It has happened on countless occasions in the past that upon noticing the title 'The Train' in the TV guide I have tuned in to the channel concerned only to find that the movie being aired is the 2007 one starring Emraan Hashmi. So when I noticed the title again on Saturday evening, I knew that the probability of it being the new movie was more than 90%. But hey, sometimes events with less than 10% chance of happening do happen. This was one such instance :-)
It looked like I had missed out on about half an hour's worth of movie. So there was no knowing if the murder had already happened or not. Generally I am not very enthusiastic about watching a movie unless it is from the start. But I was not sure about when this one will be aired again so I decided to stick around and watch it this time.
The protagonists are Shyam - a Police Inspector, and his fiancee Neeta. They appear to be very much in love. Shyam proposes to her but she tells him that she has certain responsibilities and cannot get married until they are fulfilled. Shyam convinces her that, henceforth, all her responsibilities are his as well so she agrees to tie the knot. At home she joyfully gets ready to introduce him to her mom. Her mom, however, is far from sharing her daughter's enthusiasm. The reason is that Neeta's dad is in prison on charges of murdering his employer. Though she and Neeta are convinced that he is innocent, she suspects that Shyam won't take such a lenient view of the situation. Just to make matters worse, Neeta's dad escapes from prison and comes home to persuade his family to be on the run with him. As they are preparing to do that Shyam shows up. He makes sure Neeta's dad is dispatched to the prison again and in the process ends up being despised by both - Neeta and her mom.
Neeta tries to look for a job but is turned away every time when the prospective employer learns about her dad. A friend of her dad's turns up at their home and offers to help the family. At her mom's request he secures a job for Neeta as a receptionist at a hotel. A diamond trader comes to stay there. He sells his diamonds and leaves for Calcutta by an evening train. Their is only one other occupant - Pyarelal - in the compartment in which the trader is traveling. But just as the train is about to depart a woman gets in. She tells Pyarelal that her name is Geeta and that she teaches dance at a dance academy in Nasik. When the train halts at Igatpuri, Geeta persuades Pyarelal to have dinner with her at the station hotel. He complies but while they are eating the train departs. Pyarelal is stranded at Igatpuri while Geeta is nowhere to be seen. Pyarelal convinces the station master to get his luggage out at the next station but when the station master of the next station boards the compartment he finds the trader murdered. The police, of course, take Pyarelal into custody. The investigation is handed over to inspector Shyam who, with the help of Pyarelal, starts looking for Geeta. They find that the woman teaching dance at the academy is indeed named Geeta but she is not the woman who met Pyarelal in the train compartment. Shyam suspects that Geeta is somehow involved in this murder but every time they look for her she manages to slip away. When things start looking hopeless Pyarelal chances upon Neeta's photo in Shyam's wallet and tells him that she is the woman from the train compartment.
So, is Neeta mixed up in this whole murder business? Is her dad really innocent? Are both murders connected? If so, who is the mastermind behind all this looting and murdering? The rest of the movie, though predictable at times, is a good watch to find answers to these questions.
As far as casting goes, Rajesh Khanna is a bit unconvincing as a cop - after all you aren't used to seeing inspectors trotting about in plain clothes garish enough to give neighborhood thugs a complex and pulling out wads of cash to hand out to suspects - though he looks absolutely yummy as a hero. Nanda looks older to Rajesh Khanna but essays convincing roles as straight-forward Neeta and charming Geeta. Rajendra Nath is upto his usual tricks as Pyarelal. Other usual suspects are Helen (Lily), Madan Puri (Neeta's dad's friend) and Ifteqar (Shyam's boss). The movie boasts of such melodious songs as गुलाबी आंखे, किस लिए मैंने प्यार किया, नी सोणिये and सैया रे सैया.
The movie doesn't answer all questions convincingly in the end. e.g. are Lily and Shyam romantically involved? (God forbid! we prefer our leading pairs to be committed only to each other!) Why is Lily masquerading as Neeta? Is Shyam naive enough not to realize, until Neeta points it out to him, that the person present at the crime scene with the murder weapon could have been framed?
That said, if you are fond of old times whodunits, it is a definite watch, if only for a lot of things that are no more seen in today's Hindi movies - such as henchmen referring to their boss as, er, 'Boss', thugs with red hankies tied around their necks, the gang's headquarters with big boxes lying around everywhere, the seductive vamp performing a cabaret in the night club, glimpses of empty streets of old Mumbai, people successfully disguising themselves with just a cap, a pair of sunglasses & a mole, heroes decked out in every garish shade of red, green, yellow & khaki, the ease of securing a train ticket by asking the hotel manage to arrange for it and of course, the good old fighting sound of 'ढिशुम '! :-)
It looked like I had missed out on about half an hour's worth of movie. So there was no knowing if the murder had already happened or not. Generally I am not very enthusiastic about watching a movie unless it is from the start. But I was not sure about when this one will be aired again so I decided to stick around and watch it this time.
