''Sharmeelee'' (trans. Shy) is a

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

Indian Hindi-language

romantic film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey through d ...

produced by

Subodh Mukherjee Subodh Mukerji (14 April 1921 – 21 May 2005) was an Indian filmmaker (producer and director) of Hindi-language films. He was the brother of the leading producer-director Sashadhar Mukherjee. Profile Mukerji was a devotee of the school of mov ...

and directed by Samir Ganguly. The film stars Shashi Kapoor, Raakhee, Narendra Nath, Nazir Hussain,

Iftekhar Iftekhar Ahmed Sharif (22 February 1920 – 4 March 1995), often mononymously credited as Iftekhar or Iftikhar, was an Indian actor who mainly worked in Hindi cinema. He is known for his film roles as a police officer. Career Iftekhar wa ...

, S N Banerjee, Anita Guha, Asit Sen. Raakhee played a double role in this film, and its success helped make her one of the decade's top leading ladies in Hindi films. The film also marked the debut of

Ranjeet Ranjeet (born as Gopal Bedi; 12 September 1942) is an Indian actor and film director. He has mostly played villain roles in over 200 Hindi films. He has also played a positive character in the TV series '' Aisa Des Hai Mera''. He has also ...

. The film starts on a romantic track, but after halfway takes a brilliant turn towards mystery and thriller genre.

Plot

While returning from the Army Base, Captain Ajit Kapoor stops over at a rest-house, where there is a party on, and he meets a charming, vivacious young lady. When he reaches home, his guardian, Father Joseph, wants him to get married. When Joseph accompanies Ajit to see the girl, whose name is Kanchan, Ajit is thrilled to find out that it is the very same girl he met at the rest-house. Ajit indicates his approval, and the stage is set for them to get married. It is then that Ajit finds out that Kanchan is not the girl he had met, but her twin-sister. Kanchan is heart-broken at this, but wants her sister to be happy. Ajit is even more happy when he finally meets Kamini, who also recognizes him. She tries to put a spanner in the works by emotionally attacking Ajit. Then Ajit's Army Colonel summons him for assistance in locating a female spy, who closely resembles Kanchan.

Cast

* Shashi Kapoor as Captain Ajit Kapoor * Raakhee as Kanchan / Kamini (double role) *

as Kundan *

as Colonel * Nazir Hussain as Father Joseph * Narendranath as Tiger * Jayshree T. as dancer / singer

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Sharmeelee was an instant hit with the Indian audience, with songs composed by S. D. Burman, written by Neeraj and sung by

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born Abhas Kumar Ganguly; ; 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of modern India ...

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

. The songs had featured on the

Binaca Geetmala ''Binaca Geetmala'' () was a weekly countdown show of top filmi songs from Hindi cinema. It was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 and then shifted to the Vividh Bharati Service of All India Radio network in 1989 where it ran until 199 ...

top 10 songs of 1971. The track "Khilte Hain Gul Yahan", sung by

and

as separate solos in the movie, has been set in the raag ''

Bhimpalasi Bhimpalasi or Bheempalasi (also known as Bhimpalas or Bheempalas) is a Hindustani classical raga. The Carnatic Music equivalent of this raga is Abheri. Raga Bhimpalasi belongs to the Kafi Thaat. Theory * Aaroha: * Avaroha: The raga has k ...

'' (known as '' Abheri'' in

Carnatic Music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

), while "Megha Chhaye Aadhi Raat" is set in the raga ''

Patdeep Patdeep or Patdip (पटदीप), is a Hindustani classical raga from the Kafi Thaat. Theory Aroha and Avaroha Notation: S r R g G M Ḿ P d D n N S Lower case indicates 'komal' or flat notes, " indicates higher (third) octave, ' indic ...

'' (Close to '' Gourimanohari'' of Carnatic Music).

Box office

Sharmeelee was declared a "Semi-hit" by Box Office India. Sharmeelee had powerful and promising performances by the lead actors, Shashi Kapoor and Raakhee, and had received both critical as well as commercial success. It had netted approximately 2,60,00,000.

References

External links

* * Films scored by S. D. Burman 1971 films 1970s Hindi-language films 1970s Indian films Twins in Indian films Films directed by Samir Ganguly {{1970s-Hindi-film-stub