Released in 1978
10/10
Genre- Realistic, Drama
Main Cast: Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna
Music- Panchamda (R.D. Burman)
Story- Salil Chowdhury
Screenplay: Bimal Dutta
Direction- Hrishida (Hrishikesh Mukherjee)
BRIEF INTRODUCTION Set in the pre-independence era, this is a story about a jobless young man (played by Khanna) who is not even able to feed his own family and is frustrated enough to end his journey. He then meets a guardian angel (played by Kapoor) who explains to him that life is a precious gift not to be wasted like this. And that life is a possibility of various events, good or bad but without life, nothing is possible at all. How the guardian angel transforms him and changes his perception towards life forms the second half of the film with an amazing surprise for the audience at the end.
The Movie Starting as a drama, the film turns out to be an artistic masterpiece. The art design, the dialogues, and the imaginary element in the film, all fit perfectly in the screenplay. This, I think is the finest by Hrishida after the mid-70s and also his last collaboration with Khanna. The film was not very successful commercially at the time of release but received widespread critical acclaim. Some critics also regarded the film as ahead of its time.
The Dream Cast Two of the biggest legends of Hindi cinema together, The Showman and The Original Superstar for the first and only time. It was a real treat to see these two veterans sharing the screen, both of them peaked in their performances.
Kaka: Not just a Superstar of Blockbusters but also a Superstar of Choices
Despite Kaka’s widespread mainstream appeal and impeccable box-office record he used to choose projects which were new and had different kinds of subjects, different from the norm, be it Anand (1971), Bawarchi (1972), or Avishkaar (1974), so on…and the same goes with Naukri. During the late 70s, with a trend of multistarrer action films ruling the roost, Kaka chose to play a non-glamorous character in Naukri and did it with perfection and that’s what a true Superstar is like.
P.S. One of the most underrated mainstream Hindi films, a masterpiece.
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