Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai?

In the Saeed Mirza original, which came out nearly 40 years back, there is a great little scene about one of the many, many things that makes our Albert, wonderfully played by Naseeruddin Shah, angry. One of his work-mates at the garage, played by the late, great Om Puri, tells him that his (Albert's) girl-friend Stella (Shabana Azmi) has nixed a date. Albert takes in the information, yells at the guy who has just served him tea, about how ghastly it is, and not to charge his account.

Let cult classics, like sleeping dogs, who incidentally find a not-so-honourable mention in writer-director Soumitra Ranade's Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai?, lie. That is one thought that crosses your mind as the film unfolds. But nearly 40 years have passed since Saeed Akhtar Mirza gave Hindi cinema one of its most memorable characters, so a revisit to that tumultuous universe is in order.

I first encountered Albert Pinto and his notorious temper with a laugh. Directed by Saeed Mirza, the 1980 film Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai was a seething indictment of pressures faced by the common man, and, in 1983, the provocative title was used as a nonsensical password in the comedy Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Both starred Naseeruddin Shah, the in-joke was friendly, and - as is the case with comedies that transcend the times they lampoon - exponentially more people have laughed at the gag than heard of the original. It's the kind of neglect that would truly tick off a real Albert Pinto.

Soumitra Ranade's remake of Saeed Mirza's parallel cinema classic Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (1980) is an Angry Everyman story. The original was clear about its ideology - it was a capitalist-versus-mill workers Leftist morality tale narrated by the era's dream cast (Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Rohini Hattangadi, Avtar Gill, Sulabha Deshpande).

Anger, like love, can be a many splendoured thing; transforming in tune with the times and circumstances, often reflecting a nation and its peoples collective cares and concerns. While, Saeed Mirza's 1980 cult classic, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai, struck a relevant chord, the 2019 redux by Soumitra Ranade isn't able to beyond being a mere good intent. The film was persuasive on paper, perhaps, but certainly not on screen.