Jan Pahchan

The movie maybe slow moving occasionally but is good one. The movie has some very good songs. Khemchand Prakash was the MD of the movie (famous for Mahal) but died during the making. The songs were then completed by Manna Dey. Geeta Roy(later Dutt) did singing for Nargis in the movie and all songs are very nice. One is the Geeta solo Aaoge Na Sajan Aaoge Na and the second is the Geeta-Talat magical song Armaan Bhare Dil Ki Lagan Tere Liye Hai (a delight).Another good one is Duniya Mohabbat Karne Na Degi. The songs complement the storyline well. This movie made a hit of the Nargis-Raj Kapoor pair and they were to appear in many more movies together. Raj Kapoor is convincing as the painter. Like many of his later movies he is shown with a disfigured body. He had become a master of the imperfect hero. There is good chemistry between him and Nargis. Ramanand Sagar has written a good story. Screenplay could have been slightly tighter though.

I really like Raj Kapoor's movies. The chemistry between Raj Kapoor and Nargis is also one of the best. I had some expectations from the movie. But the movie fails on all fronts. The storyline is dull, with no suspense or whatever. Raj Kapoor is seen as a disillusioned artist in this film. Although he played some really good roles in other films, he fails in this one. Songs are also uninspiring. The movie only has some slight melodrama and nothing else. Right from the start, the movie fails to deliver. No wonder, this movie was also not successful at the box office. The only thing worth watching is the Raj Kapoor-Nargis on screen chemistry. Overall, the movie does not deserve a watch.

I liked the art direction of this film, and seeing Raj Kapoor and Nargis young and beautiful. I liked the music, too, especially the slide guitar touches, but the songs themselves weren't especially memorable for me -- no doubt my ignorance of the language is a contributing factor, but I didn't find the tunes themselves particularly catchy or evocative. In fact, during one of Aasha's songs, I noted that the lyrics translated in the subtitles seemed a lot more depressing than the melody.

The themes relating to dreams, the creation of art and idealized beauty were of interest to me. Having half of the romantic couple disfigured (no spoiler here, if you read the plot synopsis,) reminded me of the disfigured protagonist in 1978's Raj Kapoor directed film Satyam Shivam Sundaram. Not that I'm positing any direct correlation between the films, other than the theme of love and inner beauty (and me working my way through the Raj Kapoor filmography.)

If, like me, you enjoy the chemistry between Raj Kapoor and Nargis, the completionists among you will want to to add this to your viewing list -- but maybe not the top of the list. Melodrama goes with the turf, but I prefer it leavened with great songs, and none of these grabbed me; also Raj's comic gifts are not utilized. Plus, Anil took too long to get back to Aasha (for my taste.)