KHILONA

A 1970 Hindi Film starring Jeetendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Mumtaz in the lead.Laxmikant Pyarelal composed the music. It is recorded as super hit on the box office India. It is a remake of a Telugu movie “Punarjanma” (1963) & was simultaneously made in Tamil with Sivaji Ganesan & Jayalalitha, later on it was made in Malayalam.

Khilona (Toy ) is a story of Vijay Kamal ( Sanjeev Kumar) a son of rich Thakur who loses his mind.He sees Sapna,his beloved marrying Bihari ( Shatrughan Sinha ) & commiting suicide on the Diwali night when Bihari has hosted a party. Vijay is in shock ,so Thakur believes if Vijay gets married his health will improve. He approaches a Tawaif, Chand (Mumtaz) to pretend to be Vijay’s wife & help him get better.Chand receives very cold treatment from Vijay’s mother & elder brother.

In a fit of madness,Vijay sexually assaults her. But later she becomes very friendly with him & Vijay starts improving.Bihari wishes to have Chand ( what a metaphor! ) & tries to persuade Radha,Vijay’s younger sister.Promises to make her an actress in bollywood & elope with gold & money. Chand foils the plan.Vijay’s younger brother,Mohan (Jeetendra ) falls in love with Chand & is heartbroken when he finds she is pregnant.Dejected he leaves the house without notice.

In a fight between Vijay & Bihari,Bihari falls off the terrace that shocks Vijay & he gets cured.He is unable to recollect Chand,who is humiliated by the family & is thrown out of the house. Mohan steps in & accuses everyone of using her like a toy. Throwing away the toy when there is no need.He reveals how Radha was saved from Bihari’s evil pursuits.In the end it is revealed that actually Chand comes from a noble family & was only raised as a tawaif as she was found alone in a train accident. Family accepts Chand & all ends well.

In “Jeene ki Raah”, Jeetendra has all the screen time with Tanuja,but Sanjeev Kumar ,who disappears for the entire film only appears to claim her hand in the end. The story was about unemployment & how jobs were scarce & “Vacancy” board attracted the youth.

Anand Bakshi has written the songs.’Sanam tu bewafa ke naam se…by Lata Mangeshkar.’Khush rahe tu sada ye dua hai meri…’ a heart broken Sanjeev Kumar sings.( He doesn’t drink or create a scene, nor comes with a weapon….hurting the beloved was unthinkable, jaha bhi rahe khush rahe tu sada….the heart asks for or prays for only blessings for her. In “Khamoshi”…Rajesh Khanna has lost it when he gets heart broken.’Phir wohi sham,wohi gham…’ supported by Waheeda Rehman( who is dreaming about her love,Dharmendra ) Rajesh Khanna gets well,by then Waheeda is admitted as a patient. In Salman Khan’s “Kyon Ki”in spite of a wonderful starcast, it fails to make an impact.Kareena Kapoor in a serious role with Jackie shroff as a doctor in a mental hospital. It is too slow that puts you off.

“Khilona jankar tum to…” Sanjeev Kumar is locked up & implores to set him free.His hands out of the grill of his window is a classic scene repeated in many films .(‘Mr India’ has the children sitting on the staircase & pleading with Sridevi along with Anil Kapoor to give their ball )

‘Mein sharabi nahin’,’ Mohd.Rafi & Asha Bhosle, ‘Roj,roj Rozy….’ Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle & ‘Yeh natak kavi likh gaye Kalidas’ by Manna Dey. Two Filmfare awards for the Best film & Best actress award for Mumtaz. She is one of the few actresses who made it to the top while starting from small roles.She worked with all the top actors of her time.She shared the screen with Rajesh Khanna & their pair was the most prefered.As they say this film got the attention & she never looked back. She married later & left the industry as a mega star.

More such iconic film next. For now, happy viewing!