K. S. Sethumadhavan's Julie is overall a memorable picture of its time. The film can be termed as a social movie, but it's not the film's highpoint. The director brilliantly captures the world of the Christian Anglo-Indian community of India through the family of Julie, their lifestyle, their culture, their way of living, and that's where the film scores the most. This is done thanks to the simple and well chosen costumes, sets, and props, which give the film a sense of everyday realism, which was often missing in mainstream Hindi movies of those times. Seeing this middle-class family going through good and bad and always loving each other was truly heartwarming, and rarely in those years did one witness such a lifelike presentation of a family in a Hindi film. The romantic portions are also quite efficiently filmed, but the portrayal of premarital pregnancy was a bit lacking and later turned the film into a typical melodrama, even if it somehow worked.
Laxmi in probably the only good role she played in a Hindi film is very, very good as Julie. She looks very attractive and vibrant and is natural and believable. Her character goes through several phases - the loving and beloved daughter, the girl who is in love, the young woman who learns about her pregnancy, the tormented mother - and she does the job exceedingly well. In some scenes she particularly shines, like those in which she tries to control her passions and ultimately submits, or the one in which she finds out about her pregnancy and confesses about it to her mother. Actually, the role itself does not bring out a great character transformation, and in the second half, the actress is made to cry a bit too much, but everything is within context and the overall impact is effective thanks to her strong screen presence and evident sincerity.
But without a doubt the one who steals the show is Nadira in the role of the strict and loving mother and wife Maggie. She is amazing, and I'm not exaggerating, and that's mainly because her performance works for what she creates and for what she is, and not for what she does. This role clearly shows that this talented actress (who is particularly remembered for her portrayal of the sharp, evil and cigarette-smoking vamp in Raj Kapoor's 1955 masterwork Shree 420) was underutilised in her days and was capable of much more than she was actually given. This is not one typical black or white character, it's grayish, multi-dimensional, real and easy to understand. Due credit for this goes to Nadira. Moreover, she shares a very credible chemistry with Om Prakash, who is also up there with a wonderful performance as Julie's alcoholic yet loving and kindhearted father.
The film's music by Rajesh Roshan is outstanding and it definitely enhances the narrative and gives the movie a certain charm not completely warranted by the script. "My Heart is Beating", sung entirely in English, is the film's ultimate tune which effectively contributes to the story by presenting the big Anglo-Indian family, its colour, simplicity and everyday happiness. My favourite number, however, is the melodious and romantic "Bhool Gaya Sab Kuch". Julie is not the best movie dealing with the Christian Anglo-Indian community, but it's memorable and in this regard is similar to Raj Kapoor's classic Bobby. Where the subject matter goes, it is good but towards the end becomes increasingly unrestrained. The ending is very sentimental, but it works, just because these are moments which can be seen in any existing family and they successfully conclude this nice, highly watchable and enjoyable picture.
