Listening to: Aap Ki Kasam (1974)

Remembering how good the songs of this film are, I bought a DVD of this film recently and set down to watch it yesterday. Oddly enough I remembered the first part of the film very well but had totally forgotten the later half so it was almost like watching it anew. I am surprised to have forgotten it; its quite a good film.

Rajesh Khanna’s character is not the typical Bollywood hero, all glitter and gloss. He has his good side, but also suffers from irrational jealousy, lack of trust and is unable to recover from setbacks – essentially a weak character. Rajesh Khanna does a commendable job of portraying the descent from happiness to jealousy & anger and then to realisation & despair. Towards the end he hams it up a bit, but as I spent the last 10 mins of the film sobbing into my tissue, I didn’t notice it much!

Mumtaz is also not the typical heroine. She shimmers as a young girl in love, stands up for herself against an irrationally accusing husband and leaves him, breaks down after the eventual divorce and dazedly follows her father’s decisions for her. Her performance is very good and she looks delectable in some scenes.

Rehman & Dina Pathak are her non-typical filmi-parents. On her choosing a man not from their own well-to-do background, they happily support her (it’s rare as a dodo in a Hindi film!) and when she comes back to them, they are supportive in quite another way. Both actors are SO good, I admire them tremendously!

Only Sanjeev Kumar’s character is not that convincing, but he does a remarkable job as always. My only gripe is his not taking even the minimal effort to convincingly portray playing a sitar! Very annoying!

Should you watch it? Oh yes! If all these interesting personalities don’t grab your attention, the 70’s wardrobe surely would !! Stitched-into-tight pant-suits in bright colours at the start and glorious saris later, Mumu looks alluring at all times. As for Rajesh, remember Guru-shirts with belts outside? Safari suits in vivid colours? Its such fun to re-live all these old fashion trends! Available free on Youtube (legally), click here to watch the full movie. There is a good review and synopsis of the story in this site.

The music by R.D.Burman is very good indeed, just as I remembered.

Suno, Kaho – Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar : Nice perky duet, beautiful scenery, Mumu in a super-tight yellow gharara, what’s not to like?
Karvate Badalte Rahe – Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar : Very VERY romantic song with the leads cavorting happily in the snow (thankfully well dressed unlike normal Bollywood leads!). My husband remarked that Mumu seems to have put on weight..but I reminded him that she was always like this, and much admired too! Our eyes have started to expect slimmer ladies. Rajesh looks handsome & stylish in a cap and Mumu glowing as always. Any female heart would melt if Kishore were to croon तुम चले जाओ नहीं तो कुछ न कुछ हो जायेगा . Lovely song.
Paas Nahin Aana – Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar : A playful song, its quite melodious and easy to listen to.
Jai Jai Shiv Shankar – Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar : Now this is a seriously fun song, exuberant, joyful and Mumu & Rajesh have acted it out very well. I love Mumu’s orange sari with black applique work, I want it!! As for Lata & Kishore, they have outdone themselves! Unforgettable song.
Chori Chori Chupke Chupke – Lata Mangeshkar. Lata’s solo is beautifully sung, another lovely song.
Zindagi Ke Safar Mein – Kishore Kumar. Kishore’s solo is the better one, he is helped by a sombre note to the music which he does so well. The lyrics are very meaningful and well written – पतझड़ में फूल जो मुरझा जाते हैं वो बहारों के आने से खिलते नहीं Kudos to Anand Bakshi for penning these lines.