Raaz

I watched this movie in 2022 on You tube.

I was scrolling through the insta reels where I saw an Indian idol performance on the song Akele hain chale aao jahaan ho . When I searched for this song on you tube it came out to be a wonderful song by Mohd Rafi with Rajesh Khanna in the song. The song somehow created interest in me to watch the film on you tube. From the first scene , it gave the hint of a suspense movie but since it was made 65 years ago there would be nothing that you may be unaware of or a shock mind bending twist you will expect in the movie. Given that the movie was a good one time watch with good plot and plot twist suitable for its time and even better than some Hindi movies of recent times.

While watching the movie it reminded me of simpler times or I thought of Rajesh Khanna or how Babita looked like Karishma Kapoor or when I saw some comic performance or even fight scene I imagined what would have been its effect in a single screen theater and how plot and screenplay adjusts to fit in the needs of common viewer. It was all an all a good watch for me.

It starts with a man brutally stabbed in the back in front of his infant child, cuts to a troubled Rajesh Khanna, goes backward and forward in time, place and relationships: it's all rather confusing really. It was where Khanna (looking more like the ghost of old American actor Edmund Purdom) made his big break so it's worth a look just for that, although there's some lovely tunes as well.

Dreamy dreaming guy in Africa feels the call of India, doesn't know why or when he gets there why people look at him as if they'd seen a ghost, or why he's already in love with a woman he's never met and vice versa. It's almost impossible to seriously describe the tortuous plot, or to gravely drop a spoiler for that matter - save to relate a lot happens and it's all stylishly done with some swift editing to hold the attention. Although the wiry Khanna had a couple of loud thumping fights with the baddie work supervisor which dragged on a little. I've always enjoyed a good melodrama and this is; the old English actor Tod Slaughter would've loved to have worked on this one as the glaring moustachioed evil uncle! Some of the songs are sublime, especially Rafi's stately version of Akele Hain, while Lata and Mukesh had a nice duet with Dil Sambhale, both out in the woods. Mughal E Azam was referenced by Manna Dey with an amusing if undignified Jab Pyar Kiya To Marna Kyon for the comedy relief.

Overall, a puzzling film and along with the characters I kept getting many flashbacks myself – The Man From UNCLE, Portrait Of Jennie, It's Never Too Late To Mend to name a few. Because it was trying to be many different films at the same time it has many things to like (maybe logically) despite its foggy plot getting in the way. Even without the music it's still interesting!