The forthcoming edition of the city’s most eagerly awaited cultural event, the 14thMumbai Film Festival, presented by Reliance Entertainment and American Express and organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image, is poised to pay homage to Indian cinema’s first “Superstar”, Hindi film legend Rajesh Khanna by dedicating a special segment to screen one of the late star’s most memorable films Aradhana.
Directed by Shakti Samanta in 1969, the film featured Rajesh Khanna paired against Sharmila Tagore. The film’s screening is scheduled to be held Godrej theatre at NCPA on on 21st October at 1.15 p.m.Apart from Rajesh Khanna, the festival is also paying homage to Dara Singh by screening his movie Samson directed by Nanabhai Bhatt and to A K Hangal by screening his movie Dattak directed by Gul Bahar Singh. Both will be screened at the Godrej theatre on 23rdOctober at 1.15 p.m. and on 20th October at 4.00 pm respectively.
Story Line
The story opens against the backdrop of idyllic hilly terrain with airforce officer Arun Varma (Rajesh Khanna) crooning "Mere sapno ki rani" atop an open jeep along with his co-worker Madan (Sujit Kumar), while Vandana (Sharmila Tagore), the daughter of a doctor Gopal Tripathi (Pahadi Sanyal) demurely sneaks glances at him from a mini train. After a brief romance, they have a secret wedding.
Soon afterwards, Arun dies in an air crash leaving behind a heartbroken and pregnant Vandana. His family refuses to accept the unwed mother-to-be since her marriage with Arun is never formalised. Meanwhile, her father also dies, leaving her destitute. Vandana's son is finally born, but she is forced to let a childless couple adopt him. But determined to be a part of his life, she accepts the responsibility of becoming his nanny. The boy is named Suraj. Events take an ugly turn when her employer's brother Shyam (Manmohan) arrives and gets attracted by Vandana. He tries to harass her physically when no-one is around, but Suraj arrives and stabs his "uncle" to death in order to save his nanny. Upon the arrival of police, Vandana confesses to the murder while Suraj runs away.
Thus, Vandana is sent to jail and Suraj forgets this mishap as he grows up. When Vandana is released from jail she is befriended by the jailer (Madan Puri) who takes her home and introduces her to his daughter Renu (Farida Jalal). Vandana comes face to face with her son Suraj (Rajesh Khanna) when she discovers that Renu is dating him. Suraj, just like how his father wished, is an air-force officer. He slowly starts remembering that he has seen Vandana somewhere, although Vandana wants to hide the truth as she feels Suraj may be embarrassed upon realizing his parent's background and history. Vandana makes herself home at the jailer's house.
At one time, Suraj gets injured in an air crash just like his real father Arun, but survives. At that time, Vandana meets Madan, who knows that Suraj is Arun and Vandana's son and he wants to tell Suraj the truth. Again, Vandana denies wanting to let Suraj know that he is her son, fearing the consequences. Later when Vandana is not around, Suraj sees her diary where Arun's photo is found. Realizing that Arun and Vandana are his true parents, he however salutes Vandana's self-sacrificing attitude and accepts her as his own mother.
The stellar lineup of over 230 films from around the world constitutes a mélange of classic and contemporary cinema with special segments dedicated to French, Italian and Afghan cinema. The festival will also host a special event segment to mark the centenary year of Indian cinema by screening a handpicked list of silent films accompanied by melodies from a live orchestra. The festival also endeavors to serve as a platform to showcase the works of young, talented and progressive filmmakers.
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