Aa Gale Lag Jaa

Review By Kamal K

It was a story that was brought to life by Manmohan Desai. Logic did not find a place in Desai's dictionary and he could create unimaginable situations, far removed from reality. He believed in providing non-stop entertainment and this movie had the ingredients to keep the fans engrossed.

Shashi Kapoor dominates the screen even as Shatrughan Sinha gives a stellar performance in days when he was looking to shed his image of a villain and seek roles as a hero. It was not the best of his movies, but Kapoor could count this as one of his biggest hits, thanks to a taut story and some delightful music by Rahul Dev Burman. The soulful Na Koi Dil Mein Samaya with Prem hugging Rahul is an emotional number that lingers much after the film is over. May not be a classic, but AGLJ is worth a revisit anytime.

I first saw this movie when it was first released in Mumbai (Bombay) in 1973 when I was a child. The songs, were and still are enchanting, the acting, the story and the acting was excellent. The direction was also the same. The movie, which had been filmed in the town of Simla, in the foothold of the Himalayas, northern India, has some brilliant cinema photography and especially where the song "Mera Tumse Hai Pehle" with the playback by the late Kishore Kumar is filmed. In some of the skating scenes, you can see that no stuntman or woman has been used and that the actors are doing these scenes themselves

I saw this movie again after a very long time and it still had its charm and the music and the songs "ever green." Worth to watch with your family.

Late Manmohan Desai has reserved his name in the list of Bollywood's great entertainers. Right from his maiden directorial venture - Chhalia (1960) to Mard (1985), he kept on delivering box office hits for around a quarter of a century with only two flops in the end (Ganga Jamuna Saraswati and Toofan). His great association with Amitabh Bachchan started with Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) but prior to that also he had given consecutive hits with other heroes. Today I am reviewing a very interesting movie of Manmohan Desai starring Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore and Shatrughan Sinha which was also a box office success. It's Aa Gale Lag Ja (1973).

Aa Gale Lag Ja (come, embrace me) is the story of a skating trainer - Prem (Shashi Kapoor) and Preeti (Sharmila Tagore) who is the daughter of a rich man - Heera Chand (Om Prakash). Both fall in love and in an extremely cold, snowfall ridden night of Shimla, Prem sexually contacts Preeti to save her life (because there was no other means available at that time to transmit heat to her body). Preeti gets pregnant but her father who is against their marriage creates misunderstanding between them and their ways are parted. However when Preeti gives birth to a son, his father quite generously allows Prem to take away that child to foster and tells a lie to Preeti that she had given birth to a dead child.

Years pass and Prem and Preeti happen to meet again. Preeti meets Prem's (and her) son who is a handicapped boy. Now she is going to be married to a foreign-returned doctor - Amar (Shatrughan Sinha). Dr. Aman assures Prem to cure the handicap (in the leg) of his son. However the emotional tensions between the threesome (as well as the handicapped child) and intricacies of their relationships create many twists in the story before it reaches its happy ending.

Aa Gale Lag Ja is a formula-based pure entertainer which is completely successful in its objective of entertaining the audience right from the very first frame to the very last frame. It's an emotional drama with a good dose of romance and some punches of action also. Intelligently written screenplay (by Prayaag Raj) and tight editing keeps the interest of the audience alive throughout despite the climax being a predictable one. There is no boredom at all in the movie whose story moves at a decent pace and never allows the spectator to have a glance at his watch. K.B. Paathak's dialogues are also quite impressive.

Technically the movie is good and the production value is high. The beauty of Shimla has been captured very well in several scenes.

Songs composed by R.D. Burman with Saahir Ludhiyanvi's lyrics are the icing on the cake for this good movie. The best song is Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi which is hilarious in its first version and emotional in the second one. Sushma Shreshtha has given her voice to the child artist - Master Tito for this song. The voices of Kishore and Lata have been used for Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore. Other than Tera Mujhse ..., Vaada Karo Nahi Chhodogi Tum Mera Saath, O Mere Bete Sunn Mera Kehna (very emotional and inspirational song) and Na Koi Dil Mein Samaaya are also very good to listen. The songs have also been picturized very impressively like the whole movie. They have been placed situationally and made a part of the storyline which is an evidence of skilled direction.

Performances are all good. However child artist - Master Tito takes the cake. He has delivered an outstanding performance in the role of the handicapped boy who is frustrated with his handicap (because his father is a skilled skater and he wants to be like his father) but who loves his father very much and remains a perennial source of inspiration for him. The movie can be watched several times for the heart-winning performance of Master Tito itself. Otherwise also, the movie has a repeat value because of its entertaining quality.

I will not say that Aa Gale Lag Ja is a great movie. However it is definitely a very good watch which entertains, inspires and moves the audience at the same time. I wholeheartedly recommend it to the movie buffs of all categories.

I saw this movie years back in late 70s when I was a little boy and I watched it again last week and I still enjoy it.The songs in this movie are just fantastic.Shashi Kapoor and the beautiful Sharmila Tagore certainly show their brilliant acting in one of Hindi best movies. Good movie to enjoy with the entire family.

If you have liked the movies like Kati Patang, Amar Prem, Andaaj movie of Shammi Kapoor then surely you gonna love this movie. Beautiful romantic movie with great song. Even if you dont like Shashi Kapoor still you will love it. Just go for it.