Ratan Mukherjee

reference Ratan Mukherjee, man, this guy’s name pops up in some pretty old-school Bollywood gems. Let’s talk about “Isi Ka Naam Zindagi” (1992) first—honestly, a wild mix of drama and comedy that kinda punches you in the gut and then makes you laugh at the absurdity of life. It’s got Ashok Kumar and Aamir Khan in this story about family, greed, and that never-ending chase for happiness. The plot throws you into this whole mess of property disputes, father-son drama, and small town politics—nothing too glossy, just real and raw. People are fighting over land, but what they’re really fighting for is dignity, you know? Mukherjee’s direction is subtle—he lets the actors breathe, and the story just rolls out in this lived-in sort of way. Then there’s “Ghar” (1978). Oof, that one’s heavy. It’s about a couple, played by Vinod Mehra and Rekha, trying to pick up the pieces after a horrific trauma. The city looks so normal but you feel the fear crawling under everything. Mukherjee doesn’t sugarcoat stuff—he digs into the pain, the awkward silences, the way people try (and fail) to help. And “Shabhash Daddy” (1979)? That’s a trip. It’s got this lighthearted, almost goofy vibe about parenting and the chaos of raising kids. The humor’s a bit slapstick, but there’s heart in it. Mukherjee’s films, they don’t pretend life’s perfect—they just show people stumbling through, trying to figure things out.