Page 60 - Seniors Today June2020
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Hyderabad.
He goes there to stay with his buddy
Shekhar (Chandrashekhar), a cop, and
to take part in a radio programme and
mushaira. Short of inspiration, he wanders
around the city, smoking and thinking when
it starts pouring all of a sudden and he takes Every note of the iconic title song is part of Hindi film
shelter in a deserted spot (turns out to be buffs’ psyche
a blacksmith’s workplace). Soon a soaking Coincidentally, Khan Bahadur and family
young woman also ducks in there, and when also go to Lucknow to get her married, before
lightning cracks, cowers against him. She her love story causes trouble.
sees him nervously and runs off, but the poet While Aman writes, he allows another poet
is smitten—as anyone would be, because the to pass it off as his own work, which results
woman is the gorgeous Madhubala. in a young qawwal Chand Khan (Khurshid
Shabnam, the daughter of police Bawra) winning a competition against
commissioner Khan Bahadur (KN Singh), Mubarak Ali and his daughters. Their
is a fan of Aman, without knowing what he patron demands another competition—
looks like. When she hears him on the radio Chand Khan cheekily says that if he wins,
singing Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi, she Shabab will have to become his mistress, and
realises whom she had bumped into. Her Shabab retorts that he will have to clean her
friend Shanti (Peace Kanwal) takes her to an shoes if he loses. Aman comes to the rescue
event, where Aman looks dreamily in her and the girls win.
direction and sings Maine shayad tumhe If Mubarak has to finally regain his
pehle bhi kahin dekha hai. position in the qawwali hall of fame, they
Now comes the part where the two have to have to defeat the legendary Daulat Khan
find a way of meeting under the stern nose of (Balam). They all go to Ajmer Sharif for the
the commissioner, and what better way than make-or-break faceoff. Coincidentally, Khan
him tutoring Shabnam’s little sister, Razia Bahadur and family also go there, because
(Baby Shobha). Shabnam’s father eventually Shabnam has taken ill and her mother wants
catches on, threatens to break Aman’s legs, to pray at the dargah. Like all angry daddies,
and declares that she will be married to a he melts -- particularly when Aftab tells him
man of his choice, Aftaab (Haroon). he won’t stand in the way of true love.
Aman and Shabnam elope to Indore, The plot of the film (the credits spell it
where he gets a job reciting poetry on the “Barsat Ki Rat”) with its contrivances is
radio, which he does under a pseudonym, hopelessly outdated now, but the music is
Kamal Lakhnavi. His voice is recognised evergreen (there is one of the few Eid songs,
by Shekhar, so they run off to Jabalpur to Mujhe mil gaya bahana teri deed ka, kaise
the home of another pal (Rashid Khan). khushi le ke aaya chand Eid ka) and the
Shekhar traces them there and Shabnam is qawwalis fabulous -- Nigaah-e-naaz ke,
reluctantly dragged back home. Pehchaanta hoon khoob, Na toh kaarvan
Aman makes his way to Lucknow to stay ki talaash hai/Yeh ishq ishq hai ishq ishq.
with his friend (he seems to have a lot of Those can still make the viewer get up and
them to stay with!), the very same Aftab. dance.
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