Starcast: Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini, Poonam Dhillon, Om Shivpuri, Jairaj, Ranjeeta and Mazhar Khan Direction: Ambarish Sangal Music: Khayya...
Starcast: Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini, Poonam Dhillon, Om Shivpuri, Jairaj, Ranjeeta and Mazhar Khan
Direction: Ambarish Sangal
Music: Khayyam
There was a time when Hindi cinema could turn an ordinary family melodrama into an emotional roller coaster, complete with courtroom confrontations, noble sacrifices, cruel misunderstandings and lovers separated by circumstances beyond their control. Ambrish Sangal’s Dard released in July 1981, starring Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini and Poonam Dhillon, belongs firmly to that tradition. It is a film where almost every character seems to be carrying some emotional baggage, and happiness is less a destination than a fleeting moment.
Yet, beneath its familiar ingredients, Dard has enough going for it to remain an interesting watch, particularly for admirers of Rajesh Khanna.
The story revolves around Deepak Srivastav (Rajesh Khanna), a lawyer whose life takes a disastrous turn after he falls in love with Seema (Hema Malini). Seema’s father, Dayal (Om Shivpuri), disapproves of their relationship and eventually manipulates circumstances to separate them. When Deepak’s sister Sushma’s marriage runs into trouble over the demand for dowry, Deepak makes a terrible personal sacrifice to secure her future. He agrees to marry another woman, giving up the woman he truly loves.
But his troubles are far from over. After his wife dies, Deepak is left to raise his young son, Vicky. Fate deals him another cruel blow when he takes the blame for a murder committed by Ajit (Mazhar Khan). Deepak lands in prison, while Seema, now a public prosecutor, is involved in securing his conviction. Years later, their paths cross again, with Deepak’s grown-up son unknowingly becoming entangled in the consequences of his father’s past.
Rajesh Khanna’s emotional home ground
The biggest attraction of Dard is undoubtedly Rajesh Khanna, who plays Deepak and his grown-up son, Vicky, in a double role. The two characters offer him different shades to explore, although the film gives considerably more emotional weight to the father’s suffering.
Khanna is particularly effective when Deepak retreats into silence, concealing his pain rather than expressing it through grand declarations. There is something genuinely affecting about a man who believes that his very presence brings misfortune to those he loves.
Deepak’s decision to conceal his identity from his son is undeniably melodramatic, but Khanna gives the character enough vulnerability to make the sacrifice understandable within the film’s universe. Vicky, meanwhile, is a more straightforward, confident character, and the contrast between father and son gives the double role its purpose.
It is worth remembering that Khanna was working in a period when his earlier superstardom had already begun to face competition from a changing generation of heroes. Dard allows him to return to familiar territory: the wounded romantic, the self-sacrificing individual and the man whose personal happiness is forever out of reach.
Hema Malini and Poonam Dhillon: Two different shades of affection
Hema Malini brings dignity and emotional restraint to Seema. Her character is caught between professional duty, personal anguish and a promise made to the man she once loved. The idea of a woman prosecuting her former lover is inherently dramatic, and the film makes effective use of this conflict. However, Seema’s boundations could have been explored with greater psychological depth. Too often, she is required to endure circumstances rather than actively shape them.
Poonam Dhillon, as Poonam Bhargav, represents the younger generation and the possibility of a happier future for Vicky. She performs her part competently, and looks innocent and fresh, although her character receives less development than the central trio. Om Shivpuri is suitably menacing as the manipulative Dayal, while Mazhar Khan makes Ajit an appropriately unpleasant presence.
A screenplay caught between ambition and excess
The principal weakness of Dard is its dependence on coincidences and increasingly elaborate misfortunes. Deepak’s willingness to sacrifice his own happiness for his sister is moving in principle, but the chain of events that follows occasionally strains credibility. The repeated pattern of a decent man suffering because of other people’s selfishness eventually becomes predictable.
The film also raises interesting questions about parental sacrifice and the destructive consequences of social pressure. The dowry episode, in particular, gives the film a social dimension beyond its romantic complications. Deepak’s predicament demonstrates how financial vulnerability can make an individual susceptible to exploitation.
The courtroom sequences although inspired from the Bengali cult film Rikta (1939) directed by Sushil Majumdar and Asit Sen's Mamta (1967) provide the story with a useful framework, the legal drama is ultimately less compelling than the emotional conflict. A tighter screenplay could have made the revelations more impactful.
Director Ambrish Sangal understands the appeal of an emotional drama, but the film occasionally mistakes suffering for depth. Some scenes linger longer than necessary, which can be a little irritating for viewers. Nevertheless, the central father-son conflict gives the proceedings a stronger emotional anchor as the story moves towards its resolution.
Khayyam’s music: The film’s enduring treasure
If there is one element that elevates Dard beyond its familiar melodramatic framework, it is the music by Khayyam, with lyrics by Naqsh Lyallpuri. The standout song, 'Na Jaane Kya Hua', sung by Lata Mangeshkar, is a beautiful example of how melody and poetic expression can communicate sensuality, longing and emotional vulnerability without becoming overly theatrical.
Khayyam’s compositions like 'Pyar Ka Dard Hai' , 'Ahl -e -Dil', and another personal favourite 'Aisi Haseen Chandni' possess an elegance that contrasts nicely with the drama unfolding on screen. His music rarely feels as though it is competing with the performers for attention. Instead, it creates an emotional atmosphere that allows the characters’ feelings to linger after the scene has ended.
The songs are among the strongest reasons to revisit the film today, especially for listeners who appreciate the more restrained, melody-driven Hindi film music of the period.
Dard is not without flaws. Its narrative occasionally overindulges in coincidence, its characters sometimes sacrifice logic for sentiment, and its relentless parade of misfortunes can become exhausting. Yet dismissing it as just another tearjerker would be unfair.
The film benefits from Rajesh Khanna’s heartfelt performance, Hema Malini’s composed presence and, above all, Khayyam’s memorable music. Beneath the melodrama lies a story about the terrible price people sometimes pay for love, family obligations and misplaced loyalty.
It may not be Ambrish Sangal’s most subtle directorial achievement, but Dard remains a worthwhile watch for fans of vintage Hindi cinema. Approach it with the expectations of its era rather than those of a contemporary psychological drama, and its emotional appeal becomes easier to appreciate.
By Ayushmaan Mitra
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