Aankhen Movie Review: Watchable even today

Dharmendra, the ultimate macho man of Hindi film screen made his debut in 1960, in an Arjun Hingorani film called Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere. That was some forty odd years ago. Recently he made a guest appearance in Anurag Basu's Metro and, come June, cinegoers will watch him star opposite his sons, Sunny and Bobby, in Anil Sharma's Apne. The most amazing thing about him, besides his physique and good looks has been his consistency.

This Jat had the staying power. He prevailed even during the romantic era of Rajesh Khanna and formed a very good jodi with the then Angry Young Man, Amitabh Bachchan. It is in the last 12 odd years that we have not really seen him doing what he's best at?decimating the opposition. That's a mantle that his son Sunny took over for a while. But even Sunny couldn't duplicate Dharmendra's famous ? ?Kutte, kameene, main tere khoon pee jaoonga.? That was, and remains, vintage Dharmendra.

But action was not the only genre that this Punjab da puttar left his mark on. In his early days as an actor, Dharmendra played supporting roles in many a woman oriented film like Bandini, Anpadh, Anupama, Mamta etc. It was his encounter with Meena Kumari, which finally propelled him to the forefront as the leading man in his own right. And come the Seventies, Dharmendra the action hero was in full bloom. But the genesis of this action hero goes back to a film called Aankhen made in 1968 by Ramanand Sagar, who is remembered today more as the director of the mega TV serial Ramayan.

But coming back to Aankhen, it was the Indian equivalent of the spy film. And like in all good Indian spy films, it is all in the name of the country. The film, apparently did quite well in its time. Like all good spy films, it has its fair share of hidden cameras and microphones, secret codes, disguises, secret doors, etc. The film also jumps from India to Japan to the Middle East, Beirut to be precise.

As the film begins, we are told that the nation is under threat from its enemies, who have infilterated the country and are bent on creating havoc within, with the aim of destabilizing the nation. But they are being watched by certain patriotic groups. Sunil (Dharmendra) is a secret agent, who works for one such group headed by the the Major, also known as Diwan Chand (Nasir Hussain). Sunil has recently mastered the art of judo from Japan, where he also meets a girl, Meenakshi (Mala Sinha), who is half Japanese and half Indian. She seems to know all about him and even the fact that he is a spy. They do the usual thing and fall in love but he returns to India, biding the call of duty. Back in India, he is packed off on an assignment to Beirut by the Major, where the gun smuggling racket originates. He bumps into his ex-flame Meenakshi in Beirut.

But there is one problem. The terrorist leader Syed is always one up on Sunil. There is a double agent within their midst, who knows about Sunil's whereabouts. Sunil is captured by the terrorists and is even presumed dead. Back home, Sunil's nephew ? (his sister, played by Kumkum's son) ?has been kidnapped by the enemy and they threaten to blow him up. He is trapped in an underground bunker which is full of armaments. Of course, he is rescued by Sunil and the real villain is also unmasked, but not before lots of gunfire and explosions.

As a spy film, it is not the best in the genre. But it still makes for some good viewing. There are enough encounters, secret codes, gunfire etc to fill your plate. The music of the film, given by Ravi, is very good. And there are a couple of hit songs which still have their appeal today, like the number ?Gairon pe karam, apno pe sitam sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

While Dharmendra is the hero of this film, there some interesting cameos played by Nasir Hussian, Mehmood, Kumkum and Sujit Kumar. Leading the cast, however, is Mala Sinha, who was still a bigger name at the box office. Dharmendra, as we know, was just beginning to make his mark. Contrary to his origins, Dharmendra plays a suave, sophisticated spy. And he carries off the role well due to his physique. As for the action sequences, the actor is quite at home in them. It would be a little far fetched to compare the Sunil of Aankhen to the James Bond character made famous by Sean Connery, but that was the idea and the take-off point. In later years, he plays another polished character in Shalimar and carried that off well too.

Aankhen was Bollywood's answer to the James Bond and sundry other spy thrillers of the day. And it succeeds in its intent. Seen in the context of its times, the film packs quite a punch.