Sharafat

A man takes in his daughter's fiance only to learn that he has been frequenting a prostitute under the auspices of teaching her to read and write.

Dharmendra-Hema pair up again in a drama that has a serious tone about family lost and found and hypocritical nature of society. Don't expect dancing around trees and fights, it's a social film with a good story and dialogues. The cast perform well, especially Dharmendra, Hema and Ashok Kumar.

If you need a reason to watch this film, here's one: if you're a fan of Hema Malini and her graceful dancing in any movie, you'll love the songs of Sharafat, which exploit her talent excellently.

The plot is not anything special. A lot of Hindi films from this era follow the same plot conventions, like losing familial connections. This, in the end, is also what Sharafat is also about.

Otherwise it's a story about a good man (Dharmendra) and an "indecent" girl (Hema Malini), and their love. Hema's character is a naach girl (dancer/prostitute), which serves as a good reason for her to dance in Bharatanatyam-influenced numbers. These are naturally a joy to watch. Dharmendra both looks and acts youthful and is very charming. This is one of the first, if not the first film with the legendary jodi of Hema-Dharmendra and the chemistry is visible from the get-go.

Ashok Kumar has a nice performance, but Jagdeep's somewhat separate comedy track gets old very fast, though it may be funnier to those understand Hindi.

The story, script, direction and screenplay are all a class to watch. The songs are emotional and sensibly tipped with the threadings of the plot. Hema and Dharmendar, both have revealed their outstanding acting prowess in ample measure. Whereas, the old timer - Ashok Kumar is top of the class and manages to hold on to his very difficult and demanding role.

A must see movie for all serious viewers.