Mohan Kumar’s “Amir Garib” brings to fore the age difference between the male and female leads in Hindi films. Here one gets to see a 50-plus Dev romancing Hema Malini almost half his age. What is amazing is the continuation of this phenomenon in the present age. Despite changes in public taste and the type of films being made one still gets to see likes of Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan among others being cast opposite much younger heroines.
Besides this “Amir Garib” occupies a significant point on Dev Anand’s career graph. It was one of the last films made outside Anand’s Navketan banner in which he acted and wielded the baton. Also, after the phenomenal success of “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” in 1971, in which he directed and acted, his career witnessed a steady downward trend. “Amir Garib” was probably one of the last, if not the last, film to have done good business at box-office.
Here, Anand’s acting style looks jaded and outdated, with the same mannerisms which catapulted him to the top echelons of stardom, seeming a bit tedious and tiresome especially with his pairing with a fresh faced and effervescent Hema Malini. She with her beautiful screen presence does a commendable job, despite her limited histrionic prowess. The film certainly benefitted from “Johnny Mera Naam” released in 1970, in which Hema Malini was cast for the first time opposite Dev Anand and which did exceptional business at the box-office. Seasoned watchers felt that though not launched by Anand, Hema Malini’s career moved upward considerably because of “Johnny Mera Naam”.
Genre: Social drama
Director: Mohan Kumar
Cast: Dev Anand, Hema Malini, Prem Nath, Ranjeet, Sujit Kumar, Sulochana, Birbal, Mohan Chhoti
Screenplay and story: K.A. Narayan
Dialogue: Ehsan Rizvi
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music director: Laxmikant-Pyarelal
Box office status: Hit
Die-hard fans of Dev Anand have a lot to cheer in the film, in which he holds centre stage playing a the character of a modern day Robin Hood. The film starts with Mumbai police officials deliberating how to crack a spate of robberies targeting the rich in the city by a masked thief called Bagula Bhagat. Inspector Anand (Sujeet Kumar) is given charge of the case.
Meanwhile, one gets to see musician and singer, Manmohan, alias Moni, working in a hotel owned by Seth Daulatram (Premnath in his trademark acting style, suave and polished dialogue delivery) who is pursued by Sunita aka Soni, a pickpocket, who lives with her foster mother (Sulochana). In fact Sunita’s rich businessman father died when he was duped by his treacherous manager, Daulatram.
Actually, Bagula Bhagat is Moni in disguise, whose informers (including Birbal and Tuntun) garner information about the misdeeds of unscrupulous traders and businessmen. These then become the target of Bagula Bhagat, who robs them of their riches only to distribute among the poor and the needy. Moni’s heart beats for the ill trodden after a childhood incident, in which his grandfather was killed by a ruthless landowner, who not only belittles him for his poverty, and mocks him about Moni’s mother having been duped by a rich man.
After a series of incidents-some interesting, others outright boring and outlandish (like Anand acting as a hypnotist), Moni and Soni agree to teach Seth Daulatram a lesson for his misdeeds. But before that, Moni comes to know that Soni’s foster mother is actually his mother and that inspector Sujeet Kumar is the fiancé of his foster sister. The film ends after a courtroom drama, in which the judge tries Bagula Bhagat for his misdemeanours. Does the judge take a lenient view of Moni’s plea for rights of the poor? Or is he delivered a harsh punishment?
Whatever the final denouement, the audience is bedevilled with a lot of confusion due to the plethora of tracks and sub tracks making the story a meandering rigmarole of close to two and a half hours. Several minutes and some characters like that of Tanuja in a cameo as Ranjeet’s sister, who himself has nothing much to do other than get repeatedly slapped) could have been chopped to make the script (written by KA Narayan) taut and job of editing by Pratap Bhatt and Pratap Dave that much easier.
Music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, set to lyrics by Anand Bakshi, is good, especially the hummable Kishore Kumar-Lata Mangeshkar duet, “Soni aur Moni ki hai jodi ajeeb” and the Kishore Kumar solo “Main aaya hoon”.
However, Mohan Kumar, who contributed to cinema with films such as “Anpadh”, “Avtaar” and “Aap Aaye Bahar Aayi” could have certainly offered a better film.
