Jeevan Mrityu (1970)

Star Power: Dharmendra, Raakhee Gulzar, Ajit

Overall Rating: 5 out of 7 chilies

Music: 4.5 out of 7 chilies

Choreography: 4 out of 7 chilies

Synopsis:
Ashok Tandon (Dharmendra) is released from prison after serving his term and tries his best to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind seven years before. But he finds that much of the world he remembers has changed: his mother has died, his friend has moved away and the woman he loved has disappeared. While on the way to try to find the house of a friend, he is robbed by a thief who is then hit by a train, convincing the rest of the world that he is dead. Ashok begs a place to sleep for the night in the back yard of a wealthy man's home and while there, manages to avert a robbery planned by the wealthy man's nephews. Out of gratitude, the wealthy man invites Ashok in and coerces him into relating the sad story of how his life had gone so wrong, a tale of betrayal, wrongful accusations and lost love. The story is not over, however, and with the rich man behind him Ashok sets out to seek justice and revenge...

Comments:
This is a good, solid film out of vintage Bollywood. The plot is based off of the famous novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and the movie really does a good job of adapting it to the world of 1970s India. Dharmendra gives another great performance, both as Ashok and the many disguised aliases which he adopts over the course of the film - he's so believeable it can be hard to realize it's really him! There isn't much music here - only two songs: "Jhilmil Sitaron Ka" and "Zamane Mein Aji", but they're both thoroughly enjoyable numbers.