Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon

Although ignored by 'The Encyclopedia of Indian Film' (1995), this psychedelic escapist fantasy (whose title translates into English as 'I've Come Back With the Same Heart') was not surprisingly a big hit in its day.

The plot is typical Bollywood nonsense in which Mohan, an army officer's son, is abducted as a child at the behest of his mother. He grows up to fall in love with his haughty foster sister (who happens to be a professional dancer), and pursues her and her entourage on a trip to Srinagar, thus providing the pretext for a succession of boisterous musical numbers shot on location in various tourist spots in Kashmir. Most of this is played for laughs until director Nasir Hussain decides about two-thirds of the way into the film that it's now time for a bit of melodrama, with the introduction of an imposter (played by Pran) passing himself off as the long-lost Mohan.

Much of the staging and acting resembles an old Mack Sennett two-reeler, as does the climactic pursuit of a jeep by a speed boat. It was Hussain's first film in colour, and he responds to the occasion with a frenzy of zooms and whip pans. Marshal Braganza's Eastmancolor photography, luxurious interior sets that look as if they're made of icing sugar, extremely phony-looking studio exteriors and the vigour with which the musical numbers are staged combine to create the sensation of watching a live action cartoon in which even a compromising photograph used for the purpose of blackmail is in colour!