Reviews

In the movie industry, 60s is often called the golden era for some really path-breaking movies. Most notable among them, Guide, Jewel Thief, Woh Kaun Thi, Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam, Mughal-E-Azam and so on. And then we have the usual run of the mill family dramas like Shaadi.

Like every movie of this genre, we have an elder patriarch Ratan Malhotra (Balraj Sahni, spiffy performance, but then he's already done such roles dime a dozen]) and his wife Shanti (Sulochana, surprisingly solid, given most her roles are usually subdued). His happy household consists of his younger brother Ramesh (Dharmendra) and Gauri (Saira Banu). Ramesh marries Kala (Indrani), daughter of a rich, well placed judge. Gauri's marriage is fixed with the son Raja (Manoj Kumar) of greedy businessman Daulatram (Om Prakash). However due to unfortunate circumstances (a plane accident where he's lost his memory), Ramesh is unable to reach the wedding in time with the dowry money leading to Daulatram walking off immediately after culmination of the marriage rituals, with his son in the tow.

Raja and Gauri meet in Bombay where Gauri realizes that Raja is her husband and wanting to make it big on his own. Ratan and Shanti on the other hand end up in Bombay in search of Gauri and face an embittered Kala, who blames them for Ramesh's amnesiac state, insults them and throws them out of the house.

Ramesh recovers his memory and returns to his village only to realize that in his absence, his sister's wedding was called off due to lack of money and his older brother had to sell of their ancestral property to repay the loan. Holding Kala responsible, he separates and begins his search for his brother.

Raja makes it big as an actor, his father learns a lesson about importance of relationships over money. Raja - Gauri - Ramesh - Kala - Ratan - Shanti have a reunion. Everyone lives happily ever after.

Shaadi deserves 2 stars solely for the performances of its more seasoned actors aka Balraj Sahni and Sulochana. Their characters are a model of dignity and uprightness and they play them just right without going over the top on morality. Saira Banu and Dharamendra are a little raw, it being one of their earlier movies. Manoj Kumar, Indrani and Om Prakash are good.

The movie however is let down by its music. Only 2 songs stand out "Aaj Ki Raat Naya Chand Leke Aayi Hai" and "Ja Aur Kahin Ro Shehnai", the rest being strictly passable.

An OK watch if you want to hearken back to the golden era of cinema. Choti Behan scores much higher in the same genre.

Professor belongs to that era of Hindi cinema when Shammi Kapoor could do no wrong. He lip-synced great Rafi numbers, romanced Asha/Sadhana/Saira/Sharmila/Rajshree in picturesque Kashmir/Ooty/Darjeeling and at times Swiss locations and beat up Pran/Jeevan/Prem Chopra/Prem nath. This fluffy musical romance is no different than the others. He plays Preetam, a man forced to pose as a Professor twice his age due to job constraints. Giving him ample support in the eye-candy department is Kalpana. She looks good but at times gets onto your nerves because of her saccharine sweet voice. Lalita Pawar is great as the strict aunt in charge of Kalpana and her siblings. And the rest of the cast is adequate.

The things that stand out are the award winning music which included gems like "Aye Gulbadan", "Main chali main chali","Awaaz deke humne tum","Khuli palak mein jhoota gussa" and many more delights. Shammi Kapoor, nominated for an award for his performance, is charming and restrained.

Watch it for the songs and Shammi's performance.

This movie has some evergreen songs namely "Sau saal pehle", "Jiya O Jiya", "Teri zulfon se", " Uff Yuma." Also it made a superstar of its young heroine Asha Parekh, who remained one of the top actresses of the 60s throughout. She is very believable as the lovely Nisha. Also Dev Anand and she made a great on screen couple. By the time this movie was being made, a lot of mannerisms were already being associated with Dev Anand. However, in this movie they look natural. His portrayal of Sunder is fantastic, amusement at her indignation that he calls her "Gaowali" (villager), love at her child like innocence and suppressed rage at her unexpected betrayal. Wish they did more movies together other than just Mahal.

The 60s threw up many movies with the lost and found formula. Shakti Samanta's Ek Raaz belongs to the same category. Kishore Kumar plays Arun/ Kishore, the missing son of a rich businessman. He foils an attempt on the selfsame businessman's life and in gratitude, the older man offers him a job. And falls in love with the heroine (Jamuna). Of course there's a villain, Pran, who puts in a lot of obstacles in the path of love. But for the fairy tale ending, the misunderstandings are resolved and the wicked get their comeuppance. The movie has some great music by the underrated composer Chitragupt. "Ajnabee se bankar", " Payalwali dekhna", "Uthegi tumhari nazar" and many more good songs. Kishore Kumar acts as a buffoon in the first half but is surprisingly sober in the second half. Lalita Pawar is very good as the grieving mother who's lost her son. A good movie.

