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Andaz More at IMDbPro »

14 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Excellent film with superb performances by Nargis and Dilip Kumar, 7 April 2002

Author: sd268

Andaz is considered one of the all-time classics of early post-independence Hindi cinema, and the 'original' love triangle of Hindi film. Set among the (at least superficially) extremely Westernised upper-crust of metropolitan Indian society, Andaz tackles the perennial question of the feasibility of a purely platonic friendship between members of the opposite sex. This is a valid issue, but where I think the film errs is in equating one possible answer to the question with Westernisation and the other with Indian-ness, which to me is simplistic and therefore unsatisfactory. This flaw apart, however, Andaaz makes for very satisfying viewing, and feels fresh and topical , and very modern, in terms of both content, characterisation, and presentation (extremely glossy!) even today, 53 years after its release.

Neena (Nargis in a breakthrough performance that established her as the reigning female superstar of Indian cinema)is the headstrong, slightly tomboyish, and wonderfully free-spirited (and perhaps slightly naive) only child of a milllionaire. Out riding one day, she loses control of her horse and is rescued by Dilip (Dilip Kumar) with whom she becomes fast friends, in spite of her father's misgivings about such a friendship and its potential for misinterpretation. Dilip proves to be a reliable friend, to whom Neena turns when her father passes away, making him a partner in her business; but it is clear from the start that Dilip's feelings extend beyond friendship; he is falling in love with this charming young woman. However, Neena is in love with Rajan, who is away in London; and when he returns she picks up the threads of their relationship. Dilip reveals his love for Neena to her on her wedding night, though she loves only Rajan. However, the path of true love is rarely smooth, and Rajan's suspicions about his wife's relationship with Dilip lead to tensions between him and Neena, leading eventually to the melodramatic (but surprisingly effective) tragic denouement.

Andaaz has a sparkling script, peppered with witty conversations between both the lead pairs which is pitched just right, and Mehmood's direction is polished and intelligent. The ostensible theme is a conflict betwen tradition and modernity (equated here with 'India' and the 'West', with the director firmly on the side of the former) but although I was not convinced by this premise, it worked wonderfully as an engaging romantic comedy for the first half, and a dramatic tour-de-force in the second.

However, the key to Andaaz's success in my opinion is a virtually perfect central performance by Nargis. She plays the many shades of the complex character of Neena to perfection, growing from the carefree, tomboyish girl of the beginning (just watch her in the charming opening sequence as she gets dressed in her jodhpurs and strides out to go riding - this is masterful filmmaking and acting, establishing a character in a few frames) to the intense, morally conflicted yet steadfast woman of the latter half with elan. Her body language is pleasure to watch - immensely confident, especially in her interaction with the male leads, yet wonderfully controlled in the moments of high drama. Rarely have I seen such a well-modulated, self-assured performance, though it helps of course that Nargis had a complex, not entirely unambiguous character to play with, and that the film revolves around her. Nonetheless, for me watching Nargis in this film was added confirmation of her immense talent, and it is amazing to think that she was barely a few films old and 19 years old when it was made! Watch her in the scene where she and her father discuss the central dilemma of the plot; her use of her body language to situate her mental state and their relationship is very polished. Of course, she looks luminous, aided in no small measure by Faredoon Irani's glossy cinematography, and her on-screen chemistry with both heroes is a pleasure to watch. She had a beautiful speaking voice too, capturing shades of emotion with ease without overacting or sounding shrill or screechy. Her singing voice is a young Lata, imitating Noorjehan, which to my mind is a good thing since it's a better fit than Lata's later, shriller, vocals.

