It was the year when old was giving way to new ideas, fresh images. New wave cinema was making inroads into the commercial world of Indian cinema with new stars and directors creating a niche audience. Rajesh Khanna was sweeping the established actors off their feet. Amitabh Bachchan was looking to find his bearings. Dev Anand was holding on to his place among the elite with a stirring offering like “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” which dealt with the issues of hippies and drugs among the youth. “Guddi”, “Anand”, “Uphaar”, “Door Ka Rahi”, “Mere Apne”, “Anubhav”, “Naya Zamana” stood for their appeal across all genre of fans. 1971 was indeed a year of good cinema.
Amidst this “different” set of films, came “Rakhwala”. It was an out and out commercial drama, the usual plot of a hero, heroine and the bad man. Well, the hero and the bad man here were the lovable Dharmendra and the ever-adorable Vinod Khanna, both dashing as ever and the key elements in enabling the movie achieve above average success. It may not have figured among the top five hits of the year but it met the demands of a dedicated set of fans which would not miss a Dharmendra movie. One could add Vinod Khanna to the category of actors who had a mass of faithful followers.
Vinod Khanna, now in poor health, shone as a handsome villain in many films. His versatility spoke for his skills. The angry youth leader of “Mere Apne”, the idealistic teacher of “Imtihan”, the dacoit of “Mera Gaon Mera Desh”, the disillusioned Army officer of “Achanak”, the range of Vinod Khanna’s role was mindboggling because he later played the lead roles with flair.
Dharmendra, of course, was no less accomplished even though he starred in many `B’ grade movies during declining years of his career. Here, he is on a mission to get to the bottom of a murder. In the process, he runs into issues that need attention and bring about turbulence in his family life. Dhamendra plays Deepak, who loves and marries Chandni (Leena Chandavarkar), a rich girl pampered by Jwalaprasad (Madan Puri).
Jwalaprasad is aided by Shyam (Vinod Khanna), his accomplice in usurping a property. Shyam assists Jwalaprasad with an eye on his daughter and the accompanying property but the businessman has different ideas. He is not keen on Chandni being given away to a criminal and he ends up losing his daughter to Deepak, whose real identity is a secret until the last frame.
The romance phase of Dharmendra and Chandavarkar provides some relief from the mundane stuff that Jagdeep comes up in the name of comedy. Madan Puri does not have the scope to assert his character but Vinod Khanna excels in his part, which he plays to perfection. The script does not give the actors the stage to showcase their skills. Neither does the music support the plot but Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna manage to keep the audience engrossed whenever they confront each other on the screen. There is an extended fight sequence between the two which stood out for the fact they desisted from using their doubles.
Almost two decades later, Anil Kapoor starred in a movie by the same name which proved a bigger hit than the original even though the plots in the movies were different. But “Rakhwala” of 1971 had its bright moments in the presence of Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna, two evergreen stars of Indian cinema.