The movie meanders along the same college campus with the by now stereotypical Archie (well a bespectacled Archie in this case), a rich and rather pompous Veronica (a pretty Rashmi Nigam) and the poor, lost Betty (the yucky Tanisha) in this case.

Oh and there are other stereotypes, the best friend who harbors a not-so-secret crush on poor Betty. And many many more.

A touch of freshness is brought about by the earnest Akshay Kapoor. As also Yash Tonk's interpretation of Goldie. Rashmi Nigam looks good but needs to improve her wardrobe. As for Tanisha, the lesser said the better. Please please Tanisha, do the audience a favor and quit acting.

The movie does have a rocking score by Vishal - Shekhar. Check out the "Dupatta Beimaan" number, its hot.

The formidable Balraj Sahni is excellent as the elder of the two brothers, both who dote on their young sister Meena (Nanda). So is the vastly underrated Rehman, who stars as Shekar. Shyama plays Shobha, who contrives to separate Shekar from his siblings. And there is Mehmood. Here is in not a buffoon or a comedian but an important part of a plot and he puts in an amazing supporting performance. He is paired with Shubha Khote with whom he went on to do a lot many movies in the future. Nanda as the saccharine sweet Meena at times is the only over-the-top good girl in a cast full of believable characters. Shankar Jaikishen put come up with some very good music. Its a must watch.

That Raj Kapoor and Nargis made a great on screen couple is corroborated by this "It happened one night" inspired flick. Nargis is near perfect as the snobbish heiress on the run. She runs away from a caring father who puts his foot down when she wants to marry a playboy (Pran). Enroute she meets Raj Kapoor, a reporter who wants to do an exclusive on her journey. After the initial bickering and animosity, they fall in love. And after a big misunderstanding , everything gets sorted out in the end. Shankar Jaikishen come up with a score which has a winner in very number. Raj Kapoor is excellent and so is Nargis. Very very watchable.

One of the sixties movies which tells about the corrupting influence of money and how it tends to attract the wrong kind of people around you. Om Prakash plays Gokuldas who after being declared the heir of Seth Nihalchand, metamorphoses into Seth Gokuldas, now flanked by a money hungry buffoon cum villain Pran and an eye-rolling Manorama. The changed Gokuldas estranges himself from his devoted kids, Manohar and Kishore. How he realizes his folly forms the crux of the story. The movie has some good music by Ravi and good performances by Pran, Om Prakash, Ramesh Deo , Seema Deo and Sanjay Khan. The glamor quotient is taken care of by a débutant Babita and a encumbered by a golden wig but essentially charming Helen. Incidentally the movie also marked the debut of Neetu SIngh albeit as a child actress.

Fantastic music and a dashing leading man aside, the main reason why Aradhana works is perhaps because of the wonderful story line and direction. Though this movie is more often remembered for shooting Rajesh Khanna into the big league, its Sharmila Tagore's subdued portrayal of Vandana Tripathi that stays with you. She richly deserved her Filmfare award for Best actress for this role. Farida Jalal and Madan Puri too chip in with good supporting performances. But of course the real winner here is the music, chart busters all of them. Must watch to know what Bollywood was once capable of yielding before inanities set in.

On a rainy night, a doctor on his way back home meets a white sari clad girl. He offers her a lift and as soon as she steps in the car wipers cease working.He's even more spooked when the lady tells him she knows the way and guides him outside a cemetery. Enroute when he notices her hand is bleeding, she tells him "Mujhe khoon achcha lagta hai" (I like blood) A while later a distraught father stops his car begging him to save his daughter's life. He follows the man and comes to a manor-like house, but unfortunately the girl in question is already dead. He is surprised to see her, she being the same who he just dropped off at a cemetery a while ago. When he goes back,he encounters some policemen who tell him that the place is deserted and no-one has been living there for a while now. Thus starts off the promising premise of Woh Kaun Thi,a wonderful whodunit by Raj Khosla aided by some great music by Madan Mohan. Sadhana never looked more enticing (check her out in "Lag Ja Gale") and Manoj Kumar thankfully is restrained. The supporting cast is also good.