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Just perfect...

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

******* Spoiler Alert **********I was never a Raj Kapoor fan, especially because of the progressively degrading portrayal of women in his movies.Still, I decided to give this one a shot.No surprises that the movie reflects his views about women, both as the director and the hero Sundar. This is not a love triangle - it is way twisted for it to be such an easy geometrical figure! Sundar and Gopal love each other as friends since boyhood. For unexplained reasons, Gopal is always defending Sundar. Radha is always in love with Gopal though it is not as clear cut the other way round. It is very clear that Radha hates Sundar (at least till the marriage that she is forced into, after which she suddenly starts loving him - i suppose, the reason being that as an Indian wife, it is her duty to love her husband. However, the romp through several European locations (that feel like a travel brochure for the era that this movie was made) show her to be totally happy with him!) and Sundar is so smitten with her that he is deaf and blind to ALL signals to the contrary, even when they are right in his face! The dumbness of Sundar and the stupid plot twists to get Sundar and Radha married are enough to make one dizzy! The audience has to become as dumb as Sundar to have any credence in the premise that Radha loves Sundar after the marriage. On the other hand, Gopal does his very best to lie to Sundar about how much Radha loves him (Sundar). Poor Radha's opinion has zero value (after all this is Raj Kapoor movie!). A lot of overblown dialogue shows how Gopal and Radha have no clue about plain human decency (Gopal makes Radha to marry Sundar because Sundar loves her and wants her! and she is OK with it, even if as an unwilling pawn). Worse scenes follow to torture all 3 characters with Sundar intent on being deaf and dumb to how Radha and Gopal feel (Does he even look at their faces or hear their voices?), ultimately resolving into the deadly climax! Radha is no better with her stupid insistence in coming between Sundar and Gopal. Why did she not accept Gopal as part of the parcel? It was not clear to me how Sundar could not read Hindi for most of the movie (yet another absurd plot device) while he can read the love letter Gopal has written to Radha. I must have missed it in the mind-numbing turns! and had no desire to look for the explanation going through the scenes again.Raj Kapoor looks too old and tired opposite Vyjayanti Mala. Rajendra Kumar, though wooden, looks better. I did not see the point of the "Sexy" Paris dance by her after the chauvinist comments from Raj Kapoor but I suppose she was getting paid plenty for both listening to those remarks as well as putting on a show and all the palloo-falling!I give this movie 4 stars for 2 redeeming features that make it bearable: superb songs and beautiful picturization.

When I first saw Sangam back in 1965 on its initial release in Malaysia, I was a young boy whose deep impressions of the film was the lady in a white sari. I saw it again in 1974 on its re release. For the second viewing, it was the music and the songs. Unfortunately I had seen "Bobby" by then and thought all the three leads looked far too matured for the "teenage" and "young" characters they were playing on screen. But that was the trend of those bygone days when older actors played younger roles. It is rare for any musical that every single tune is as enduring to the ears as in Sangam. Only "My Fair Lady' "The Sound Of Music" and "Bobby" (1973) comes to mind. Since then with the convenience of television and now the DVD I had seen watched it once every few years and I revisited the film again last night. The male bonding and the sacrifice of Rajendra Kumar is very Asian and may well be on its way to be extinct. This sense of Asian obligation and moral value was and to some extend still is prevalent is a sense of maintaining a status quo and not rock the boat in a bad situation for want of not turning it worse. It is not a wrong or right decision. Everything that needs to be said about the acting, about the cinematography and its importance in Hindi cinema by taking the musical numbers out of the studios to exotic locations has been elaborated in these pages. What strikes me is the way in which Raj Kapoor with the use of music and only three principal characters hold our attention for more than three hours. All other characters appear briefly solely for narrative development. Although it is not a masterpiece, it is an enduring example of a simple love story (which has been done a million times over); with its chemistry between the characters and its music does not seem dated and still shine above others more than 40 years after its premier.

One of Raaj Kapoor's best films where his acting is flawless and very close to his private personality.For years we saw him in the familiar 'charlie chaplin' guise so this film was an accolade to his inherent acting abilities.Vyjantimala is superb and Rajendra Kumar is also in good form though overshadowed by Kapoor.The music and direction,especially the scenario are very professional and admirable.TThe story is well-balanced though as in all Indian films the flaws are also there;Raj's death and his subsequent arrival are the weak points.This film shows the real Raj Kapoor behind the clown's mask;ruthless and opportunist.A very enjoyable and well directed film.

The story is a little contrived and the acting melodramatic, but the songs make the movie. The songs are really very well situated amidst the beautiful and breathtaking scenery. Vyjantimala's spontaneous dance in the European hotel has never really been successfully duplicated in Indian cinema. It is a classic that was shot in one take I believe. The songs are really and truly memorable and are still heard today in the collections of Mukesh. Also, Raj Kapoor's acting was so effortless and natural in the boat scene where he captures Vyjanitmala and pulls her into his boat. The song is Mehbooba and is terrific. Another excellent song is Mere Prem Patra and the location shot is absolutely stunning and very colorful.