Kusum aka Guddi (Jaya Bhaduri) is a chirpy, bubbly girl who is not above conning the teachers and making late entries into the school prayers! She is young and innocent- and very much in love with the film-star- Dharmendra (played by Dharmendra himself!)! The only hitch- Dharmendra has no clue about Guddi’s one-sided love-affair since beyond signing an autograph, he has hardly met or noticed her.

 

So looking at his photograph and sighing away her blues, when Guddi in a filmi manner declares that she would either marry Dhamendra or no one else; her family is at a loss to find a solution- especially since they have already found a suitable boy (Sameet Bhanja) for her, a childhood chum whom she likes but cannot accept thanks to her Dharmendra-fixation. 

 

So taking Dharmendra into confidence, her Psychologist Mamaji (Utpal Dutt) devises a covert plan whereby Guddi is made to see the ground reality of showbiz. So she comes to know that in real life, a screen- villain like Pran could be a perfect gentleman, a screen-miser like Om Prakash could be helping out the poor and needy and a screen- hero like Dharmendra could need a stuntman to carry out his superman- fights! She also sees how difficult and cruel this film-industry is for the countless strugglers and nameless Extras. Slowly but surely Guddi’s muddled mind and clouded vision start clearing up and she realizes her folly.

 

A simple yet witty and penetrative plot projecting a balanced view of the showbiz; plenty of light-hearted comic moments;  Vasant Desai’s superb music (featuring Vani Jairam’s Bol Re Papihara and Hum Ko Man Ki Shakti Dena) and a captivating debut performance by Jaya Bhaduri made Guddi an all-time classic.Bhaduri was so natural and perfect in her role that her girl-next-door image stayed with her forever.

 

One little bit of trivia should be interesting for movie buffs! One actor got chucked midway through Guddi; his name- Amitabh Bachchan! His crime? He became famous with his intense portrayal as Babu Moshai in Anand and Hrishida specifically wanted an unknown face as the hero. So out went Amitabh and in came Sameet Bhanja!