Parichay

A nice story based on THE SOUND OF MUSIC. A hit in its times, it has some good acting by Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and Jeentendra. Vinod Khanna has a small role in the movie. Pran is trying to bring up his grandchildren, children of his dead son, Sanjeev Kumar. The children are very obstinate, but things start changing when a teacher(Jeetendra) come to take care of the children. The eldest grand child(Jaya Bhaduri) falls in love with the teacher and things sort out.

Loosely based on "The Sound of Music" (though Gulzar insists it was inspired by "The Turkish Family"), this movie is a must-see for the performances - especially Jaya Bhaduri and the children. Jeetendra is good too, in his odd wooden way. Pran is good as usual.

Once more, for the umpteenth time, music composer Rahul Dev Burman spins out memorable gems. Listen to "Musafir hoon yaaron", "Beeti na bitaye raina", "Saare ke saare", and "Mitwa", and you feel a sense of loss. How Pancham was underrated in his time, and what more he could achieved, if he was around with us. What beats is me is how all the so-called judges missed awarding R.D. for such out of this world music scores.

I'm a big fan of Gulzar, and Parichay is actually not of my favourite Gulzar movies, and it is also one of his lesser known works. Having said that, Parichay is overall an engaging and watchable picture. It is said to be a remake of The Sound of Music, but Gulzar clearly denied this, and I also think it is very different. The movie is a rather ordinary family drama, and as expected from Gulzar, it's never melodramatic or overly clichéd. Don't know if the film was intended for kids or not, but children will definitely enjoy the film much more, given the kids have more screen time than any other actor and in a way the story is at times seen through their eyes. The lead pair is played by Jeetendra and Jaya Bhaduri, both of whom are convincing in their roles. Those were the days when Jeetendra was at his best and acted in better movies than those he would be a part of later in his career. Bhaduri is unsurprisingly restrained and natural and plays her role with ease. The supporting cast includes Pran, as the estranged grandfather who is a tough man of principles, and Sanjeev Kumar, as his son. Both actors are excellent. One of the film's highlights is definitely the music, composed by master R.D Burman. Gulzar's direction, casting and his ability to keep everything simple despite the ongoing proceedings, along with the lovely songs, create a movie that is enjoyable, even if it's not one of his most memorable pictures.

Review By Kamal K

Though it is an Indian adaptation of The Sound of Music , it's very beautiful . It has a message against the traditional belief -" spare the rod and spoil the child ". A must watch for all modern educationists.

Everything about this movie was top notch.It's a pity that Jeetendra did not act in more films like this one besides the odd one here and there and that Gulzarji did not make many more movies.He is a top class director and is really one of India's finest filmmakers .