddu (of Disco Deewane fame). And you can find traces of his “Aap Jaisa Koi” from QURBANI in the arrangement too.

Hence showcasing such unique firsts, PLOT NO. 5 surely deserves to be seen at least once, particularly by the fans of Uttam Kumar and the friends interested in this particular genre of ‘whodunit’ movies.

Cheers!

(Note : The film is presetly available at youtube if you are willing to watch it)

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For more interesting articles on lesser known facts on Hindi Cinema, do try DID YOU KNOW Series by Bobby Sing available in both Book and E-book form.

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Tags : PLOT NO. 5 (Hindi/1981) article by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, A rare Hindi murder mystery, Did You Know Facts of Hindi Cinema by Bobby Sing

22 Oct 2018 / Comments ( 4 )

Mayank Thanawala

submitted on 24 October 2018

Bobby Sing ji, Ittefaq (1969) was one more BRC songless movie wherein SC scored the music! :)

Bobby Sing

submitted on 24 Oct,2018

Thanks a lot for the value addition Mayank Ji. Yes certainly (1969) was another B. R. Chopra's songless movie where the background score was by Salil Chowdhury. I will surely add it into the article.
Cheers!

Naveen Shekhar

submitted on 24 May 2021

When will Volume 2 of your book come out ?

Bobby Sing

submitted on 19 Jun,2021

Hi Naveen,
The covid lockdowns have really affected all the plans, but I am really trying.
If viable, I may also come out with E-books of my articles compiled together, written in details soon.
Thanks a lot for supporting writing an encouraging comment. It really helps.
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