''Asli-Naqli'' () is a 1962
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
film produced by L.B Lachman and L.B Thakur. The film is directed by
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his car ...
and stars
Dev Anand
Dev Anand (; born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand; 26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011) was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Indian cinema, Hindi cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest and most succes ...
,
Sadhana,
Leela Chitnis
Leela Chitnis (''née'' Nagarkar; 9 September 1909 – 14 July 2003) was an Indian actress in the Indian film industry, active from the 1930s to the 1980s. In her early years she starred as a romantic lead, but she is best remembered for her lat ...
,
Anwar Hussain,
Sandhya Roy
Sandhya Roy is an Indian actress and politician. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she reigned as a leading actress for approximately 30 years. She has received numerous awards including four BFJA Awards and a Filmfare A ...
and
Keshto Mukherjee
Keshto Mukherjee (7 August 1925 – 3 March 1982) was an Indian actor and comedian. He was born in Kolkata, Bengal Presidency, British India. He specialised in comic drunkard roles in Hindi films. Though he was famous for his drunkard typecast ...
. The film's music is by
Shankar Jaikishan
Sankar or Shankar is a Sanskrit word meaning "beneficent" or "giver of bliss" and may refer to:
People
* Shankar (name)
**Ravi Shankar, Indian sitarist and composer
**Shankar (actor), Indian actor
** Shankar (Tamil militant), Tamil rebel
** Shan ...
and the lyrics by
Hasrat Jaipuri
Hasrat Jaipuri, born Iqbal Hussain (15 April 1922 – 17 September 1999), was an Indian poet, who wrote in the Hindi and Urdu languages. He was also a renowned film lyricist in Hindi films, where he won the Filmfare Awards for Best Lyri ...
and
Shailendra. The film became a box office hit.
Plot
Anand (
Dev Anand
Dev Anand (; born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand; 26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011) was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Indian cinema, Hindi cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest and most succes ...
) grandson of rich businessman Rai Bahadur (played by
Nazir Hussain
Nazir Hussain (15 May 1922 – 16 October 1987) was an Indian actor, director and screenwriter. He was famous as a character actor in Hindi cinema and was a pioneer of Bhojpuri cinema. He acted in almost 500 films, with Dev Anand starring in ...
) is invited to marry Rekha, the only daughter of a rich man. Anand, however, is not enamoured. In the ensuing disagreement, Anand leaves home to prove his worth. He finds himself in a poor neighborhood in Mumbai after meeting Mohan (Anwar Hussain).
Anand settles in and tries to find work. He meets a beautiful young woman Renu (
Sadhana Shivdasani
Sadhana Shivdasani (2 September 1941 – 25 December 2015), known mononymously as Sadhana, was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. Regarded among the most popular actresses of Hindi Cinema, Sadhana was noted for her exquisite beauty an ...
) and is enchanted. She helps him to find a job but he soon loses it through his incompetence. Renu works at a small company but hides the fact from her mother (
Leela Chitnis
Leela Chitnis (''née'' Nagarkar; 9 September 1909 – 14 July 2003) was an Indian actress in the Indian film industry, active from the 1930s to the 1980s. In her early years she starred as a romantic lead, but she is best remembered for her lat ...
because she believes that her mother could not bear the truth that her father is dead. She tells her that he sends the money she earns. Anand falls entirely in love and proposes to her delight.
Rai Bahadur however finds Anand and insists that he marry Rekha. When he receives Anand's reply he sets off to blackmail Renu - that he would tell her mother about her father's death if she does not reject Anand. She agrees and tells Anand to forget her. Renu's mother overhears this conversation and intervenes. She advises Renu to marry her own hearts desire. Renu and Anand marry with Rai Bahadur's blessings, a happy ending to a beautifully directed film.
Cast
*
Dev Anand
Dev Anand (; born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand; 26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011) was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Indian cinema, Hindi cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest and most succes ...
as Prince Anand
*
Sadhana Shivdasani
Sadhana Shivdasani (2 September 1941 – 25 December 2015), known mononymously as Sadhana, was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. Regarded among the most popular actresses of Hindi Cinema, Sadhana was noted for her exquisite beauty an ...
as Renu
*
Leela Chitnis
Leela Chitnis (''née'' Nagarkar; 9 September 1909 – 14 July 2003) was an Indian actress in the Indian film industry, active from the 1930s to the 1980s. In her early years she starred as a romantic lead, but she is best remembered for her lat ...
as Renu's mother
*
Nazir Hussain
Nazir Hussain (15 May 1922 – 16 October 1987) was an Indian actor, director and screenwriter. He was famous as a character actor in Hindi cinema and was a pioneer of Bhojpuri cinema. He acted in almost 500 films, with Dev Anand starring in ...
as Dwarkadas
*
Anwar Hussain as Mohan
*
Sandhya Roy
Sandhya Roy is an Indian actress and politician. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she reigned as a leading actress for approximately 30 years. She has received numerous awards including four BFJA Awards and a Filmfare A ...
as Shanti
*
Indira Billi
Indira Billi (6 August 1936 – 16 June 2025) was an Indian actress of Hindi and Punjabi language movies.
