Aadmi Aur Insaan(1969)

I saw this in Nehaflix's "Back in stock" section and was immediately tempted to order it solely because I find Saira Banu so fascinatingly odd-looking. Dark hair suits her, and red is definitely her color, as seen from 1:40 - 2:55 of "O Neele Parbaton Ki". In the green outfit, she reminds me of Hema Malini for some strange reason. I think it's the bangs and the eyeliner.

I'm not a fan of either Dharmendra or Mumtaz, but I'm willing to give both of them a pass because A) I found Dharmendra hot in that "older gentleman" way in Johnny Gadar(which reminds me, I need to fish it out from wherever and try to watch it again) and B) Mumtaz looks totally smokin' in the "Zindagi Ittefaq Hai" song. (Isn't that also the title of a movie?)

I skimmed the plot summary and it sounds like the usual melodrama. I might like it. And it might just collect dust on my shelf. The thing about impulse buys is that I rarely watch them more than once. If only I had been conceived during the late eighties or early nineties. I probably wouldn't know anything about buying DVDs because I would simply download movies from torrent sites. (I'm generalizing, I know, but...work with me.)

Short takes, pt.11.

AKA "Possible 'oldies but goodies' I stumbled across while browsing Nehaflix".

Hum Bhi Insan Hain(1948) - I feel like I'm missing out by not watching more movies from the 40s and 50s. I must be getting like my dad and longing for "the good ol' days" of black and white films.

Badal(1951) - I thought about ordering this for Madhubala, but then I remembered the other movies I ordered that I haven't yet gotten around to watching. (Howrah Bridge, Mr. & Mrs. 55, and Jaali Note, in case you're wondering.)

Bahar(1951) - For some weird reason I feel like I should watch at least one of Vyjayantimala's movies.

Shama Parwana(1954) - I know nothing about Shammi Kapoor, but I like the shot of Suraiya on the DVD cover.

Railway Platform(1955) - **shrug** The title is almost intriguing enough for me to want to take a look-see.

Paying Guest(1957) - I immediately thought of the just-released Paying Guest(s) with Sayali Bhagat, Riya Sen, Neha Dhupia(?), and some actors I'm too lazy to remember or Google. This version stars Dev Anand and Nutan.

Dulha Dulhan(1964) - Sadhana and Babita were cousins, right? Sadhana was no slouch, but I think Babs was prettier.

Anari(1975) - I'm not a Shashi fan, but I thought he was nice-looking in his youth. Sharmila Tagore was and still is hot, IMO.

Doli(1969)

I remembered this movie shortly after I posted the previous entry. It's been ages since I last watched it, but here's my imperfect--and very long-winded--recollection: Babita is set to marry Rajesh Khanna but gets ditched at the altar because the dowry her father was going to pay got stolen by Nazima's father so that he could pay her groom's(Prem Chopra) family. Babita's father is shamed and abandons her and her mother. She and her mom move to another place. Meanwhile, Prem goes abroad, learns the evil American ways, and when he returns, he acts like a shithead towards his parents and Nazima. He fixes his eye on Babita, who is his secretary. I think she wanted to get even with Rajesh Khanna who she meets when her bike gets a flat tire. Rajesh doesn't know she's his would've-been wife because her face was concealed during the short-lived wedding ceremony. Prem throws Nazima and her father and her sister out of the house, they live with Babita, who comes up with a plan to reunite Nazima and Prem. Blah, blah, blah, in the end, Prem learns from his mistakes and becomes the model son once more, Babita and Rajesh get together, Babita is reunited with her father(who was disguised and working as a driver), and Nazima's father 'fesses up to stealing the money. Not exactly in that order, of course. And I'm sure I left out a lot, but whatever.

**deep breath**

Babita looked so groovy in that late sixties way. It was hard to get decent caps, though :( The picture quality was crap, as you can see.








I got carried away while making these caps. For some reason, Babita's lips brought to mind Dev D's Kalki Koechlin. Plus, she's a near-xerox of the early nineties version of her oldest daughter, Karishma, particularly in the next to last cap. (Although, in the fourth cap, I think she sorta resembles Kareena.)










Overall, I found it to be OTT and heavy-handed, but still a not-bad timepass. My advice would be to watch with an empty mind and a high tolerance for melodrama.