Thursday 6 May 2010

Anokhi Ada (1973)

My second film for Khanna O-Rama week is Anokhi Ada, while it has most of the ingredients for a great masala it doesn't quite have those 'squishy dil' moments that would make it qualify as a classic, there's enough goodness still though

Lalaji (Nazir Hussain) & Gupta (Manmohan Krishan) are best of friends as well as business partners, their kids Lalaji's son Rakesh (Jeetendra) & Gupta's daughter Neeta (Rekha) are also in love with one another (talk about keeping it all in the family)

All is well in both households until a certain man named Gopal is found unconscious by the village sea, Lalaji pays for his healthcare and nurses him back to health


When he awakes from his coma, he tells a sob story on how he has no one left in the world,Lalaji and his son Rakesh being the kind-hearted fellows they are, give him a job in the family company, in fact Rakesh is so trusting that he puts him in charge of the family business (Rakesh is clearly lazy and doesn't have time for business, all he wants to do is romance Neeta)

Gopal on the other hand is a man on a mission and its not long till he starts showing his true colours, his greed as well as his desire to gain his hands on Lalaji's property cause him to destroy Lalaji and Gupta's friendship by setting them up against one another with the help of Kushiram (Jeevan) an employee of Lalaji

Gopal's plans to destroy the entire family and gain the wealth all to himself comes under threat when Rakesh hears of his schemes, Gopal outsmarts him and before he can even make a move he orders his men to dump him in the sea

Now that Rakesh is out of the game, Gopal feels closer and is more confident of inheriting Lalaji's millions, but his plans are threatened when a Rakesh lookalike in the form of Kishan turns up, winning Lalaji's affection with Lalaji even adopting him as his own son


What schemes will Gopal come up with to ensure he ends up with the millions? Why does Kishan look so much like Rakesh, plus is Rakesh really dead? Will Lalalji & Gupta ever be friends again? Will Gopal be able to make away with the family's fortunes or will he be stopped

Anokhi Ada is a very much a product of 70's bollywood, escapist fare that's very watchable and charming but as i've said at the beginning of this post, it just doesn't have that 'squishy dil' angle that could have made it a classic, i guess the directors favoured camp entertainer rather than a message laden masala flick.

vah! great use of colour Vinod & never has a Villain looked so hot
This film made me think how versatile an actor Vinod is, I just loved him so much as the vilian here, such a stylish villain might i add, here are few of his amazing fashion statements but as i'm dissecting Vinod's fashion sensibilities in a later post i don't want to give to much away

A major fashion trend i picked out were lots of belts worn over tight t shirts complete with neckerchief (that's a styling tip for all you partygoers/clubbers who are stuck for inspiration on funky 70's bollywood outfits)

gotta love that eyeliner
As for Rekha she doesn't have much to do but she was charming and gave me the right amount of eye candy i could have wanted from her. I loved her looks in this, from her 70's style chiffon sari's to her eyeliners, she was uber cute

Like most early 70's film the feistiness the heroine lacked was made up for by a feisty Village belle played by Padma Khanna in this. Unlike most other films of the time like 'Caravan' and 'Mera Gaon mera desh' that gave the supporting actress much to do, Padma doesn't have as much screen time as i would have liked

Good soundtrack from Laxmikant Pyarelal not on the same level as some of their top soundtracks like Loafer or Nagin but there are enough goodies like the lovely romantci duet 'tere sil mein', playful 'sundari hai hai' my two favourites are 'Goom gayi Goom Gayi' with Padma Khanna in full on Village belle mode & an awesome qawalli 'Hal kya hai dilon ka'


Paisa Vasool Rating: 5/10

16 comments:

ajnabi said...

I agree with you that Vinod looks totally hot, especially in the screencap with him on the phone. I love all your pictures; I think it'd be worth watching the movie just for the clothes!

Ava said...

I love Haal kya hai dilon ka.. and Sundari ai hai sundari.

Nasir said...

Belt over the shirt was a fad around that time in Mumbai (Bombay) around that time. Also, the tight trousers won over the bell-bots.

Ness said...

