The problem with classic Hindi cinema that dragged on into the modern era was it's need to take wafer thin storylines and then create a two and half hour storyline across it. This film has a rather simple plot, but standard melodrama is infused within it that hasn't aged well (dialogues like "Main tumhare bachche ki maa banne wali hoon" being uttered twice) and a subplot to boot as well.
It's a comedy where Shammi Kapoor plays a down to luck person who runs an orphanage for poor kids and crosses paths with our lead Rajshree after which the story ticks along.
The sound track is quite decent, atleast couple of songs have stood the test of time. Acting is where the film suffers a little. Rajshree is a very amateurish actress. Her emotions look easily fake. Same goes for the over the top histronics of the children in the orphanage. I know that expecting children to act is a bridge too far but didn't couple of children act in Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali" ; weren't it children who shaped the whole of Raj Kapoor's "Boot Polish"? Even Shammi Kapoor goes off the rail sometimes, especially in a brilliant scene towards the end where he and Pran are squared off. Pran is the only person whose acting really captivates the greatness for which he was rightly known for.
It's a comedy where Shammi Kapoor plays a down to luck person who runs an orphanage for poor kids and crosses paths with our lead Rajshree after which the story ticks along.
The sound track is quite decent, atleast couple of songs have stood the test of time. Acting is where the film suffers a little. Rajshree is a very amateurish actress. Her emotions look easily fake. Same goes for the over the top histronics of the children in the orphanage. I know that expecting children to act is a bridge too far but didn't couple of children act in Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali" ; weren't it children who shaped the whole of Raj Kapoor's "Boot Polish"? Even Shammi Kapoor goes off the rail sometimes, especially in a brilliant scene towards the end where he and Pran are squared off. Pran is the only person whose acting really captivates the greatness for which he was rightly known for.