Brains to be left behind (Half Ticket)

The moment you start reasoning with what's happening in Kalidas's braindead comedy, Half Ticket, you will miss out on the fun. I made this mistake initially. Stupefied at the incredible plot, the crazy situations and the absolutely OTT antics of Vijay, I started questioning whether I should actually sit through this 1962 film. But then when I thought to myself the stark absurdity of my wanting to question the credibility of the plot or situations, I gauged that I better turn the switch of my grey cells off and simply go with the flow of the story. Or the lack of it. Maybe that's why by the time this comic caper ended, even though the climax was severely botched up, I was actually laughing inwardly at some of the really funny bits.

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Music, the food of love (Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon)

What made Nassir Hussain's pictures a box-office sellout? I say, fetching women, fabulous music, picturesque locales, smart heroes and a roughly tolerable plot. You get ample of that in the 1963 romance Phir Wohi dil Laya Hoon. The director etches a credible love story with plenty of song and dance, a menacing villian and fun situations in lovely Kashmir. Yes, you get to see the heavenly place before it got ripped apart!!!

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