The protagonists are Shyam - a Police Inspector, and his fiancee Neeta. They appear to be very much in love. Shyam proposes to her but she tells him that she has certain responsibilities and cannot get married until they are fulfilled. Shyam convinces her that, henceforth, all her responsibilities are his as well so she agrees to tie the knot. At home she joyfully gets ready to introduce him to her mom. Her mom, however, is far from sharing her daughter's enthusiasm. The reason is that Neeta's dad is in prison on charges of murdering his employer. Though she and Neeta are convinced that he is innocent, she suspects that Shyam won't take such a lenient view of the situation. Just to make matters worse, Neeta's dad escapes from prison and comes home to persuade his family to be on the run with him. As they are preparing to do that Shyam shows up. He makes sure Neeta's dad is dispatched to the prison again and in the process ends up being despised by both - Neeta and her mom.
Neeta tries to look for a job but is turned away every time when the prospective employer learns about her dad. A friend of her dad's turns up at their home and offers to help the family. At her mom's request he secures a job for Neeta as a receptionist at a hotel. A diamond trader comes to stay there. He sells his diamonds and leaves for Calcutta by an evening train. Their is only one other occupant - Pyarelal - in the compartment in which the trader is traveling. But just as the train is about to depart a woman gets in. She tells Pyarelal that her name is Geeta and that she teaches dance at a dance academy in Nasik. When the train halts at Igatpuri, Geeta persuades Pyarelal to have dinner with her at the station hotel. He complies but while they are eating the train departs. Pyarelal is stranded at Igatpuri while Geeta is nowhere to be seen. Pyarelal convinces the station master to get his luggage out at the next station but when the station master of the next station boards the compartment he finds the trader murdered. The police, of course, take Pyarelal into custody. The investigation is handed over to inspector Shyam who, with the help of Pyarelal, starts looking for Geeta. They find that the woman teaching dance at the academy is indeed named Geeta but she is not the woman who met Pyarelal in the train compartment. Shyam suspects that Geeta is somehow involved in this murder but every time they look for her she manages to slip away. When things start looking hopeless Pyarelal chances upon Neeta's photo in Shyam's wallet and tells him that she is the woman from the train compartment.
So, is Neeta mixed up in this whole murder business? Is her dad really innocent? Are both murders connected? If so, who is the mastermind behind all this looting and murdering? The rest of the movie, though predictable at times, is a good watch to find answers to these questions.
As far as casting goes, Rajesh Khanna is a bit unconvincing as a cop - after all you aren't used to seeing inspectors trotting about in plain clothes garish enough to give neighborhood thugs a complex and pulling out wads of cash to hand out to suspects - though he looks absolutely yummy as a hero. Nanda looks older to Rajesh Khanna but essays convincing roles as straight-forward Neeta and charming Geeta. Rajendra Nath is upto his usual tricks as Pyarelal. Other usual suspects are Helen (Lily), Madan Puri (Neeta's dad's friend) and Ifteqar (Shyam's boss). The movie boasts of such melodious songs as गुलाबी आंखे, किस लिए मैंने प्यार किया, नी सोणिये and सैया रे सैया.
The movie doesn't answer all questions convincingly in the end. e.g. are Lily and Shyam romantically involved? (God forbid! we prefer our leading pairs to be committed only to each other!) Why is Lily masquerading as Neeta? Is Shyam naive enough not to realize, until Neeta points it out to him, that the person present at the crime scene with the murder weapon could have been framed?
That said, if you are fond of old times whodunits, it is a definite watch, if only for a lot of things that are no more seen in today's Hindi movies - such as henchmen referring to their boss as, er, 'Boss', thugs with red hankies tied around their necks, the gang's headquarters with big boxes lying around everywhere, the seductive vamp performing a cabaret in the night club, glimpses of empty streets of old Mumbai, people successfully disguising themselves with just a cap, a pair of sunglasses & a mole, heroes decked out in every garish shade of red, green, yellow & khaki, the ease of securing a train ticket by asking the hotel manage to arrange for it and of course, the good old fighting sound of 'ढिशुम '! :-)
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