Crossposted at Naachgaana.

I had the good fortune of watching this relic, that I have never seen before (I usually discover the oldies on the T.V.) and it was such a hilarious experience!

Baat Ban Jaye was released in 1986 - just in time for the horrible 80s. It is striking to see what 80s does to people. Zeenat is the main actor in the movie. She has horrid fluffy hair ( which seems to be mismash of the 60s “buffo”), loose frocks which are ultra tight at the hips (like in the 60s except the frocks reached beyond the knees in the 80s and were synthetic). On the whole, 80s was the era when digital equipments and new materials were discovered and people didnt know what to do with them.

This is obvious from the advertisements. The doorbells that chime in our houses these days appear in jingles :) Everything is shiny, and with fake animal prints. Even the names of the products sound funny now you think of it (“Lure”, “Fabxotica”, “Vicco”, etc).

Now, Baat Ban Jaye is one of the early movies when the Denim wave started and “low cut was unheard of”. We had denims that ended up much above the hips, just like the pants in the 50s and 60s did. Zeenat also wears the “Business Woman” suits, one of the early indian actors to do so.

Men’s fashion had lost their appeal, but surprisingly, moustaches made a big come back - a drastic change from the 70s. Perhaps it is reflective of the “Afro” craze that was left over from the 70s. I remember my dad’s big moushtache that he didnt have in the 70s :). You can see several side actors in the movie who sport big moustaches. This is better reflected in Tamil movies where moustaches have always signified “male strength” and the early 80s movies (Rajnikanth especially!) had the male actors sporting the “afro” look with moustaches.

This film is a riot if you are looking for The 80s design. Also, Utpal Dutt looks almost identical to the character he portrayed in Golmaal which was one of those late 70s film.

P.S. Fashion Era captures the best and the worst of the 80s around the world. Please note the extra bright blues and yellows. :)

P.P.S. In The 80s is the best source for everything about the 80s!