Gol Maal (1979) on Netflix

A man's simple lie to secure his job escalates into more complex lies when his orthodox boss gets suspicious.

Ramprasad is a recent college graduate who finds a job with a finicky man, Bhavani Shankar, who believes that a man without a mustache is a man without a character. Bhavani Shankar is also against any of his employees indulging in recreation of any kind. When Ramprasad's boss catches him at a hockey match, he invents a twin brother, the clean-shaven Laxman Prasad, to save his job. When Bhavani's daughter falls in love with the clean-shaven Laxman Prasad and insists on marrying him, and Bhavani insists she should marry Ramprasad, things take a wacky turn. A fake mother and a hilarious chase are other enjoyable features involved in this comedy.

—Vijay

Ram Prasad (Amol Palekar), a young chartered accountant, and his sister Ratna are orphans living in Bombay. One morning, an old family friend, Dr. Kedar, visits him with information about a very well-paid job being advertised by Bhavani Shankar (Utpal Dutt), the owner of Urmila Trading Corporation, who happens to be Dr. Kedar's personal friend. Bhavani approves of Ram Prasad Dashrath Prasad Sharma's moustache, oily hair and (short) kurta-pajama, and hires him. Bhavani Shankar is a bit nutty and feels young people should have no interests other than work, so when Ram Prasad wants to watch a hockey test, Ram Prasad tells him that his mother is sick to get leave. Of course, Bhavani goes to the same hockey test and spots Ram Prasad. When confronted at work, Ram Prasad tells him that he has a twin, who is good-for-nothing, who wears loud clothes and is clean-shaven and westernized. Turns out the twin knows music, so to rehabilitate him, Bhavani offers him a job teaching music to his daughter. Complications follow.

—Rohit Grover

Unemployed Ramprasad Sharma is told by Doctor Mama that if he alters his manner of speaking, and wearing clothes, he could land himself a job. Ramprasad does so, and gets employed in a firm run by traditional and orthodox Bhavani Shankar. Problems crop up for Ramprasad when Bhavani finds out that he is leaving a double life, so Ramprasad creates a fictional brother named Laxman. The problem does not get resolved, as Bhavani's daughter falls in love with Laxman, and Bhavani wants her to marry Ramprasad. In order to finalize this marriage, Bhavani goes to visit Ramprasad's residence, and meets his mother and sister, and that's when the fun begins for Ramprasad lives with his sister only, leaving the hapless and confused Bhavani, to even more haplessness and confusion.

—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)