User reviews

This is a Hindi film starring Amitabh Bachchan and Moushumi Chatterjee. The film is best remembered for the immortal song "Rimjhim Gire Sawan". There are two versions of it sung at different times in the film by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar respectively. Both versions are superb!

The film itself is average but worth a watch for the chemistry between Amitabh and Moushumi who didn't get to work in many films together. Moushumi especially is at get most beautiful self in this film. Good start cast but they aren't able to cover up the defects.

Apparently the film took years to make and the lack of quality in the script and focus in direction is visible in the output despite a good story and message.

I watched "Manzil (1979)" recently and what struck me was Amitabh Bachchan's acting prowess. This movie is of the period when the thespian was labelled as "an angry young man" and the other movies showed him as such. But this movie is so different. So much economy of movement. An entire song is shown as the actor playing the harmonium with downcast eyes and barely moving his hands. His body language is terrific even when his back is towards the camera. All his dialogs are in close-up and his face changes expression in seconds. It may not be a very well known movie of his but the utmost subtlety with which Amitabh Bachchan acts (does he really ?, it never seems so)proves beyond doubt that he was and still is miles ahead of his contemporaries.

Ajay (Played by Amitabh) is a young man. His family consist of himself and his mother. He runs a small factory that make electric equipment like Ammeters etc. The factory has only one single worker / foreman (Played by A K Hangal), who makes sub-standard products and also has lot of financial demands. Instead of running the factory Ajay is more interested in rising socially. He is a good singer too.

Since the goods made by Ajay's factory are substandard, they are returned and he is taken to the court. His life is in jeopardy and now he realizes that being illiterate if his foreman can make the goods why can't he?

This movie is purposeful - a lighthouse for me personally. The story line is simple and effective. Excellent acting by the cast. Excellent music, "Rimjhim Ghire Sawan ..." stays apart. This is a refreshing movie.

Manzil starts out with one of my favorite songs to come out of Hindi cinema; the catchy, "Rhim Ghim Giri Sawan" by RD Burman (sung by Kishore Kumar). From there, the movie takes a decidedly subtle journey thru the relationship between Amitabh and the lead actress. Their chemistry really comes thru the screen. The movie is gorgeous, intelligently written, very watchable, believable, and most shockingly of all: the characters all act reasonably. Even the 'villain' has very good reasons for his actions. The story also deals with class, wealth, ambition, and the blind optimism of people just starting out. It's one of the most underrated films in Old Bollywood and it definitely deserves more attention, especially if a person is a fan of Amitabh, but tired of seeing the same old "angry young man" films he was so famous for.