Waqt

Waqt was a hugely successful film though the story was pretty normal for the sixties.It was the stylish acting of Raaj Kumar which caught the eye.Sunil Dutt and the rest were not far behind.Balraj Sahani was simply perfect.The music and lyrics are outstanding.Before this film Raaj Kumar was not in much demand but Waqt i think was the turning point in his career.With so many good actors/actresses the film creates a very professional and convincing atmosphere.The direction is first-class especially the romantic scenes and songs.The earthquake construction is weak.Also it is unbelievable that Raju fails to recognize his father when he is caught by him running from the law.The end makes up for the flimsy plot but still it seems contrived.This results in a very average film of its period though the style is refreshing and admirable.

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.

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".

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.

Waqt (1965) : Brief Review -

Yash Chopra reinitiated the "lost and found" formula with an unknown and unintentional anthology. There is a great quote from Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece "Limelight" (1952): "Time is the best author. It always writes the perfect ending." Yash Chopra's Waqt is the cinematic explanation of that quote. By the 60s, the lost and found formula had become old in Bollywood, so the novelty factor wasn't there. Yash Ji realized that and decided to extend the same formula with glitter, glamour, and ensemble cast. Waqt is such a lavish and glamorous film for family melodrama. It begins with a large-scale scene in Lala Kedarnath's family as he celebrates the birthdays of his three sons (on the same day). Ravi and Manna Dey's evergreen number, "Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen," sets the mood for a royal family drama, and then tragedy strikes. Suddenly, that royal film turns into a poor people's drama. It again catches up with the glittering world when the boys grow up, and the narrative forms an unintentional anthology. There are 4 stories running simultaneously, and all are interlinked with each other unknowingly. That seemed like a perfect Bollywood masala classic. Waqt then shifted gears in the last hour and brought thrilling elements like murder and courtroom drama to it, and then ended a 3-hour drama with a happy ending. Yash Chopra brings an ensemble cast that guarantees a sure-shot box office hit, and they all fit in their roles. Except for that one evergreen song in the beginning, no other songs hit the chords. They are shot very beautifully, though. After directing back-to-back social films like Dhool Ka Phool (1959) and Dharmaputra (1961), Yash Chopra finally decided to try his hands at a commercial blockbuster, and he delivered a much bigger hit than those two films. He couldn't surpass the quality, though, and it's a fact. Overall, a very gorgeous drama with many masaledar scenes.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.