Anchored on lies (Manzil)

Give me one good reason why I should sympathise with Ajay Chandra when the going gets tough for him. In

my opinion, he is a big liar, an opportunist, a shirker and a glib-talker. So, even when at last he does get down to work and puts in some effort to save his business from downing shutters, I can hardly say that I feel satisfied with the happy end to his love story. For, a relationship that is founded on lies and false identities will need much more than one sweeping effort to withstand the tests of time. And, how come Aruna and her father does not realise that.
Basu Chatterjee's 1979 Manzil has Amitabh Bachchan playing Ajay Chandra, a struggling young man who wants to start a business of scientific precision instruments. He hires a worker called Anokhelal (AK Hangal) who will buy spoiled galvanometers and repair them before delivering them to customers. I wonder why Ajay wants to start a business that is based on scrap. Anyways, to each his own. He invests some money in the business, mostly that of his mother's savings and buys a small office space. His planning would have won accolades if not for some glaring mistakes he makes. He trusts Anokhelal with almost everything, who is poor enough to get swayed by another mean middleman. Ajay is duped by Anokhelal in the process and learns the hard lesson. One would say, hearing this bit, Ajay merely learns the rules of business this way. But my point is not that. I have problems with how Ajay conducts his business and himself.

For instance, when Ajay's mother pleads with him that she has no more money to lend him, he continues imploring her to break into her savings not realising the old woman's distress. On losing money when she tells him to work on the galvanometers himself, he is stupid enough to point out that he wouldn't be able to do anything as he has never done anything! So that means, he wants to just sit and enjoy the fruits of the venture without investing efforts. This makes him a shirker, a shirker who does not know how to put his education to use. Well, later he does, but then the script is flawed from the beginning...
I also have objections on his dealings with Aruna (Moushumi Chatterjee). He woos her with white lies from

the very beginning. When he goes to her house for the first time and realises that she is rich, he guards his real status from her just to appear worthy of her affection. I wonder whether he is a gold-digger, whether he wanted to mint money from the alliance. One might say, and as Ajay reasons that he is scared that his poverty and struggle might scare her away, but what is a a relationship if its foundation is based on lies and deceit? And later Aruna says that Ajay revealed the truth to her. But under what circumstances?!
Even in the end when the legal case against Ajay is withdrawn, how easily Barrister Khosla (Satyendra Kappoo) forgives him. Aruna is beaming. Is it so easy to accept a liar as your son-in-law? Just one finished consignment wins the Barrister's heart? Too flawed is the narrative...
Also, how come Ajay's mother (Lalita Pawar completely wasted in this nondescript role) suddenly starts supporting her son's wishes when all the time she has reservations against his doing business? Initially she

doesn't want t o part with her savings thinking he might squander them and then later she herself hands them over. You might say that as a mother she wants her son to be happy. But doesn't this mother realise that her son is having things too easy and should put in more effort. Well, another side to the story might be that one always learns the hard way. If Ajay's case wouldn't have deteriorated, he wouldn't have pulled up his socks. So, from that angle Chatterjee's film is praiseworthy. But then, I still have problems seeing a glib talker winning his share of pie too easily. What is the guarantee that Ajay won't repeat his mistakes?
My biggest problem was with Ajay's behaviour with his friend Prakash Mariwalla (Rakesh Pandey). He just

takes this good guy for granted and even has the audacity to order him around and be rude to him. I wonder why Prakash tolerates Ajay's nonsense? For friendship's sake? Is it really worth it?
Manzil's characterisation disappointed me. Though Amitabh Bachchan gave an effortless performance and was convincing as Ajay, it was his very persona that left a bad taste in my mouth.
Moushumi Chatterjee is a lovely looking girl but I wonder why she did not work on her Hindi diction? It really bogged down her nice performance of a rich, dreamy eyed girl floating in love.

Well, the only thing then that stayed on with me from this film is the lovely track Rim jhim gire saawan. Composed by RD Burman, this song is actually the leitmotif of this film. I seriously wish the film was as fresh and breezy as this lovely monsoon ballad...