Two in one (Sajan)

So this is where Basu Chatterjee got the idea of Pasand Apni Apni from. Even as I watched Mohan Segal's Sajan, I could not help but notice the glaring similarities with Chatterjee's romantic comedy. Everything looked alike. The plot, characters and the developments. Only, while Segal did not give much scope to the character of the theatre company owner, Chatterjee made him a full-fledged comic personality on his film. He took Utpal Dutt for the role and cashed in on his talent. But otherwise Mithun Chakraborty's role is absolutely similar to Manoj Kumar's and Rati Agnihotri borrows from Asha Parekh's character. At least in the first half.

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Before Bharat beckoned (Banarasi thug)

When Manoj Kumar started toying with the idea of portraying severely patriotic roles, someone should have held him by the ears, sat him down and given him a thorough brainwash. For, he not only skewed his own career prospects and popularity doing those utterly inane portrayals, but also fobbed us off with those nonsense characters uselessly steeped in excess doses of nationality. Before the Bharat mania gripped him, he was every bit the hero that girls would fall for, romancing pretty ladies, singing some lovely songs and doing pretty charming and naughty things, too. With a handsome face, an attractive smile and tall debonair looks, he really could have done a whole lot for himself if he had not succumbed to the patriotic fever! What a loss...

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