Love the pic of Vinod in the blue top with the scarf. Smoking hot! This looks like another movie to add to my LONG LIST of ones to watch (esp. because I don't have enough Jeetendra on there!)

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

I too love the shot of Vinod in blue with the scarf! I just made it my desktop :) Movie sounds fun too! I almost didn't recognize Rekha with this "cuuuuute" look instead of a more mature beauty.

Nicki said...

OMG, Vinod looks sooo handsome. I need to watch 70s films with him! The eyeliner is awesome!

Anonymous said...

This sounds interesting - I'm actually quite intrigued by that plot. And oh, I like Haal kya hai dilon ka - I didn't know it was from this film. Must try and get my hands on the VCD or DVD quick!

harvey said...

wow! vinod khanna as a villain. I wonder why the heroes allowed such a competition?
Anybody in their senses would drop the jeetendra and take up vinod! Even as a son! ;-)

sunheriyaadein said...

I love Vinod in negative roles and keep wondering how the heroines resist him ;-) . He's such a tough competition to all the heroes.
Love all ur screencaps esp Vinod in blue shirt and scarf and the one with a phone. Also Rekha's eyeliner and earrings.
ROTFL at what harvey said :-D
Plot sounds intriguing as well.

Unknown said...

Great choice of the 70`s.Video rules on traditional ambiance.

bollywooddeewana said...

@ Yes indeed Ajnabi, i have a post dedicated to his clothes coming

@ i love that qawalli too Avdi, i was just lamenting a couple of months ago that we don't get them anymore

@ Nasir I enjoy all this gists you give me, what an awesome place (it still is by the way) Mumbai must have been in th 70's

@ Do get your hands on it, worth watching for his villainy awesomeness, Gosh you spend so much on dvds, have you you got a rental service. The rental service has really taken the burden of having to buy all the time

@ Beth Glad you liked taht pic of him, got more super awesome posts on his fashion coming up later this week. And i do indeed find rekha gorgeous in this phase of her career, many people think she only became beautiful asa mature actress, but i love her right from her day one

@ Nicki He is indeed, i feel he was among the top 5 handsome heroes in 70's bollywood

@ dustedoff Wow Hal dil kyon ka seems to have a lots of fans, do rent it out if you can, its nothing but an escapist fare

@ Harvey Lol Vinod might have had the looks, but Jeetendra had the moves, i guess that must have been a prority in deciding who to adopt ;0)

@ Sunehriyaadein I myself wonder, Rekha's character found it really hard resisting him,its only cos of the script that we can say Jeetendra got her in the end

@ Juzé Cheers, that's one of the thing i like about the old bollywood movies too

bollyviewer said...

If I ever see this movie, I'll probably go @#$%^&@ at the script for everyone being able to resist Vinod Khanna - especially as the hero is Jeetendra (which means, absolutely no competition to Vinod)! :-) I am glad directors did realise that Vinod was unfair competition to heroes and cast him as hero, before his spiritual hiatus, too.

PS: Cant wait for your VK fashions post!

Nasir said...

VK landed with villain roles because he had no choice. As you know, Sunil Dutt it was who introduced him as a villain in MAN KA MEET, (1967) along with Leena Chandavarkar and his brother Som Dutt whom he cast as an hero. VK beat him hollow as far as looks were concerned. Som Dutt proved to be a flop. But Vinod Khanna and Leena hit it off in a big way.

Unknown said...

really nice...

AMODINI said...

Vinod Khanna - so charming ! The competition wasn't even close. And OMG - look at Rekha's puppy fat - she'd gotten way more presentable by the time she did Umrao Jaan. Ah, nostalgia !

bollywooddeewana said...

@ Indeed Bollyviewer no competition when it comes to looks and machismo but i think i'd have to say Jeetendra wins hands down when it comes to dancing

@ Nasir Thanks for that as usual, i had no ida Som Dutt was Sunil's brother, unfortunately the only copy of man ka met availbale for sale is unsubtitled, i would love to watch it

@ Lady Marmalade Glad you like it

@ Amodini Indeed though i have to say i love Jeetu too, you know i think she was very presentable here too, her puppy fat is so adorable