Recently, when Vinod Khanna, undoubtedly one of the most handsome actors to have graced the Indian film industry, suffered a health scare, legion of his fans went into a tizzy. Well, those who associate Khanna as the pitiable father of Salman Khanna in the Dabangg series may strain their memories to the multi-starrers “Amar Akbar Anthony” and “Parvarish” and going further down remember his raw presence in films like “Mere Apne”, “Mera Gaon Mera Desh”, “Achanak” and the Atma Ram’s “Aarop”. Indeed, he was the only actor who gave Amitabh Bachan a run for his money in this period.
In “Aarop”, Saira Banu (as Aruna, a righteous school teacher and adopted daughter of the temple priest) whose love interest is Khanna (playing Subhash), a fiery editor of the local newspaper Mashaal) is the surprise package. She is uncharacteristically restrained in her performance, which is nuanced and understated, as is her wardrobe. Maybe Atma Ram (younger brother of the legendary Guru Dutt) had something to do with this transformation.
Another masterstroke for Atmaram was getting Bhupen Hazarika to compose music for the film, one of the rare occasions that Hazirka has wielded the baton for a Hindi film. And the magnum opus, “Naino Mein Darpan”, sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar retains its effervescence till date. However, one is confounded at to why Maya Govind, the lyricist, who made a debut with this film could not attain the success again.
Good ensemble cast
Vinod Mehra, who plays Ravi (Subhash’s friend, Aruna’s silent lover and a lawyer by profession) is good, as is the ensemble cast — suave and avuncular Rehman (as Makhanlal Singh, the nefarious don who runs a gambling den, 3 Aces, in cohorts with Kanchan), the sensuous Bindu (as Kanchan, who secretly harbours a crush for Subhash), the iconic Johnny Walker (Dhondu Dada),, Keshto Mukherjee (for a change not an alcoholic, but a hardworking employee of Mashaal) and Paintal (as Tony, a photographer).The screenplay by Ram Govind and dialogues by Vrajendra Gaur make the film a worthy watch.
The story is rather simple and unravels when Subhash starts publishing against 3 Aces Club and Makhanlal retaliates by trying to burn down the press along with Subhash and Dhondu Dada, to crippling its finances by using pliant politicians and members of the local corporation to throwing both Ravi and Aruna out of work. A cornered Subhash seeks to strike back and with a loaded gun reaches the area where Kanchan is performing. He aims the gun, but before he can fire, another shot kills Kanchan. A scared Subhash runs from the scene to confess before Aruna but is arrested by the police. After a prolonged court battle he is convicted, forcing a devastated Aruna to level charges against Ravi for complacency in fighting the case. Ravi vows to prove his innocence and save Subhash from the gallows. But can he do it? For that, well, watch the film.