The male leads are a great foil for each other, and for Nargis. Raj Kapoor is good, though he does overplay sometimes. Dilip Kumar is, as always, magnificent in his restraint and the depth he brings to his character. Although his character is not entirely a pleasant one in the final analysis, one sympathises with him. The supporting cast are good too, especially Cuckoo as Neena's friend Sheela (who is given to dancing sexily at parties, an added bonus), and the guy who plays Neena's father. Even the mandatory comedy track involving an old Professor of Rajan's, is actually funny and actually makes some of the points the director is seeking to make, only with humour thrown in. Perhaps a bit redundant, especially given that the interaction of the principal characters is often funny enough, peppered as it is with witty lines, but it isn't annoying as these things sometimes can be.

This is a great film, strikingly modern in tone and feel though it is over half a century old. Whether or not one is convinced by its eventual rejection of 'the modern West' in favour of 'traditional India', it is well worth a watch, not only for itself but because some of the set pieces and situations from this film have come over time to be part of the stock-in-trade of the Indian commercial film-maker (though rarely has this level of accomplishment been achieved), so that if you're interested in seeing how the grammar and vocabulary of Hindi films has evolved over time, this is crucial reference viewing. Great actors, great script, great direction, great film.

7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
great picture!, 12 April 2001

Author: scorpionkid from ny

if you watch this movie you will see what is wrong with indian movies today. this film is extremely smart with excellent performances(especially by dilip kumar, he steals the show). the songs are so mesmerizing, it really is difficult to compare or describe them in words. the entire film is loaded with symbolism and poetry. it is a true masterpiece. people who find movies such as "kuch kuch hota hai", "mohabbatein", or any other super hit contemporary movies to be good films, will not understand this one, it is probably too intelligent for them. if you find shahrukh khans tendency to over act and salman khans inability to act entertaining... do not bother.

5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Love triangle,with excellent performances from the main actors, 7 January 2005

Author: mmajid-1 from United Kingdom

Dilip Kumar saves Nargis from a riding accident and falls in love with her.Nargis is already betrothed to Raj Kapoor but fails to mention this to Dilip Kumar(no reason for mentioning).She regards him as a friend.Dilip only gets to know about Raj when the latter returns from his studies abroad.Raj marries Nargis, and Dilip moves out of their lives, but not before he is forced to admit to Nargis that he had fallen in love with her.Nargis suffers and this ruins her marriage with Raj.The film, made in 1949 by Mehboob Khan tried to show the effect of 'modern'lifestyle on family life.Nargis represented the 'fast' 'modernised' Indian woman to whom friendship with the man who had saved her, meant just that.Love and friendship are two separate feelings.Nargis wonders if she has in any way encouraged Dilip to make him feel the way he does.Dilip tells her that it was he who had made the 'mistake'. Nargis however cannot stop feeling guilty.Dilip Kumar is absolutely brilliant. Watch the song 'Darna muhabbat karle', where Nargis and Cuckoo sing while Dilip plays the piano. He has eyes only for Nargis.You realise how much he is in love with her. A better performance will not be seen.As a romantic actor Dilip has no match.

Friends and lovers, 3 September 2011

Author: Gary170459 from Derby, UK

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I've always considered this to be the seminal Indian love triangle epic, a masterpiece in almost every department of filming: especially script, production and acting. I may smile at director Mehboob's aversion to the West however apparently not the exportation of its capitalism, or the general comment on society made that "Western tunes can't be played on Indian strings" however musically the reverse on the piano was OK, but overall it's virtually perfect.

It starts perfectly too: the beautiful Nargis in jodhpurs playfully whipping a servant, en route to a horse ride and her life being saved by the dashing Dilip Kumar. Her gratefulness and treating him as purely a friend is misconstrued by all especially her chain smoking father, Kumar himself and eventually the real love of her life, the whimsical Raj Kapoor. She's accused of social naughtiness but is completely innocent, later murders in self defence and is given life imprisonment. Harsh! Throughout there are of course many emotional or dramatic twists and turns, with Nargis as the centre of attention seemingly able to strike iconic poses at random and the music and words perfectly reflecting each phase. It was her film, her two men (one overplaying, the other underplaying) in here were not worthy or her! As a counterpoint to her amazing elegance the production values were excellent too, especially her elegant house - or should that be temple - showing to good advantage. Favourite song is Koi Mere Dil Mein sung by Lata, with Nargis dawdling on the enormous ornate staircase.

