The leitmotif….

The end of the 60s and the beginning of the 70s saw some truly brilliant film making in Bollywood. Many moulds were broken and new paths explored. In this, actors like Pran, Shatrughan Sinha and Vinod Khanna who had been typecast for their villainy successfully moved out of the typecast that Bollywood had constrained them with. (It is besides the point that Shotgun continued with identical dialogue delivery and emoting (??) even when he was being projected or assigned the role of the male lead, he could actually say he had ceased to be a villainous actor). His facial mannerisms, delivery of lines, and overall demeanour remains the same as a villain in Mere Apne or as a lovelorn romantic in any of his many movies with say Reena Roy.

Leitmotif

1. Music: a short tune in a piece of music that is often repeated and is connected with a particular person, thing or idea

2. A word, phrase, theme or image that is repeated often in a book or work of art, or is typical of a particular person

This is one movie that helped Vinod Khanna break the shackles of villainous roles. Imtihaan came along in my college years and that made it even more relatable. It had Tanuja (one of my most favourite actresses) & Bindu completing the triangle. The movie was actually a remake of a Tamizh movie, Nootrukku Nooru and was directed by Madan Sinha. It is said to have been inspired by Sidney Poitier’s unforgettable To Sir, with love. The movie has one fabulous Kishore Kumar song run through the movie like a leitmotif. https://youtu.be/JeEX1d-Ua7g

The song actually runs in 3 parts. The lyrics differ slightly.

The music is by Laxmikant Pyarelal. At varying points in the storyline, we have the song popping up. https://youtu.be/svOOptzDyAw

It is worth listening in to all 3 parts of the song. They are very imaginatively used in the progression of the story. Here is the third part. https://youtu.be/6WQOchw7vwM

When Vinod Khanna shifted from being a villain and became more of a mainstream hero, you’d more likely than not find a thick dark rimmed pair of glasses adorning his face and making it look more intense and serious. A lovely and very effective change in his on-screen persona.

Have fun, guys. Have a great Sunday. Stay healthy

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