Andaz

1971 166’ col Hindi d Ramesh Sippy pc Sippy Films s Sachin Bhowmick dial Gulzar lyr Hasrat Jaipuri c K. Vaikunth m Shankar-Jaikishen lp Shammi Kapoor, Hema Malini, Achla Sachdev, Aruna Irani, Simi Garewal, Rajesh Khanna, Roopesh Kumar, Randhawa, Sonia Sahni

Ramesh Sippy’s haltingly meandering debut film bears no resemblance to the classic Andaz (1949). A spendthrift widower (Kapoor) falls in love with a woman (Malini) who, in a long flashback, secretly married her lover (Khanna) but soon became a widow. His villainous, womanising younger brother (Kumar) makes life difficult for all concerned. When the villain rapes a hill woman (Irani) and she commits suicide, his nastiness is at last exposed and the two brothers’ doting mother (Sachdev) sees the light. Rajesh Khanna, then at the peak of his popularity, is billed as a guest star and sings the hit motor-bike number Zindagi ek safar hai suhana (sung by his regular playback Kishore Kumar). The vaguely Westernising dimension, necessary to justify a widow falling in love, is provided by the rather ludicrous presence of several Caucasians and by the priest who gives the widow permission to remarry.

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