Writer-producer Nyaya Sharma's story, together with his own punctuating dialogue and profound lyrics – set to brilliant composition by the highly talented music director Jaidev – could have been converted into any form of mainstream gripping (social, romance, crime, period) script by a professional writer but the lackadaisical manner in which director Chetan Anand developed it turned out to be a lame duck. Even the USP turned into a blunder for it was a reunion of sorts of a successful combination of two brothers – a big star by now and a languishing into monotony director brother, which an admiring producer wanted to bring together.
Fugitive and the silent lover
For some unexplained reasons the narrative opens with archival shots of Partition, multitudes on foot, in trains and lorries migrating from one place to another with a zoom out of ‘1947'. But that turns out to be the beginning and end of that as one sees a young man hanging by a bus step-ladder falling into open fields. That's Kamal (Dev Anand), the fugitive. In this prosperous village (suggestively somewhere close to Bombay) live a zamindar with a beautiful young daughter, Neelu (Meena Kumari), and his estate caretaker, Puran (Chetan Anand), the silent lover.
Predictably, Kamal saves Neelu from the villain and his henchman. Neelu flips for him, much to Puran's dismay. But the episode gets Kamal an employment as the new manager of the estate. They are in love. But it is not long before his true identity comes into focus, and leaving a confessional letter behind he finds refuge in Bombay, which Puran finds but does not reveal the content to a mourning Neelu. In Bombay Kamal is jointed by Mithu (Sunder). In yet another attempt to save a wealthy couple on a barren Juhu beach not only helps Kamal find employment but also becomes the love interest of Lala's (Ravikant) young wife.
Back in the village, Puran is sulking and Neelu is found suffering from a heart ailment. The next stop is Bombay. The doctor advises a trip to Switzerland for treatment. Neelu is reluctant but by this time Kamal is back on the scene. The two profess love and commitment to one another in front of an idol. Neelu takes the flight; Kamal tries his best to keep the vamp at bay; a maroon-looking Puran returns his letter to Neelu telling him he hadn't revealed the content to his lady love. In the process of pulling a handkerchief Kamal unconsciously drops the letter, which is shortly discovered by employer's wife. Realising she had lost him, she hands over the letter to her husband who informs the police. An inspector arrives on the scene just as Kamal and Neelu are married. Neelu sheds tears and Puran lip- syncs Mukesh's “Jab Gham-e-Ishq Satata Hai” walking around ruins.
Then as suddenly as Kamal was arrested he is pronounced innocent. He returns only to discover she had been kidnapped by the old village besotted guy. In the ensuing fisticuffs Puran dies, and the lovers drive to a new dawn. Playback singers Mukesh, Manna Dey, Talat Mahmood, Mohammad Rafi contribute singularly to the music of the film, as also sisters Lata and Usha.
The weak and fragmented Chetan Anand does not permit any situation to its logical progression. In his valiant attempt to once again prove himself as an actor, he not only fails miserably but in an attempt to give himself more than necessary footage ruins whatever little impact the story, dialogue and lyrics could have. V Ratra captures the city scenes, especially when the whole of Bombay is lit up, the lovers drive through the streets at night while the hapless silent lover waves at them abroad a train/tram/bus.
Obviously, it was part of the shooting script (or was there one since the director notoriously worked without one), but to what purpose. Surely, the city had not been lit for filming the sequence alone.
