Rakhee was quite an underrated actor. She won a few awards but never the masses. From the time she made an impressive debut in “Jeevan Mrityu” with Dharmendra as the hero, she was cast opposite some of the stalwarts of the profession. And she could make her presence known with a variety of roles.
Working with Amitabh Bachchan brought the best out of Rakhee. It may not have been the most romantic pair but it appealed to the audience. She did come across a matured performer and Bachchan appeared comfortable when pitted against her acting skills. Her measured dialogue delivery was a plus point for an actor who was not glamorous in the true sense but she could steal a scene among the elite.
Shashi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Sanjeev Kumar, Dev Anand were some of the stars she worked with. She was not known to appreciate Bachchan’s stature in the industry but she had a successful stint with him, beginning with “Kabhie Kabhie”, “Muqaddar Ka Sikander”, “Trishul”, “Kaala Patthar”, “Jurmana” and “Barsaat Ki Ek Raat”. These hits were interspersed with “Kasme Vaade”, a film that featured Bachchan in two roles. It was Rakhee who carried the film even as she shared space with Bachchan, Randhir Kapoor, Neetu Singh and Amjad Khan.
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There was nothing exceptional about the story. Two brothers, one a professor (Amit, Bachchan), the other (Raju, Kapoor) a struggling student in the same college, have a common binding force in Suman (Rakhee), who paints to make a living. She adores Amit and pampers Raju like a doting mother. Amit puts his marriage on hold to enable Raju settle down but the latter is wayward in his ways, actually spoilt by the affection that Amit and Suman shower him with.
Refusing to mend his lifestyle, Raju indulges in frolicking, ignoring his studies, and slowly lands in bad company. He ends up in antagonising a rich brat Kundan (Vijyendra Ghatge), who is admonished by Amit for his misbehaviour in the class room. The fury to avenge the insult leads Kundan to target Raju. When mediating their scuffle, Amit ends up dying at the hands of Kundan. Following Amit’s death, Suman’s world is turned upside down and she assumes the life of a widow.
Halfway through the narrative, Shankar, a look-alike of Amit, comes into contact with Raju, who is nursing the guilt of being the reason for his brother’s death. Shankar is a thug, whose ‘profession’ is stealing cars. For Raju, working as a car mechanic, this comes as an opportunity to rediscover his brother.
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In a reversal of roles, it is Raju’s turn to reform someone, in this case his elder ‘brother’. A few incidents help Shankar accept his destiny which also guides him towards Suman. She, however, is reconciled to spend her life in Amit’s memory. But Shankar’s past revisits him as Suman is kidnapped by a gangster Juda (Amjad Khan). Juda wants Shankar to smuggle diamonds in a car. The climax involves Shankar saving Suman and Juda being apprehended for his misdeeds.
As Juda the hunchback, Amjad Khan gives glimpses of the vicious Gabbar Singh even though his role here is too short. Just as Neetu Singh’s, as the lady love of Raju. But Rakhee, regardless of the director’s focus more on the two characters that Bachchan plays, gives a decent account of herself. There is a telling scene when Suman gives Shankar a resounding slap, Rakhee’s expression conveying the emotions of the character superbly. The usually insufferable Randhir Kapoor surprisingly slips into his role nicely but Bachchan adds little to his stature. The mild Amit is an antithesis to the volatile Shankar.
A low moment of Bachchan’s acting comes in an intolerable scene involving an inebriated Shankar and a cockroach, a stereotyped feature of a Bachchan movie. It is best left to Rakhee to excel as Suman, the lover and the bhabhi .