Cast: Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Vijay Arora, Tariq, Neetu Singh, Imtiaz, Anamika & Ajit Released exactly 50 years ago, this film has st...
Cast: Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Vijay Arora, Tariq, Neetu Singh, Imtiaz, Anamika & Ajit
Released exactly 50 years ago, this film has stood the test of time over the years and remained ever popular with the viewing public, be it in reruns in the cinema hall or on television. Released with 'Bobby', 'YKB' ran for exactly 51 weeks ( at Hind) in Calcutta (like Bobby) but went for another two weeks run (continuous) at another cinema hall (Menoka), thus having a total run of 53 weeks. What makes the film a perennial favourite is the foot-tapping, pulsating and brilliant musical score by Rahul Dev Burman (a regular in the Nasir Husain camp by then).
For the first time possibly, writer-director Nasir Husain took the
services of Salim-Javed who sold the same story of Zanjeer (Prakash Mehra) to
Nasir Husain. Incidentally, both Zanjeer & YKB were released in 1973, hence
celebrating 50 years. Both also turned out to be mega hits. What Nasir Husain made can well be called a cocktail of sorts -
his films (Pyar Ka Mausam, Dil Deke Dekho) and Salim-Javed’s Angry Young Man seeking revenge on his parents' killers (Dharmendra in YKB & Amitabh in
Zanjeer) along with Yash Chopra’s lost and found formula (Waqt) of brothers
being separated and united in the end. Add brilliant music to it and what you get is Yaadon Ki Baraat.
Dharmendra plays the elder brother with a horrendous wig and is the
thief in black clothes who seeks revenge with a singular expression
and motive. Zeenat Aman is the glamour doll with a mind of her own playing the
lead opposite the boyish Vijay Arora who plays Dharmendra’s younger brother.
Tariq introduced in this film as the third brother gets to sing most of
the songs including the one which unites all three brothers. He is
pitted against a rather new Neetu Singh (in a friendly appearance). Tariq’s
younger version was played by none other than superstar Aamir Khan. Finally, Ajit
played the main villain Shakaal wearing two different shoe sizes of no.8 and no.9 (Kulbhushan Kharbanda had the same name as Shakaal in Shaan).
He was also the main villain in Zanjeer.
So you have three parallel stories running side by side - Shankar (Dharmendra), a thief, searching for his brothers and the man who killed their
parents, Vijay (Vijay Arora) romancing a rich Sunita (Zeenat Aman) and Monto /
Ratan (Tariq) a club singer who sings to find his long lost brothers.
The film starts with the shot of a train and ends with one when Shankar
finally gets Shakaal killed by a train running over him. All the brothers are
united and we hear the title song ‘ Yaadon Ki Baaraat hai nikli hai aaj dil ke
dware’.
YKB remains the best action musical to have been produced
& directed by Nasir Husain making it a complete entertainer.
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