Sadly time has taken its toll - the only print I've ever seen gets a bit blotchy at times but it's never too distracting. This is the best starting point; what this film says has been repeated by Bollywood thousands of times since but never better.

Andaz(1949), 5 May 2008

Author: iftikharkhokher from Denmark

The first time i saw this film i could not believe it was made in 1949!To someone fed on the useless,clueless and rotten remakes in the 1970s it was an eye-opener because we considered Dilip Kimar to belong to be before our times!!This is a superb film directed in masterly style with a great script,music and songs.Glossy photography lends it a poetical feeling.To this day there have been contradictions on the message of the film.It all comes down to our ancient trait of keeping silent when we should have spoken our mind!The acting of Nargis and Dilip Kumar is so deep that the viewer is misled into confusion.Rajkapoor is also great in his role.Very good.But the film belongs to Dilip.As a romantic hero his body language,silent facial expressions and style have had no equal in the Indian film history.All this is astounding for an actor who had been in films 4-5 years at that time.A remarkable actor and Mehboob Khan is a super director.Ther have many,many variations on this film but it will always standout as the original even in a hundred years.

1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Marriage Guidance for the Westernised Indian, 12 November 2005
Author: JoeytheBrit from www.moviemoviesite.com

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This film has quite a reputation in Indian cinema apparently, although it's difficult to see why. Working strictly within the established confines of Bollywood genre movie-making, it tells a simple love triangle story that mirrors the tensions between traditional Indian values and Western ideology in the early years of India's independence from its colonial masters. Perhaps it is renowned because it was the first of its kind, because there is little here, when viewed nearly sixty years after it was made, to distinguish it from other films of its genre.

The nineteen-year-old Nargis plays Neena, headstrong daughter of a wealthy widowed industrialist, who is saved from certain death when her horse bolts by lowly Dilip (Dilip Kumar). The pair strike up an intimate friendship, which Dilip mistakes for mutual love, but tragedy looms when Rajan (Raj Kapoor), the love of Neena's life returns from London.

From its light-hearted opening, Andaz travels an increasingly dark path as Neena finds herself torn, not so much by the two men in her life, but by the conventions and expectations of a traditional Indian society that conflicts with her westernised outlook on life. She is an innocent victim, a figure of tragedy, whose life by the movie's end is irredeemably destroyed through no fault of her own. Given this, it's surprising how unmoving her plight is. Again, this is no fault of Neena – or of Nargis, who gives an outstanding performance as she slowly transforms from a carefree young girl into a tragic, broken woman – but of a script that jerks hesitantly along between a slew of musical numbers, an increasingly hysterical and implausible storyline (especially in the last couple of reels), and an overbearing performance from Raj Kapoor. In fairness to Kapoor, he is saddled with a character so irritating that it is impossible to understand what Neena sees in him. Accompanied by an even more annoying professor, Rajan is one of those types who relentlessly fires off a barrage of jokes and quips that are consistently unfunny so that, after a while, you wish someone would smack him up the side of the head for being so annoying.

As the film grows increasingly darker and ominous, it also grows increasingly melodramatic as, having dragged its feet for two hours, it suddenly realises the final credits are looming and it still has a load of stuff to do. The writers could have added a decent mystery aspect to the story had they used Neena's trial as a framing device for the entire movie, but instead the trial is summarised in a couple of minutes screen time. Kumar gives an admirably restrained performance as Neena's rejected suitor, but even he can't salvage anything from the mystifying about-face his character performs after being bashed on the head with a tennis racket. At that point all semblance of credibility is lost and the film sinks beneath the weight of its own hyperbole.

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