Review By Kamal K
There are so many ways to remember this film. Shall I start with the fact that this non-star cast film, directed by Manmohan Krishna, was such a low key affair that the box office was initially not agreeable to open the locks? Remember the second half of the 1970s was all about action, all about multi-starrers. A phenomenon called Amitabh Bachchan ruled the roost. The distributors at many places had to convince cinema halls to exhibit the film.
Farooq Sheikh, so young and affable, was not a formidable name at the box office. He had class, he had charm. His charisma did not amount to much. The ever-so-delectable Poonam Dhillon too was just finding her way in Hindi cinema. She was such a doll, bewitching, fascinating, bewilderingly beautiful. But could she help sell tickets at the turnstiles? Nope.
Yet the film worked. And how! Starting off with barely a ripple, the collections went up steadily. The word of mouth helped. Cinegoers talked of the fresh young couple who brought beguiling innocence to the screen; the hero did not do any stunts, in every day vulnerability lay his strength. The heroine? Wasn't she the one for feather touches, velvets and silks? The connoisseurs could not help recalling Romesh Bhalla's cinematography, how almost every other frame looked as arresting as a painting. Those mountains, the sparkling waters, the meadows, the bouncing sheep, the interplay of light and shadow and ah! Those chinar leaves. Ugliness could well be an expression for another planet, here on this earth, beauty resides.
Manmohan stitches together a love story based in Kashmir - Farooq's Yusuf in pathani suits and amulets, is in love with Poonam's Noorie in shararas with matching head gear. Throw in the wily Bharat Kapoor with his piercing eyes and the usual hurdles to love's culmination and you have a film. Where Manmohan scored though was he defied some stereotypes. He was bold enough to helm a tragic love story. More was the fun. Many simple souls among the audience wept, the box office smiled. And the film went on to be remembered for its box office collections, its music, its lead actors and their 'aam aadmi' charms. The hero was a master at understatements and "Noorie" was his masterclass. The heroine had her graces, her ample charms.
