Domestication in Hindustan

The Householder. Made in India by Director James Ivory, a Californian, this disarming little comedy of middle-class life in Delhi sees two young newlyweds through their period of adjustment, and calls up laughter as gentle as temple bells.

Prem, a teacher at Mr. Khanna's Private College, finds settling down a most delicate matter. His family, he complains to a colleague, "have married me to a girl. She doesn't cook. She is not house-proud." As brightly played by Shashi Kapoor, Prem faces life with all the artless perplexity of a man who has just seen his hat run over by a streetcar. His wife Indu (doe-eyed Leela Naidu) is disrespectful--when he criticizes her, she talks back. "They come like lambs and before long they are tigers at your throat," a friend explains. Finally, Prem hits on a plan: "I will send for my mother. She will teach you how to talk to your husband."

Instead, Prem's problems multiply. Soon to become a father, he tries to ask Mr. Khanna for a raise, but fumbles it. His landlord declines a rent reduction. He is frustrated in his friendship with an eccentric young American who has come to India to find spiritual enrichment. "You grow souls," says the American. To which Prem replies: "Our steel output is also increasing." Meanwhile, his mother's nagging drives Indu back to her own family.

Prem gradually comes to realize that all he really wants is his wife. Little else happens, or needs to. The film is overlong, and though clearly inspired by the work of India's cinematic wizard Satyajit Ray (the Apu trilogy), it is far less ambitious artistically. Produced in both Hindi and English versions, The Householder aims for popular success and scores a soft-as-silk hit.

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