Ankhen (1968)

Shortly after independence India faces terrorists attacks in Assam, resulting in many deaths and casualties. A group of concerned citizens, who are not connected with the Government, decide... See full summary »

Director:

Ramanand Sagar

Writer:

Ramanand Sagar

Stars:

Mala Sinha, Dharmendra, Kumkum

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mala Sinha	...	Meenakshi Mehta
Dharmendra	...	Sunil
Kumkum	...	Sunil's Sister (as Kum Kum)
Sujit Kumar	...	Nadeem
Mehmood	...	Mehmood
Lalita Pawar	...	Madam / fake Mousi
Daisy Irani	...	Lily
Zeb Rehman	...	Princess Zehnab
Madhumati	...	Madhu
Neelam
Sujata
Nasir Hussain	...	Diwan Chand aka Major Saab (as Nazir Hussain)
Jeevan	...	Doctor
Amarnath
Madan Puri	...	Captain

Storyline

Shortly after independence India faces terrorists attacks in Assam, resulting in many deaths and casualties. A group of concerned citizens, who are not connected with the Government, decide to do something to stop this carnage. While Salim is already at work in Beirut, his cover is blown and he is shot dead. Now Sunil Mehra must travel to Beirut and take over from Salim. Once there, he meets a former flame, Meenakshi Mehta, and also a female admirer by the name of Zenab. The terrorists are headed by a man named Syed, who deputes one of his assistants, Madame, to spy on Sunil's dad, Diwan Chand Mehra, by posing as Mehra's daughter's aunt, forcing her to obey by abducting her son, Babloo, and holding him captive. Soon Syed and his associates, including Doctor X and Captain find out all secrets of Mehra, as a result of which Sunil is trapped and held by Syed. Then Diwan's world is shattered when Meenakshi telephonically informs him that Sunil has been killed. The question remains what ...

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Plot Keywords:

traitor | indian national army | japanese girl | espionage | disguise | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Thriller | Drama | Family | Musical

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

3 August 1979 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Amanhã Renasce a Esperança

Filming Locations:

Beirut, Lebanon

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sagar Art International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

172 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

User Reviews

A rather innovatory vehicle from Sagar (for its time)

Ankhen is overall a very well made spy movie, especially for its time. Ramanand Sagar was a very good director, and here he was aided by some innovative technological advances which enhanced the narrative and made the movie more interesting than it would have been. The fantastic sets, the props, the visuals are used to the greatest effect and create an overall entertaining picture. Of course, technically too there are some glitches here and there, which is to be expected in a Hindi movie of its time, but overall everything is quite well done and is impressive to see. The film is well scripted; it is patriotic, and this aspect of the film is a bit overdone at places, but what makes it memorable is the tension and the mystery. The romantic sequences are not given that much importance, but are very effective nonetheless. Towards the later half when the corrupted organisation kidnaps a kid and demands his mother to cooperate with them, the film becomes far more enjoyable as it is filled with great sequences of suspense. Towards the end the film gets a tad too high on action and is a little messy for my taste, but the story was concluded well enough.

Those were the days when Dharmendra appeared in some really good films and was given good roles, which did not require him to ham. He is restrained and effective as Sunil, and is generally a very good lead for this film. Mala Sinha is one of my favourite actresses of that period, and she is excellent as the Indian-Japanese woman, who is smart, assertive and sensitive at the same time. The supporting cast includes many famous faces, among them the great Lalita Pawar who appears in a rather unusual role. At first it's very surprising to see that she is not cast as a typical loud mom, and although in the second half she partially reprises this image as part of her character's mission, she generally makes for a very good vicious agent. While you would expect Mehmood to be cast against type as well, he's not actually and his role is a comic one, which is well played but unsuitable for a movie of this sort. Among the songs, they are very well composed by Ravi. My favourite number is "Gairon Pe Karam". To sum it up, Ankhen is another very good film by Ramanand Sagar. Somehow it is not that famous today despite being quite inventive, but I recommend it.