Due to a misunderstanding, Govind refuses to accept his son with Lajjo. Heartbroken, Lajjo leaves him alone and raises the toddler by herself, being homeless. She keeps notifying Govind about their son's growing up through anonymous letters, but in her last letter, she mentions she is unwell and going to die and leave the son in front of Govind's home. Lajjo dies, but the toddler is missing and wandering around streets without parents. The movie revolves around how regretful Govind tries to find his son.
Firstly, this is a sentimental film. The performances of Master Bunty, Rajesh Khanna, and Indrani Mukherjee, the screenplay, the cinematography, and the background score are the best things about this film.
The hero of the film is none other than Master Bunty. The way this toddler moved all of us to tears is simply mind-blowing. He didn't even talk, rather than whispering "momma" and "duddu." But his screen presence is enough. Such a cute kid. Secondly, the moving performance by the gorgeous Indrani Mukherjee. I didn't like her scenes with Rajesh, but when she came to the character of a helpless mother of Buntu, her acting powers were shown. Especially, in that particular scene where Govind reads Lajjo's letter, her pain can be thoroughly felt just from Indrani's deep voice. I became a fan of her. When I saw Rajesh Khanna's name on the film poster, I thought it was going to be an acting masterclass. But basically, due to his debut performance, except for some emotional scenes, no extraordinary performances from him could be found. Also, I didn't see any chemistry between Indrani and Rajesh. Apart from them, Manvendra Chitnis and Naqi Jehan also did their best to their characters.
The story is very uniquely built. Also, the characters of Lajjo and Buntu are well written. The dialogues are the apple of the film. It's simply perfection and very emotive. Also, the way Lajjo keeps notifying Govind about Buntu's birth to every stage info through the separate letters, and her last letter (Aakhri Khat) becomes the storyline of the film itself, is peak storytelling.
The cinematography is one of the key points of the film. The way the camera moved throughout the toddler, capturing every moment of him in the streets, and the way he reacted back to the camera is simply adorable. It is easy to watch from the audience's end, but only the director and cinematographer know the struggle behind it. Hats off to them.
The music is good in the film, particularly the background score by Khayyam applied well to the storyline. Lovely soundtrack too, but couldn't connect much to any song except "Rut Jawan Jawan Raat Mehrbaan" by Bhupinder Singh.
The movie reflects the struggle of illegitimate children in India, with no love or care from parents, wandering around streets. It also gives a message that due to your own conflicts, don't punish innocent children for it.
In conclusion, "Aakhri Khat" is a film that you must watch in your lifetime. And if you missed it, I feel bad for you.
