Waqt

Waqt is Yash Chopra's third film and the first colour film he directed after Dhool Ka Phool(1959) and Dharmputra(1961) which released in 1965.It was one of the first multi-star cast films of Hindi cinema.Yashji had initially thought of casting Prithviraj Kapoor and his three sons Raj,Shammi, and Shashi Kapoor.But with the exception of Shashiji,he replaced the others with Balraj Sahni,Raaj Kumar and Sunil Dutt, who I feel are a better choice for the roles though Prithviji,Rajji and Shammiji are also good actors.

Waqt according to me is Yash Chopra's best film out of the 22 films he has directed.Not just that,I also consider it to be the best Hindi film ever made till now.Waqt is the story of a wealthy trader Lala Kedarnath(Balraj Sahni),his wife Lakshmi(Achala Sachdev) and their three sons Raju(Raaj Kumar),Bablu(Sunil Dutt) and Mannu(Shashi Kapoor).Destiny plays a very cruel game with them.Their lives are shattered and their close knit family is now separated.They all grow up and now all of their lives are changed.All the players of the game are back on the field of life and will have to face each other now after about 2 decades.The paths of their lives get interconnected.But,this time the game is not cruel,though has difficult situations for its players.This is "Waqt" (time) playing a game with them.The same destiny that separated them earlier brings them together now.

Waqt is a scintillating dramatic experience of love,bonding, togetherness,separation and family values.This was also one of the first Hindi films to be made on the lost and found formula which was first seen in the Ashok Kumar-Mumtaz Shanti starrer Kismet(1948).There are no caricaturish villains,silly comedians or scheming vamps in this film.All the characters are believable and relatable.The direction by Yashji is top notch.The music by Ravi is excellent with some heart-rending melodies.The lyrics,writing,cinematography,editing,art direction are also worth mentioning.

The performance of the cast that includes Balraj Sahni,Achala Sachdev,Raaj Kumar,Rehman,Leela Chitnis,Sunil Dutt,Sadhana,Manmohan Krishna,Surendra Nath,Sumati Gupte,Hari Shivdasani,Shashi Kapoor,Sharmila Tagore,Madan Puri,Jeevan,Motilal,Shashikala and others is brilliant and all of them are worth mentioning.But,Raaj Kumar stands out with his excellent acting and dialogue delivery.Last but not the least the dialogues written by Akhtar-ul-Imaan are superb and very memorable.Easily one of the best dialogues written for any film. He definitely deserves a special mention.These dialogues have been re- used and re-interpreted in many films to come in the future.

On the overall, WAQT makes for a very interesting and engrossing watch.We move with "WAQT".

I just watched this film and I highly recommend it to anyone who feels like making a trip into the Hindi cinema of yesteryear. While by no means original, the story has the perfect combination of drama, fun, romance, hardship and lucky coincidence. The court scenes at the end are wonderful, with Sunil Dutt in full 'Perry Mason' mode, and the finally comes with all the tears and high emotion that I've come to know and love from 'Bollywood' films. The songs are nice (a personal fav is 'O Meri Zohra Jabeen'), the ladies stunning, the gentlemen charming, and the young Shashi Kapoor divine! It took quite some searching to find a copy of this film on DVD but it was well worth the hunt.

The story of Waqt is pretty standard: an earthquake separates the members of a wealthy family with three sons, who are brought up as a result in separate and quite different circumstances. Eventually, of course, the family is reunited, but not before variuous twists and turns culminating in the three brothers appearing in court in connection with the trial for murder of one brother, with the other brothers being the defence counsel and a witness for the prosecution, respectively. Pretty standard stuff - but stylishly presented and with strong performances,particularly by Sadhan as the love interest of one of the brothers, and Sunil Dutt as the lawyer brother. Nice stuff, great music, lavish sets, and a pretty cool courtroom denouement!

Yash Chopra's Waqt is a multi-starred lost-and-found Hindi melodrama. An earthquake destroys the home of a rich trader, and as a result his wife and three sons get separated, with only the youngest son remaining with his mother. But time causes all of them to meet again in some coincidental circumstances. Yes, it looks very typical today but it was one of the first of its sort, and it's thoroughly enjoyable. There are several genres within this one: a drama, a romance, a thriller, a musical, a courtroom drama. From emotions to suspense to music to coincidences to a happy ending, this one has it all, and like most of Yash Chopra's films, it is fun to watch. The film flows brilliantly with all the characters, the situations and the memorable songs, and its multi-starred cast performs well. Balraj Sahni and Achala Sachdev make for a very believable couple. Raaj Kumar gives a great performance and portrays the suave high-class professional thief with elegance and conviction. Sunil Dutt is very good as the humorous and lighthearted Ravi, Sadhana is grace personified as the lovely and beautiful Meena, Sharmila Tagore is likable as the peppy Renu, and Shashi Kapoor is fine as the simple Vijay. Among the songs, "O Meri Zohra Jabeen" and "Aage Bhi Jaane Na Tu" are my favourite. It's been 45 years since this film's release, but time does not prevent Waqt from being a wonderful entertainer.

Balraj Sahni is affluent and cocky, living the good life with his beautiful wife and three young boys. He thinks he can control destiny but TIME wills otherwise and an earthquake scatters his family to the winds. His eldest turns into a suave thief Raja, played by Raj Kumar. The middle son, played exceedingly well by Sunil Dutt, is brought up by a very wealthy couple and turns into Ravi the lawyer. The youngest is Vijay, played by Shashi Kapoor, who lives with his mother in penury. He finds a job as a driver with Chinnoy Seth (Rehman), a master criminal. The two older brothers both fall in love with the beauteous Meena, played by Sadhna, while the younger romances the peppy Renu, played by Sharmila Tagore. Of course the brothers have to cross paths and in fact they meet and part and even bump into their father on the streets. By a quirk of fate Raja discovers that Ravi is indeed his brother and now blood will tell. He wants to smoothen the path of love for Ravi and Meena but is framed for a heinous murder committed by Chinnoy Seth. Chinnoy convinces Vijay to lie for him. An exceedingly well enacted courtroom drama, with the rookie Ravi defending Raja, terminates in the obligatory happy ending for all but the journey is most pleasant.

Waqt is Yash Chopra's finest film, evergreen, well written, well acted. It boasts of some of the most classic dialogs pre-Sholay - 'Chaku Se mat Khelo, Chot Lag Jayegi'. 'Jin Ke Khud Ke Ghar Sheese Ke Hon Woh Doosron par Patthar Nahin Phekte Chinoy Seth' etc. The court scenes are very engaging and have high drama but not much melodrama. The acting is great all around but the top folks are Balraj Sahni, Sunil Dutt (Gule Gulzaar Bulbule Yaar!), Raj Kumar, Sadhna. Oh - the film scores high on the looks quotient too! Sunil and Shashi are absolutely yummy, Sadhana is beautiful and Sharmila the sweet naive one.

Music is melodious - O Meri Zohra Zabeen, Hothon Pe Khushi, Kaun Aaya , and my personal favorite Aage Bhi Jaane Naa Tu. This one is a keeper and worth revisiting.