Early life and career
Born as Indira Kaur on 6 August 1936 at Dina Nagar, Gurdaspur district, Punjab, British India, she acted in many ...
as Rekha
*
Mukri
Mohammed Umar Mukri (5 January 1922 – 4 September 2000), popularly known as Mukri, was an Indian actor, who worked as a comedian in Hindi films.
Born as Muhammad Umar Mukri in Uran. He started his film career with the film ''Pratima'' along ...
as Nandu
*
Keshto Mukherjee
Keshto Mukherjee (7 August 1925 – 3 March 1982) was an Indian actor and comedian. He was born in Kolkata, Bengal Presidency, British India. He specialised in comic drunkard roles in Hindi films. Though he was famous for his drunkard typecast ...
as Mr Gomes
*
Motilal as Colonel Mishra
*Amol Sen as Ramu
*Mehar Banu as Meenu
*
Shobha Sen
Shobha Sen (17 September 1923 – 13 August 2017; also known as Sova Sen) was an Indian theatre and film actress in Bengali theatre and Bengali cinema.Anit Mukerjea (28 June 2004)"A Woman of Grit"Asia Africa Intelligence Wire (From The Statesm ...
*
Polson as school bus conductor
Trivia
Hrishikesh Mukherjee as a director comes to maturity in this film and develops a signature style of healthy family entertainment. This film follows one of his earlier successes, ''
Anari''.
Innovative Song Picturisation: In the expression of love, while filming the song "Ek But Banaunga", Hrishikesh Mukherjee took care that Dev Anand and Sadhana maintained a distance of at least 20 feet between them. At one time when they come nearer, there is a blackboard on a stand between them. When Dev Anand turns around the blackboard to Sadhana's side, the latter puts a slate between them. In the backdrop of rains outside, with Mohammed Rafi's magic all around, someone takes away a goat from the rain-sheltered veranda and one is transported to the dream world of love. At times Dev Anand is outside in the veranda with the bamboo mesh of a window between them. Dev is worshipping Sadhana with folded hands and in the end Sadhana comes near with her hands raised in blessing.
Similarly, while picturising the song "Tera Mera Pyaar Amar", Hrishikesh Mukherjee demonstrates the love between Dev Anand and Sadhana by putting them in different places as the song unfolds. In the early part of his career, Hrishikesh Mukherjee was a cinematographer and all through the film, there is brilliant camera work.
The song "Tujhe jeevan ki dori se" is also used in the movie
Guddi in a dream sequence song featuring
Dharmendra
Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol (born 8 December 1935), known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who is primarily known for his work in Hindi films. Dharmendra is widely considered one of the greatest, most h ...
.
Highlights: There is a scene in which
Nazir Hussain
Nazir Hussain (15 May 1922 – 16 October 1987) was an Indian actor, director and screenwriter. He was famous as a character actor in Hindi cinema and was a pioneer of Bhojpuri cinema. He acted in almost 500 films, with Dev Anand starring in ...
praises the workmanship of an artifact to Dev Anand when the latter is disturbed. The same scene would be repeated by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in the film ''Namak Haram'' (1973), between
Om Shivpuri
Om Shivpuri (14 July 1938 – 15 October 1990) was an Indian theatre actor-director and character actor in Hindi films.
A National School of Drama, New Delhi alumnus, Shivpuri became the first chief of the National School of Drama Repertory C ...
and
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.*
*
*
*
* With a cinemati ...
.
In a single scene,
Motilal, the character actor gives a brilliant performance by advising Dev Anand to let things go, rather than to control them. He asks Dev Anand in the club to hold sand in his palm and tells him: "If you would try to hold on to the sands, these would escape through your fingers. But if you keep your palm open, they would stay undisturbed."
In the scene when Sadhana is teaching English to the slum dwellers, she asks Dev Anand to spell and pronounce 'No' and gets into a funny argument about English pronunciations. A similar situation is repeated in 1975 film
Chupke Chupke between Dharmendra and
Om Prakash
Om Prakash Chibber (19 December 1919 – 21 February 1998) was an Indian film actor. He was born in Jammu and was a well known character actor of Bollywood, Hindi Cinema. His most well-known movies are Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968 film), ''Mere ...
.
The film is refreshing with brilliant acting by all the cast and is very competently directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
This film's story is partly inspired by ''
The Definite Object
''The Definite Object'' is a 1917 crime romance novel by the British writer Jeffery Farnol. It was published in London by Sampson Low and in Boston by Little, Brown. A popular success in the United States, it was included on the '' Publisher Week ...
'', a 1917 romance novel by the British writer
Jeffery Farnol
Jeffery Farnol (10 February 1878 – 9 August 1952) was a British writer from 1907 until his death in 1952, known for writing more than 40 romance novels, often set in the Georgian Era or English Regency period, and swashbucklers. He, with Georg ...
.
Soundtrack
References
External links
*
{{Hrishikesh Mukherjee
1962 films
1960s Hindi-language films
1960s Indian films
Films directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Films scored by Shankar–Jaikishan