Review of Andaz

Andaz (1971)
7/10
Child Is The Father To Man
11 November 2013
This has nothing in common with the 1949 classic black and white Andaz with Nargis and Dilip Kumar apart from the title and each stars one of the Kapoor's (Raj and Shammi). There Naushad supplied some beautiful music which was sung to by the young Lata, here Shankar-Jaikeshan provide some rather flat songs except for the much-reprised Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana by King Kishore Kumar. Here we have the chunky Shammi Kapoor gradually falling for the doll-like Hema Malini (and more unlikely, vice versa) to a different generation and set of morals.

They both have different yet similar histories as their respective partners have died – she's supposedly an unmarried mother to a boy while he's a lone parent to a girl. Fate brings them together more and more, mainly through the agency of their children who obviously have more sense than the adults. Everyone in here is cute, except for hip character Badal who looks a bit like the old UK TV character Jason King but who turns out to be a three-in-a-bed rapist. It's an expertly put together journey with excellent production values and some very nice scenery in a warm colour. The best of the hip songs is Mujhe Pyas Aisi Pyas Lagi Hai which is seductively sung by Asha – while the syrupy ditty sung by the children is maybe best forgotten!

One could perhaps have wished for a little more of Hemi's impulsive first lover played by Rajesh Khanna, but it's pleasant and absorbing enough with Shammi underplaying his more "weighty" role for a change. And anyway as the song goes Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow, so let's make the most of what we've got.
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